Government’s Greatest Priorities of the Next Half Century

As the nation looks ahead in the new millennium, Americans must be wondering whether the war on terrorism and homeland defense will be all the government does for the next half century. Simply asked, has September 11th forever altered the focus of government priorities?

If the past is prologue, however, many of the federal government’s greatest achievements of the future will be built around protecting and expanding its greatest achievements of the past. As it adjusts to the September 11th crisis, how has the federal government’s agenda changed since the attacks on New York City and Washington?

The Brookings Institution invites you to a discussion of Paul C. Light’s new report, “Government’s Greatest Priorities of the Next Half Century.” The report, based on a survey of 550 historians, economists, political scientists and sociologists, ranks the federal government’s greatest priorities for the next fifty years.

The new report, which will be distributed at the forum, is a follow-up to an earlier study in which Paul Light ranked the government’s 50 greatest endeavors of the past half century.

Panelists include:

PAUL C. LIGHT
Vice President of Governmental Studies and
Director of the Center for Public Service

E.J. DIONNE
Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution and
columnist for The Washington Post

DAVID BRODER
Columnist for The Washington Post