Special Briefing

Special Briefing

Brought to you by the Volcker Alliance and the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Urban Research, Special Briefing examines the fiscal conditions of cities, counties, and states since the arrival of COVID-19 and how they’re impacted by decisions from Washington. We bring federal, state, and local government leaders together with prominent researchers, economists, and investors to reflect on today’s most salient and critical public finance issues. Be sure to subscribe to Special Briefing to stay up to date on the world of public finance. Learn more about the Volcker Alliance at: volckeralliance.org Learn more about Penn IUR at: penniur.upenn.edu Connect with us @VolckerAlliance and @PennIUR on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn Special Briefing is published by the Volcker Alliance, as part of its Public Finance initiatives, and Penn IUR. The views expressed on this podcast are those of the panelists and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Volcker Alliance or Penn IUR. Special Briefing is made possible by funding from The Century Foundation, the Volcker Alliance, and members of the Penn IUR Advisory Board.

Episodes

Special Briefing on the Muni Debt Boom: Record Borrowing Amid Budget Strains

October 9, 2025
William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser, Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR and Wharton professor, and our expert panel address the record-shattering boom in state and local borrowing even in the face of federal spending cuts and pressure on budgets. How long the boom will continue in the face of conflicting federal, state, and local priorities will be the big question ...
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Special Briefing on State Budgets: The Big Squeeze

May 20, 2025 • 53 mins
Join William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Volcker Alliance Public Finance Advisor, and Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR and Wharton professor and our expert panel as we address the rapidly darkening outlook for state and local budgets and what this means for policymakers, taxpayers, and investors. Panelists include Jonathan Womer, Director, Rhode Island Department of Administration; Emily Brock, Director, Go...
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Special Briefing | Mayors under Stress: Financing Local Development around the World

April 28, 2025 • 54 mins
Cities around the world are facing a host of challenges. As the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development observed recently, "places are rethinking how to stay competitive on the global stage. Technological change, the green transition and shifting global value chains are reshaping local economies." Join Eugenie Birch, Co-Director of Penn IUR, and William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Volcker Allianc...
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Special Briefing: The Future of Mass Transportation under Trump and the GOP

April 1, 2025 • 55 mins
This Special Briefing is focused on the future of mass transportation under the new Administration and Congress. Our expert panel discusses the upsurge in construction funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as well as solutions to hundreds of billions of dollars in budgetary shortfalls facing transit networks from coast to coast. Speakers include Leslie Richards, Professor of Practice at the University o...
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Special Briefing: The New Administration's First Month

February 28, 2025 • 54 mins
The first Special Briefing of 2025 offers a deep dive into the new President’s first month and the implications of new policies. Featured speakers include former US Representative Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA); Jeffrey Holland, Vice President, Research, Peter G. Peterson Foundation; Eric Kim, Senior Director, U.S. Public Finance at Fitch Ratings; Vikram Rai, Fixed Income Strategist, Head of Municipal Markets Strategy at...
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Special Briefing: The Road Ahead for the Economy, States, and Localities as Donald Trump and the GOP Take Charge

December 17, 2024 • 52 mins
Major policy shifts in immigration, taxes, trade, energy, health care, and pandemic-era programs passed under the Biden Administration look increasingly likely with Donald Trump capturing the White House and his fellow Republicans taking control of both houses of Congress for the first time in two years. Our panel of experts share their views on what this sea change may mean for the economy and Federal Reserve, as ...
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Special Briefing: America’s Growth Regions

November 1, 2024 • 51 mins
The US economy’s extraordinary recovery since the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic has continued into the fall of 2025, with inflation retreating and the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates to keep jobs and investment humming along. Our expert panel discusses where the economy is growing fastest—and less fast—and what this means for state and local budgets and finances. Our panel of experts includes Roc...
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Special Briefing: Year Ahead for America’s States and Municipalities

September 27, 2024 • 50 mins
Listen in to this episode of Special Briefing as Bill Glasgall of the Volcker Alliance, Susan Wachter of the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR), and our panel of experts discuss the year ahead for America’s states and municipalities. Fiscal 2025 will be an especially consequential one, with the Federal Reserve expected to cut interest rates for the first time in almost five years as inflation and the econ...
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Special Briefing: State Tax Breaks

July 9, 2024 • 53 mins
On this episode of Special Briefing, experts discuss the latest Volcker Alliance issue paper, Benefit or Burden: Evaluating $1 Trillion in State Tax Expenditures. The issue paper addresses how US states hand out massive tax breaks every year to advance policy goals, such as aiding low-income families, spurring business investment and job creation, or mirroring the federal tax code. Known broadly as tax expenditures...
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Special Briefing: Doom Loop or Boom Loop—Work from Home and the Challenges Facing US Cities

