Is is im pleased to introduce todays Program Featuring the former california governor jerry brown during the q a portion of the program we will do our best to take as many questions as we can. It is now my pleasure to introduce the founder and ceo of Writers Block thank you to the World Affairs council to cohost the event and for asking Writers Block on the first ever day with additional event. I would urge you to purchase a copy such a great biography of one of the true visionaries, one of the most extraordinary leaders. The captors of vision for california, his ambition and profound moral grounding. Its always been grounded by his activist principles notwithstanding his respect for tradition and his passion in the potential. He explores the complexity around the unconventional and political instincts and we are reminded of the governors independence in the party politics. What drove him is the notion of the pragmatic idealistic with california should look like on the road. Down the road. This impacted the National Democratic party from immigration to Climate Change and he makes me extraordinarily proud to be a californian. Thank you all for joining us. Find the link on the website. I am so delighted to introduce you to the former governor jerry brown. Good morning, everyone. I want to begin by thanking all of you for participating thank you for all youve done to and its been interesting i want to get to all of the audience questions. I dont want to monopolize you but i did want to ask you a couple of questions and give you the chance to address what is going on in the world. Particularly at this sort of place where theres this ongoing and accelerating debate about how to balance the Health Imperatives with the economic designer to return to some kind of normal. When testifying this morning he fears some may move too quickly but you have weathered your share of the crisis. How do you balance this year particularly to see the economy move again and to be in the position of a se to try to sendt a message at the beginning of this year, 2020. Then they are quarantined and they waved for their own separate spot a. A. We have denial, delay. The best description of the way the current president handled things is to take the description of what china has done that here we r. So what do you do, you trace and isolate. With which mcconnell and anywhere else. The federal government hasnt used the power that it has to mobilize the industry and no one can tell me south korea can make someone else but this is the great thing between the powerhouse. We are an innovative powerhouse so the fact that they dont have the tests we need not by the hundredpay thehundreds of thouse tens of billions every day leads to the problem that we are now at. Then if they are willing to. You get in a massive numbers of speech have the congress should be demanding that immobilized for the pragmatic decisionmaking i think back to roosevelt he said no more private cars and liberty ships and that is exactly what happened to the. The as we sit here today there is a question if you were told restaurants or Retail Stores were open, would you go out tonight . This particular town that i am in has a way had to particular cases but nonethele nonetheless, as long as the virus is circulating, being here with many of the people isnt wise. People that are more vulnerable whether it is a sporting event, Movie Theater or restaurant. Bring to the hardware store, restaurants, Something Like that, yeah but you have a mask, do it quickly, separate to ensure maximum safety. So it will be determined by the governor and the former analysis many are undecided themselves. Some are being more exuberant and risktaking as we see in different parts of the country that i would say it is going to be a slow move without the increased testing. One of the questions that is going to be playing out as the recovery. As it has been noted it is going to go very quickly right now. Now the question is on the recovery. Certain policies have sanctuary policies. What is the role of the federal government in this . If you want to turn the country back you dont go around and say i like what you are doing or i dont like your politics or, we need the whole country back, we need to follow roosevelt. He said we are going to try something and if it doesnt work we will try something else. Bold persistent experimentation. We need to. To get this economy going by so many people that requires massive federal spending and investment credit to clear objectives. One, to supply the purchasing power many no longer have. Thethey needed for their familis and themselves. Income maintenance, number two, investment in infrastructure whether it is roads and rail or schools or hospitals closing there are trillions of dollars of expendable projects. Why . Very simply that the man has collapsed. It is the basis of an economy. You have to have somebody in the supply paying for it. 70 is on consumers. Many are not exercising their capacity therefore the federal government must come in and supply that. It ought to take into account all of the problems we have whether it is the maldistribution, the impending challenge of the climate disruption all these things are on the table. If we cant do the that right is going to be difficult. So there we are in the campaign with a country that has to step up starting with the president and going down. There is cooperation. We are getting more testing but we need something much bigger. Even roosevelt didnt rise to the locatio occasion at the leve economy required to. We know that in the late 30s the second wave of unemployment came back and it wasnt until world war ii with the mobilization of the entire economy and soldiers being hired because the economy going. That is now what is required. A but certainly the Domestic