NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On October 25, Intelligence Squared U.S. (IQ2US) will debate one of the most pressing issues of the day: Obama's Jobs Plan. President Barack Obama claims the American Jobs Act would lower the unemployment rate and stimulate the economy with $447 billion in employer tax breaks, jobless reintegration, state aid, and infrastructure projects, to be paid for with taxes on corporations and the wealthy. Others say that the plan could punish job creators and cause further debt.
In Support of the motion, "Congress Should Approve Obama's Jobs Plan," are Cecilia Rouse, former economics adviser to President Obama and current Professor of Economics at Princeton University, and Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody's Analytics. Against the motion is Richard Epstein, NYU law professor and Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago, along with Daniel Mitchell, a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute.
"Unemployment is holding steady at 9.1% and we haven't had significant job growth since the first half of 2010. Are there elements in the president's jobs plan that both sides can agree on, or are political divisions too intractable? We're looking forward to our debaters bringing new insight into this topic," says Dana Wolfe, executive producer of Intelligence Squared U.S.
Moderated by ABC News Nightline's John Donvan, Intelligence Squared U.S.'s fall season, presented in partnership with Slate, will air on WNET and more than 220 NPR stations nationwide.
For the motion:
Cecilia Rouse, Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Woodrow Wilson School and Princeton University, former economics adviser to President Obama.
Mark Zandi Chief Economist of Moody's Analytics
Against the motion:
Richard Epstein, The Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law, New York University Law School, and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago
Daniel Mitchell, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute
The Moderator:
John Donvan is a correspondent for ABC News Nightline. He has served as ABC White House Correspondent, along with postings in Moscow, London, Jerusalem and Amman.
The debate will take place in front of a live audience at NYU's Skirball Center in New York City. Audience members will vote to decide the winning team of this significant debate. Tickets: $40 ($12 for students w/ID) To purchase, visit www.iq2us.org
ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SQUARED DEBATES (IQ2US)
Rethink your point of view with Intelligence Squared U.S. (IQ2US), Oxford-style debates live from New York City.
Based on the highly successful debate program based in London, Intelligence Squared, Intelligence Squared U.S. has presented over 50 debates on a wide range of provocative and timely topics. From global warming and the financial crisis, to Afghanistan/Pakistan and the death of mainstream media, Intelligence Squared U.S. brings together the world's leading authorities on the day's most important issues.
Since its inception in 2006, the goals of The Intelligence Squared U.S. Foundation have been to provide a new forum for intelligent discussion, grounded in facts and informed by reasoned analysis; to transcend the toxically emotional and the reflexively ideological; and to encourage recognition that the opposing side has intellectually respectable views.
IQ2US struck a media partnership with the online magazine Slate that launches in this fall. The Rosenkranz Foundation initiated the Intelligence Squared U.S. Debate Series and continues to provide major support.
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