Peter G. Peterson
Essay
Sep/Oct
2004
Three long-term trends are threatening to bankrupt America: the burgeoning costs of waging the war on terrorism, the U.S. economy's increasing reliance on foreign capital, and rapid aging throughout the developed world. Washington must understand that committing the United States to a broader global role while ignoring the financial costs of doing so is deeply irresponsible.
Essay
Sep/Oct
2002
To combat terrorism effectively, America must do more to communicate with the Muslim world, argues the Independent Task Force on Public Diplomacy sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations. The United States should establish a coordinating structure for public diplomacy efforts, promote private-sector involvement through a "Corporation for Public Diplomacy," and increase government public-relations resources.
Essay
Nov/Dec
1999
The global financial turmoil that began in Thailand in 1997 has forced the international community to reevaluate the institutions, structures, and policies aimed at crisis prevention and resolution. In September 1998 President Clinton suggested that a distinguished private-sector group assess the need for reform of the international financial architecture. With this concern in mind, the Council on Foreign Relations sponsored the Independent Task Force on the Future of the International Financial Architecture, cochaired by Peter G. Peterson, chairman of both the Council and the Blackstone Group and secretary of commerce during the Nixon administration, and Carla A. Hills, CEO of Hills & Co. and U.S. Trade Representative during the Bush administration.
Capsule Review
Mar/Apr
1999
Essay
Jan/Feb
1999
We face a threat more grave and certain than those posed by chemical weapons, nuclear proliferation, or ethnic strife: the "age wave." As life expectancy grows and fertility rates decline, senior citizens will make up an ever-larger share of the total population. The effects of this demographic shift will be staggering. It will come with a whopping price tag, which will place a massive burden on an ever-smaller working-age population. Economic, social, and even military policy throughout the next century will have to respond to this unalterable trend. Unless the West recognizes the challenges to come and devises a strategy to meet them, the future will be gray and bleak.
Review Essay
Jan/Feb
1994
Middle-class entitlements must be slashed to stem the budget deficit, raise private investment and restore the American dream. An international budget agreement could break the political impasse, argues Peter Peterson in his latest book.