Campaign intervention of the very best that america stands for. Any less the odds are that it will not be pretty. Do you have any reason to believe trump is capable of this . [inaudible] i dont put anything past him. They have a belief in this thing they call the market, and the market as most acolytes say doesnt function well with interference and its more than a little of a role for the state with a great intervention. Right now we are more on this round in keynesian and i think that will cause great heartache in the years and months ahead. You mentioned Climate Change and i would like to hear your thoughts more on that me ask about one aspect that seems to run in common. Theres at least a segment of the country that doesnt accept that this is a Serious Health crisis. What do you make of that and lets talk about the Climate Change also where does this come from and how do we deal with it . The so you are asking a we have a lot of people that hated roosevelt and he had his own antagonisms but it has gotten far worse. First of if you are a republican in california 80 to 90 inclined to believe and trust trump in the democrat is probably 10 . If you are republican according to a poll 37 are about the Health Aspects. Whereas if you ask democrats, 97 are worried about the virus and Health Aspects of their we see what caused it, the function of the income maldistribution propaganda but also the emergence of the people of color and assertion of the greater and equal role in Different Countries of the world taking on a greater role in every way that is causing angst and anxiety. The because with the antagonism to obamacare came into article three and indicated a something new, Something Different and something unamerican even those getting the benefits of the Affordable Care act. So theres a lot of factors that historians and analysts can come up with the changes ar but the e being felt disproportionately by different groups whether the people are latino, africanamerican, european, caucasian, male, female, rich, poor, we are seeing different optics. They are causing tremendous polarization. This will divide society into this society that is in a very exuberant way so i would say we have a love of challenges in the leadership thats no not being e by the governors of those in a position of washington. Host polarization certainly as you say what strikes me as different about this moment is that it applies to the way it believes in science itself as a matter of partisan difference upon which to disagree. How does the polarization i dont know that people are thinking of science. [inaudible] i dont know if it is science or the belief and trust in this mentioning of the market and a the market faces a totally new world when it has a government induced price on carbon and cars have to meet certain zero pollution standards and all the other things needed so we can avoid the worst Climate Change is so it is a scientific matter or a belief in wealth and money into the economy will miss the central pillar of the republicans. There are some religious ideas, the right to life and other moral issues, but theres nothing so unifying as attack is, more textbook, lets tax back to the. Of democrats dont want to pay more taxes than are needed but its a kind of magical belief that you can reduce taxes for Government Support for more among most republican are independent and democrat said the belief is different for democrats, extremely different from republicans that are in between in some fashion so that is to challenge if you were asked. Its working through the decide to find a common theme to bring people together because suddenly the world is more dangerous both to independent macs with Climate Change into the independent Financial System in all of the new technologies that have so much more power and certainly a business that is accelerating even in the midst of the crisis but congress is considering tens of billions more dollars to confront china, iran, russia and all the other adversaries to boost the defense industry. I think we are in a very difficult environment with luck to get us through without a greater disaster than we have seen. I know we are going to audience questions at the moment, but before we do, moving ahead to a point where things have settled down how does life seem different to you . [inaudible] does it affect travel, politics, meetings . What are some of the ways life will be different . You know its different now but want to know over the years imagined a year or two out and its been contained, the moment of crisis has subsided does life just go back to normal . That is a different question [inaudible] we get that its going to be hard to distribute a. Of the airline isnt going to go back to normal. There is going to be a change. But it is a larger point. Its about how we want to live or how they must live. Remember it wasnt that long ago but nothing like the state of the practice so i never went to europe and yet today many are flying all over the world so they dont change the. We wanted more [inaudible] month after month, can we do that . We have to learn from the pandemic you must take the injured seriously. It isnt me versus you, who is going up and who is going down. Its mutual. A for the winners and losers for all of the systems we have created and we have to find neutrality and commonality. The. To russia and india with some very common threads, Climate Change would be another. The at least for many many horrors beyond those which we are encountering today. We have the highspeed rail and airplanes and factories. The it is a recognition that we are not isolated but the germs and viruses spread around the world and we have to find a common leap forward for china, the u. S. , india. Some ways we coexist with russ russia. Somehow we invited a nuclear war and