that s #financialinclusion. so you re welcome to make any comments that you would like. so there are nearly 2 billion adults globally who do not have bank accounts. this makes it very difficult to access financial services, pay bills, or transfer money to relatives. in addition, it is hard in those circumstances to be an entrepreneur when you are outside the formal financial system. it s difficult to gain access to capital or form a business when you lack basic financial services. but the good news is that many nations have made commitments to expanding financial services for the poor. they understand that financial inclusion is vital to economic development and social inclusion. and so as a result they are developing financial inclusion policies and implementing a new framework that encourages inclusion. so today ryan lewis, john villasenor, and myself are launching our third annual brookings scorecard measuring progress on financial access and usage with the support of the
next, a look at how digital technologies have impacted financial inclusion in the u.s. and abroad. researchers at the brookings institution spoke about the data followed by a panel on the challenges that still exist. this is just under 90 minutes. good morning. i m gerald west, vice president of government stud sxwriz director of the center for technology innovation at the brookings institution. and i would like to welcome you to our forum on financial inclusion. and we are webcasting this event live. so we d like to welcome our viewe viewers. and also those of you who have tuned in via c-span. for those of you who are wishing to post comments, during the forum we have set up a twitter feed at #financialinclusion. that s #financialinclusion. so you re welcome to make any comments that you would like. so there are nearly 2 billion adults globally who do not have bank accounts. this makes it very difficult to access financial services, pay bills, or transfer money to relative
i couldn t afford insurance. when i first started my business business so when i first started my so when i first started my business i couldn t afford health insurance for myself or my employees but thanks to the health care law and small business-friendly provisions by qualified for the small business tax credit which helps me to obtain health insurance for my family and by employers as well as myself. affordable care act is one of the key components that helps my business grow. in fact we grew by 40% last year year. [applause] so it s good to know that we have check-ups that are in place. we can have our check-ups without a big concern of outlandish costs. owning a small business is like having a second family and providing health insurance makes the family a little more secure. it makes me happy to know the constructive work that was set in motion years ago has helped many american families and workers today. it s good to know that if i get sick the premiums will go u
here today, that s an increase of over 70%. debt now represents 101% of the g.d.p. let s put this in context, americans owe more money than the value of all the goods and services that are produced right here in the united states in one year. that level of debt quite honestly is unsustainable. is nt just me saying that. c.b.o. says our high and rising debt would have serious negative consequences on the economy and the federal budget. admiral mike mullen said, the single biggest threat to our national security is the debt. america is faced with two paths. one to continue down the path of blissful neglect or on the other path to seek an honest solution to it. instead of solving our debt problems, president obama has committed to exacerbating them. the president s budget would add $8.5 trillion to our already staggering debt. but despite new taxes in addition the obama s budget never ever balances. it is a vision that confines our children and grandchildren to heavy debt and ta
this has led to some interesting speculation about was the ship set up for attack by churchill or someone in the admiralty. i found no smoking memo. there was nothing from churchill to somebody in the admiral seel nothing like that exists. sunday night at 8:00. next, a senate hearing on commercial drones. when this representatives from the faa amazon.com. witnesses from the faa, amazon.com. this hearing is just under two hours. afterwards, we plan to open up the phone lines to get your feedback on the federal regulation of drones. before i offer any opening statement, news is still coming in i want to a knowledge the tragedy in europe this morning. my thoughts go out to the friends and families of those affected. we will be monitoring this as the situation develops. i know all of us are very sad to hear about this tragedy. with that, i appreciate all of you being here today. i want to thank you because today s hearing represents the second of an active spring sche