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Special Briefing

Special Briefing

Written by: Volcker Alliance & Penn IUR
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 Brought to you by the Volcker Alliance and the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Urban Research, Special Briefing examines the fiscal conditions of cities, counties, and states since the arrival of COVID-19 and how they’re impacted by decisions from Washington. We bring federal, state, and local government leaders together with prominent researchers, economists, and investors to reflect on today’s most salient and critical public finance issues. Be sure to subscribe to Special Briefing to stay up to date on the world of public finance. Learn more about the Volcker Alliance at: volckeralliance.org Learn more about Penn IUR at: penniur.upenn.edu Connect with us @VolckerAlliance and @PennIUR on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn Special Briefing is published by the Volcker Alliance, as part of its Public Finance initiatives, and Penn IUR. The views expressed on this podcast are those of the panelists and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Volcker Alliance or Penn IUR. Special Briefing is made possible by funding from The Century Foundation, the Volcker Alliance, and members of the Penn IUR Advisory Board.© 2026 Special Briefing Volcker Alliance & Penn IUR Economics Personal Finance Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Special Briefing on the Outlook for 2026: How States & Cities Will Adapt to Wrenching Change

    Special Briefing on the Outlook for 2026: How States & Cities Will Adapt to Wrenching Change
    Jan 9 2026
    As a year marked by fiscal uncertainty and shifting federal priorities comes to a close, state and local governments are grappling with structural changes. For a discussion of how federal retrenchment, artificial intelligence(AI)-driven growth, and sharply rising municipal market borrowing market will shape state and local finances in the year ahead, Penn IUR and the Volcker Alliance convened a panel of experts for “Special Briefing on the Outlook for 2026: How States & Cities Will Adapt to Wrenching Change” on December 16, 2025. William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Public Finance Adviser at the Volcker Alliance, and Susan Wachter, Co‑Director of Penn IUR, co‑hosted the Special Briefing. Panelists include: • Torsten Slok, Partner and Chief Economist at Apollo Global Management • Matt Fabian, Partner at Municipal Market Analytics • Eric Kim, Senior Director for U.S. Public Finance Ratings at Fitch Ratings NOTABLE QUOTES Slok: “The outlook for 2026 is actually beginning to look better and better. GDP growth will begin to accelerate over the coming quarters, and perhaps most importantly for this conversation and for muni bonds, the level of yields and the level of inflation are likely going to stay higher for longer, simply because we still have an inflation level that is at around 3%, not quite back to the Fed's 2% target.” Slok: “the trade war was dragging things down, but at the same time, AI and data center build-out was pushing things in the opposite direction” Slok: “the biggest risk to this outlook is that it comes with a likelihood that the Federal Reserve will have to come back and raise interest rates again.”  Fabian: “I am optimistic that issuance will continue to grow. We think that there's going to be another record year ahead of us in 2026, as far as dollars of bonds sold. We think that the market will internally remain well lubricated, with nice flows of investor cash into the sector.” Fabian: “bullish on issuance, bullish on distribution, less bullish on prices.” Kim: “Our sector outlook for U.S. state and local governments in 2026 is neutral. We expect credit conditions to be generally in line with the environment we saw in 2025. That doesn't mean it's entirely benign, and it doesn't necessarily mean things will be easy.” Kim: “our house view is still for economic growth. We don't anticipate a recession…but there’s definitely risk there. We're anticipating 1.9% economic growth for 2026, picking up a little bit in 2027 at 2.1%.” Fabian: “State and local governments will have the option of backfilling federal spending withdrawals, and that is likely to happen in many cases. State and local taxes rising in order to help pay for this is a given.” Kim: “There are going to be more challenges in having state governments really fill all the holes that are potentially going to be left.” Glasgall: “To paraphrase [Supreme Court] Justice Louis Brandeis in the 1930s, states are the laboratories of democracy. We're going to see different solutions emerge. AI is going to be part of this in delivering services. We're going to see different ways to deliver services at a lower cost… There are going to be a lot of opportunities for experimentation and creativity.”
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    55 mins
  • Special Briefing: AI in Government—More Efficiency but Fewer Workers?