had a lot of conflict and issues on the periphery of them had a way of maintaining the worst of the nationalistic. The world is small enough and interesting enough i would see a dark future and if we cant wake up and take this from the totalitarian to the interacting from us or them. We have so many questions coming in. Unfortunately we will not be able to get to all of them but thank you so much. The first question i would like to ask to comment on the time is the state chair of the california Democratic Party and efforts to Campaign Finance and efforts to improve the registration and voting reform. How can we improve the finance and voting process in 2020 and she says shes fortunate to have the opportunity to work and meet with chairman brown and he encouraged rock the vote in 1990. That is quite a talk on the whole system for how people in their communications and how people vote. But as is a kind of groundbreag experience with a. I got a real appreciation of handson. The democrats i think were nine Percentage Points and know what its like 20. Because of the beliefs and political movements and the different pathways so voting is primarily a choice about the the futures and candidates and values. Thats number one. Sameday voting, absentee voting that was mechanically challenging but they are now being ironed out the. You can show up not far from where you live but now on the financing that is more difficult. The Supreme Court had shared the speech and politics endquotes thousands or millions of dollars on tv ads or mail or billboards or social media communications. There is no way to change that which i would say in my lifetime i would take that off the table. There could be ways to. I once proposed as the secretary of state that there be one hour of debate at the same time and that is before we had the challenge that we have today into the certain number of mailings be given a. Getting money out right now it s difficult and i think the best for Bernie Sanders or biden or Elizabeth Warren shows that cane done. I would say that only reform in the short term is leadership, imagination, eloquence. Thats where we have to go and there is no mechanical solution we can see coming out anytime soon. Thank you so much. There seems to be a growing rift in the United States between the coastal states especially california and new york versus the central states. Do you see this growing or healing in the future if donald trump is reelected or not . Things have a tendency to move in a certain direction and then reverse the. As it gets far, further apart, i think people perceive that as a problem. Mitch mcconnell is perceiving that and people on the left perhaps but i think we do need a unifier. To activate the electorate we need is someone who reaches beyond the particular issues that are currently the stuff of campaigning. They wanted to appeal independently can be enthusiasm. I would now conclude but for the more fervent people it is more satisfying because it means the most exciting issues on the right or the left could be adopted to bring people together it will take a more general appeal to the sharp edges of the left and right movement will have to be softened and published down and that is by politics isnt all about satisfying and politicians are not always popular but that kind of spoofing collaboration. If we have too many battles we will not have any gallantry or moderation. Guest delete the thank you. We understand you are advising the governor along with other california governors. Is the group in agreement on action is to take and is the governor in accord with the groups recommendations ask that is a nice question that there is somewhere around 100 people. We are asked for our fault and we give them. But the governor like any governor, a [inaudible] he has access to anyone so he has good advice and a lot of experience with and what we are doing in california is excelle excellent. There is this big conundrum why cant the indispensable number of tests actually be provided . Is that the businesses, the manufacturing . To me we know talking the last two hours, more tests. Hundreds of thousands every day, school children, health workers, anybody whos talked to people. Various testing a. Its that simple and we can get this thing rolling. The governor knows that and is doing everything he can. How do you evaluate compared between your first and second stint as as governor . Is somewhat mysterious. California voted for nixon and kennedy, republican more often than not. The republicans took a big stand into the longer term certainly alienated but the demographics are changing. I think 11 . It might have been a little more but not all that much. Now its 49 said that is the big difference. Maybe certain conservatives move out. I think california is more prosperous and the republicans are getting a good dose and represent a big spot of the christian world. I think theres a lot of anxiety with the emergence of the people of color and women and different ways i think that is creating anxiety and that isnt going over as well in california. A lot of politics is just who you are. Or your Life Experience. California was almost 58, 59 democrats. So either way its changed. The trump will have an effect on the electorate and its hard to say exactly where we are going but i would say they will wake up and becoming more progressive party. This might include you, jim. Can you talk about how the band of tomorrow came about. Did you work closely on the book and have you read it . So i guess that is to both of you. For about five years with the closest cooperation, appreciate it, governor. We met 15, 20 times long conversations on a range of subjects. The governor did read the book when it was nearly complete and i asked him to fact check the book and he generously did so. I asked