At the juncture of a hotly-contested presidential election and an unprecedented financial crisis, are the presidential candidates avoiding the hard reality and sugarcoating the solutions?

On Oct. 23, Robert D. Reischauer will address these questions when he presents the Leonard Mellman Visiting Scholars Lecture, “Taking back our economic future: What the candidates aren’t telling us.”

President of the Urban Institute and a former director of the Congressional Budget Office, Reischauer will discuss the candidates’ efforts to address economic policy and the financial crisis during their presidential campaigns. In addition to the situation on Wall Street, Reischauer will discuss the steps necessary to confront issues such as a looming recession, unsustainable budget deficits, deteriorating infrastructure, declining international competitiveness, dependence on foreign oil, high cost of health care, inadequate public schools and the income gap. He will talk about the tough decisions we must make in order to take back our nation’s economic future.

“Few in Washington can match Bob Reischauer’s rare combination of economic expertise, political insight and bi-partisan respect,” said Joseph P. McLaughlin, director of the Institute for Public Affairs at Temple University. “At this historic moment, our students are fortunate to have an opportunity to hear directly from someone with his knowledge and credibility about the most important issues facing the nation.”

The Urban Institute, which Reischauer has led since 2000, is a nonprofit, non-partisan policy research and education organization that examines the social, economic and governance problems facing the nation. Reischauer served as the director of the Congressional Budget Office between 1989 and 1995 and has been a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute. An economist with an undergraduate degree from Harvard and a master’s degree and doctorate from Columbia University, Reischauer has written and testified before Congress extensively on federal budge policy, health reform, social welfare issues and the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

The Leonard Mellman Visiting Scholars Program is an interdisciplinary initiative that provides educational benefits to students and faculty across the College of Liberal Arts at Temple. “This exciting lecture program energizes our academic community and presents excellent opportunities for our students and faculty alike to learn from, interact with and be inspired by scholars from all fields of study,” said Teresa Scott Soufas, dean of Temple’s College of Liberal Arts.

What: “Taking back our economic future: What the Candidates aren’t telling us”
When: Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008, 2:40-4:30 p.m.
Where: Gladfelter Hall, Room 13