June 8, 2024 • 52 mins
Ever since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US in 2020 led to a surge in people working from home, New York and other big cities have been forced to reckon with the possibility of a Doom Loop scenario of vacant offices and flagging economies. But given the right set of policies, cities can reverse their fortunes and embark upon a path to a Boom Loop of greater productivity and economic growth. Join Speci...
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Special Briefing: America’s $900 Billion Water Crisis

May 3, 2024 • 54 mins
While the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $50 billion to upgrade America’s drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems, much more will be needed to address the nation’s water infrastructure needs amid a changing climate and shifts in population. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the US will need almost $900 billion in water investment over the next twenty years, plus hundreds of billi...
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Special Briefing: America’s Hot Growth States

April 5, 2024 • 55 mins
Western and southern states including Idaho and Florida were among those growing the fastest from the eve of the pandemic in 2019 through 2022. But there were some surprises as well, with Delaware, Maine, and New Jersey also joining the Census Bureau’s hot growth list. While the ability of many Americans to move to low-tax states and work from home played a large role in the population shift, other factors may have...
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Special Briefing: State Tax Cuts

March 9, 2024 • 56 mins
With their revenues and cash reserves at record highs after unprecedented federal aid to offset the impact of COVID-19, dozens of states embarked on the biggest wave of tax cuts in decades, slashing levies by at least $124 billion on everything from personal income to groceries and gasoline. Tune into this Special Briefing as the authors of the forthcoming Volcker Alliance issue paper, State Tax Cuts after the Pand...
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Special Briefing: 2024 Fiscal Outlook for States and Cities

February 2, 2024 • 57 mins
For America’s states and municipalities, 2024 is likely to bring long-awaited relief from inflation and higher interest rates while presenting challenges—and not just because it’s a presidential election year. States, cities, and counties will have to contend with the imminent end of $350 billion in federal pandemic budget aid even as the revenue boom of recent years cools and the need for increased spending to ame...
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Special Briefing: Public Pensions - Still a Crisis?

December 12, 2023 • 55 mins
Many states, counties, and cities emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting recession with record cash reserves following the US government’s injection of $5 trillion to revive the economy and prop up local government budgets. But even after the unprecedented federal support, states and municipalities have been left with more than $1.3 trillion in unfunded liabilities for public employee pension benefits tha...
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Special Briefing: Rolling Out the $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act—What’s Being Built and What’s in the Pipeline

October 31, 2023 • 55 mins
The Volcker Alliance and Penn Institute for Urban Research invite you to join an online Special Briefing on how the rollout of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is proceeding. A critical part of legislation passed by Congress to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and enhance the durability and sustainability of the nation’s infrastructure, the bipartisan deal promises ...
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Special Briefing: Recession? Soft Landing? … Impact on States and Cities

September 29, 2023 • 53 mins
The Volcker Alliance and Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) invite you to join an online Special Briefing focusing on whether Federal Reserve moves to slow inflation may result in a recession or soft landing in coming months and how states and localities may be impacted. Our panel of experts includes Zac Jackson, Indiana budget director; Eric Kim, senior director, Fitch Ratings; Torsten Slok, chief ec...
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Special Briefing: The Future of Mass Transportation as US Pandemic Aid Nears an End

August 8, 2023 • 55 mins
The panel discusses the outlook for mass transportation across the US amid waning federal pandemic emergency aid and lagging ridership as metropolitan area commuters continue to work from home. This episode includes a remembrance of our great friend and colleague, Richard Ravitch, the former New York State lieutenant governor, Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman, Volcker Alliance director, and tireless a...
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Special Briefing: The Debt Ceiling Deal and its Impact on the US Economy, States, and Municipalities

June 29, 2023 • 58 mins
The panel of experts discusses the fallout for the US economy, states, and municipalities from the recent deal to raise the federal debt ceiling. Our panel of experts includes Matt Fabian, partner, Municipal Market Analytics; Marcia Howard, executive director, Federal Funds Information for States; Annie Linskey, white house reporter, the Wall Street Journal; Vikram Rai, managing director and head of the municipa...
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Special Briefing: Avoiding Municipal Distress

June 1, 2023 • 54 mins
While the US unemployment rate is near a record low and $5 trillion in federal pandemic aid continuing to support the economy, American cities are enjoying healthy budget surpluses as COVID-19 recedes. But many of the underlying contributors to municipal distress and bankruptcy in the 2010s—underfunded pensions, deteriorating infrastructure, and population loss among them—still pose threats to many cities’ long-ter...
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