him to not engage with arguments or conclusions of the because its important that its my book about him and not an autobiography. They both read it and i appreciated their willingness to what thelisten to the story thet i saw it. Host anything you want to add to that . Its either self denigrating or selfcongratulatory. Very nice. Next question. And to increase Carbon Emissions with the coal industry do subsidize a lot of other things. The world has to go much further and that indication that if you dont seize the moment when you can then you pay a much bigger price. So the investment and the new deal and the intervention has to have climate as a key criteria in terms of the quality and then to go down to help people of more modest means. The schools will be cut back and in california with the federal investment. And then job training and the administration that roosevelt had the Constellation Court of california thats the way it was at the young people to appreciate so there are a lot of ideas and for those four years to go in the opposite direction and then there will be much more force if there is the alternative to trump we all hope that there is no guarantee if we move in the direction of that energy not going against the right and inequality and with the Nuclear Arms Race and add a new level against russia and china and 60 billion with hardware and then to try to stop the virus. Our priorities are few in a dangerous way. I would like to see all of that as part of this debate. And this is in attracting. Its a very dangerous and difficult. And i am hopeful that the partisans through the jungle but the congress and the senate in particular can rise to an occasion with the judges before that goes downhill. And then to raise her hopes and aspirations. Thank you. To say im a current undergraduate student i worry about the historical trends in many states k12 and Higher Education support being cut in times that we are about to enter thinks your leadership we are in a better place then we were in 2008 but how can we ensure we can be supported during the rough road ahead especially affording school its harder than before. California is a great help otherwise replacing real problems i would say. And finally to deeply evaluate the whole cost structure and that Business Model proves a lot of things but its more than what others are required to pay so with discussions of the president of the university to open up some of that is using Digital Technology theres more than one way to do these things the university is very adverse to offer tens of thousands and its very difficult to prove it so were in the era of limits theyre not to be harsh but opportunities and there was a time in london i was told and those protocols to Design Change will on whether that is change in our cars we need a change to have people close to where they work and transport and we need to change the university from the arms race to one that is more limited doing the research that without tuition increases and also doing research at the same time so for some is not an example to look at our find another one but that course is not sustainable without a rising burden and that would be very wrong. On the topic of cars you saw elon must decided to open the tesla factory against state orders early and how should his defiance of the governors Closure Order be handled . You have to have rule of law we have rules and everyone has to follow them. Im not offering public advice to the current governor. Fair enough. At the governor please reflect to the first two terms compared to when he returned to the governorship . The difference . I said the first time so that means my Life Experience so i also had time to reflect on the. So i would say developed a greater insight to people just living and working and the variety that help me size up the situation and quicker so i would say i was more prepared. Obviously how many people get a do over . That is extraordinary. I get a much better feel also with the danger of Climate Change as well i do realize in 75 we had the recession with the Arab Oil Embargo so that was a time that i thought that now all of a sudden california exploded. Google, facebook and then steve jobs from 1974 we have that explosion of migration from asia and mexico and india and all over the world so all of that opened up technological possibilities that i appreciated my second time around. So to be a genuine threat to Climate Change and also with Renewable Energy and that Technological Prowess that technology is the danger but is also the source that we need to make. Thank you so much. Our final question, how do you maintain hope for our society that has infected politics and society as a whole . Very exuberant. My life is very rich and very full. And that Doomsday Clock chairman and executive committee and we pull out the Doomsday Clock. And now we are closer to the apocalypse. That closer to doomsday and the oak trees that are flourishing and just to be here and be a part of it. And so to think about it down the road do what you can do in the moment that you ask. Thank you so much we will turn it back over to you. It is hard to top that i just want to say also thank you for participating. Thank you very much. So i thank you for a fun and interesting and sobering discussion and it was terrific also thank you to our Community Partners for their support today and as the governor told you please by his book with special Discount Deals at the end of the program and the other World Affairs council that we can continue to provide everybody stay safe thank you. Representative omar democrat from minnesota has a new book out. It is called this is what america looks like. Congresswoman from thank you for seeing us on the tv there are two characters in your book. Who are they . My grandfather and father