June 1st & 2nd at the Hilton Harrisburg

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An action-oriented conference featuring a keynote address by New York Times columnist Dr. Paul Krugman at 5:30 PM on June 1, 2006

Imagine An Economy That's Not a Game of Chance

How well will my children live when they grow up?How well can I live as I grow older? Will my community thrive or decline in the future?

Pennsylvanians are worried. About maintaining their standard of living in an economy they know is changing rapidly. About paying for healthcare, homes, college and retirement and often about the health of their communities and region.

The There is a Better Way: Rebuilding Opportunity in Pennsylvania conference aims to show that if we come together, think together, act together, Pennsylvanians can solve our most pressing economic problems, worry less, and rebuild opportunity for all.

Learn About What Has Been Done and What Can Be Done to Rebuild Opportunity in Pennsylvania

The conference will showcase ideas and institutional experimentation advanced over the past 10 years by KRC and a wide range of partners, practitioners, and policymakers. The conference will promote dialogue about the actions necessary to implement positive change over the next 10 years.

An opening full conference panel will lay out the facts on inequality in Pennsylvania, point to institutional innovations -- in workforce development and unionism -- that put Pennsylvania ahead of other states in moving towards a new era of shared prosperity, and take a big-picture look at the challenges and opportunities for the next 10 years.

Five workshop tracks are tailored to the interests of diverse communities that must come together to implement pragmatic, cooperative solutions: workforce and economic development practitioners; local officials, state policymakers, and their staff; environmentalists and the faith community; philanthropists,

Track 1. Rebuilding Careers and Competitiveness will detail how Pennsylvania is forging training partnerships linked with key industries and occupations; explain how these partnerships can make businesses more competitive and provide new opportunities for workers; and challenge businesses, unions, and philanthropists to take responsibility for growing these partnerships into the learning and career advancement infrastructure of a powerful economy with a strong middle class.

Track 2. Rebuilding Economic Development will explore how Pennsylvania can shift its economic development investments away from smokestack chasing and toward strengthening and creating competitive advantages in key industries.

Track 3. Rebuilding Our Social Contract will explore how new union and management practices foster more productive and satisfying workplaces and can create better jobs and higher performance in whole industries; it will also consider the role of policy in maintaining family sustaining wages and benefits for all.

Track 4. Rebuilding Our Tax System for the 21st Century will explore how Pennsylvania can reform taxes to fund social, educational, and infrastructure needs as well as to promote economic growth.

Track 5. Rebuilding Civic and Leadership Networks for a New Prosperity will promote dialogue about KRC’s connections with advocates and activists, people of faith, students, educators, researchers, and educators and work to answer how KRC can interact more effectively with these communities to accelerate the move towards A Better Way.

The last of the workshop sessions will consist of facilitated dialogues. Participants will share what they learned out of the first three workshops and opening two plenary sessions, how they plan to translate this knowledge into action in their own practice over the next one to three years, and how KRC might help them play a larger role in building A Better Way.

The fate of Pennsylvania and its workers, families, and communities is not determined by technology, or markets, or by globalization: it is subject to our democratic control. The rise of inequality is a soluble problem. It is amenable to resolution through politics and public policy. The goal of this conference is to boost the movement to use politics and policy to get Pennsylvania back on track.

For details on the conference program and workshop titles for the various workshop tracks, please visit the conference schedule page.

Register Online Today

You can register on-line for the conference today by using our secure on-line registration form. Because space is limited, early registration is recommended.