    Special Briefing: AI in Government—More Efficiency but Fewer Workers?
    Nov 28 2025
    The launch of ChatGPT in 2022 sparked an “AI arms race” with trillions of dollars in investment and profound implications for productivity and employment. For a discussion of how generative AI and related technologies are reshaping public sector operations, workforce needs, and infrastructure planning, Penn IUR and the Volcker Alliance convened a panel of government, academic, and industry experts for “Special Briefing on AI in Government—More Efficiency but Fewer Workers” on November 20, 2025. William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser, Susan Wachter, Co- Director of Penn IUR and Wharton professor, and our expert panel discuss the state of America’s infrastructure and how some states are developing strategies to better identify and fund needed investments. Panelists include: • Jon Hartley, Policy Fellow, Hoover Institution • Leigh Palmer, Vice President, Google Public Sector LLC • Megan Kilgore, City Auditor, City of Columbus, Ohio • Howard Neukrug, Executive Director, The Water Center at Penn and Professor of Practice, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania • Thomas Sanchez, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University NOTABLE QUOTES Hartley: “As of the end of September, about 37 percent of American workers claim to be using generative AI at work.” Hartley: “I think it's still a TBD in terms of what the overall labor market impact is going to be, but I think we're just in some of the early innings of what's a much longer baseball game.” Palmer: “We're just at the tip of the iceberg on the potential for this technology.” Kilgore: “We need more GOATs—not sheep. People who are curious, courageous, and willing to climb into unfamiliar terrain as technology reshapes how we’re constantly working and ultimately serving the public.” Kilgore: “We need to view building human infrastructure as well as investing in forward-thinking AI technology as on the same level of vitality as investing in that traditional form of hard infrastructure… Equally as important, governments have to start investing in the skills necessary to allow our public sector leaders and our workers here to really use those tools well: data literacy, ethical reasoning, and creative problem solving. I do believe AI will absolutely redefine public service.” Neukrug: “AI-powered digital twins can simulate entire water networks, helping planners test technologies virtually before real-world deployment, saving time and resources.” Hartley: “Conditional on using generative AI to complete a task, roughly two-thirds of the time that would traditionally be dedicated to that task is saved."
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Strategies for Closing the US Infrastructure Gap

    Strategies for Closing the US Infrastructure Gap
    Oct 24 2025
    From the deteriorating Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn, New York, to the aging dams that supply about 70 percent of California’s water, America’s public infrastructure is badly in need of fixing. The nation is estimated to have accumulated about $1 trillion in deferred infrastructure maintenance, and even more will be needed to rebuild or retrofit roads, water plants, schools, and electrical grids to withstand the punishments of increasingly extreme weather. William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser, Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR and Wharton professor, and our expert panel discuss the state of America’s infrastructure and how some states are developing strategies to better identify and fund needed investments. Panelists include: • Geoffrey Buswick, Managing Director & Sector Leader in U.S. Public Finance, S&P Global Ratings • Camila Fonseca Sarmiento, Director of Fiscal Research, Institute for Urban and Regional Infrastructure Finance • Hughey Newsome, Chief Financial Officer, Sound Transit • Leslie Richards, Professor of Practice, City and Regional Planning, Weitzman School of Design and Former CEO of SEPTA • Fatima Yousofi, Senior Officer, The Pew Charitable Trusts. NOTABLE QUOTES Notable Quotes -Fatima Yousofi: “Just like we've seen with public pension underfunding in the past, these hidden costs can quietly accumulate for years until they really start crowding out spending priorities and straining government budgets.” -Fatima Yousofi: “Pew's research shows that states have accumulated more than $105 billion in unmet road and bridge repair needs since 1999. And at the same time, the EPA estimates that we might need to spend another $1.2 trillion over the next 20 years to modernize our drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems.” -Camila Fonseca Sarmiento: “In recent years, there has been an increase in the funding sources that are available to address deferred maintenance. I'm not saying that there is funding that is high for deferred maintenance. Actually, when we look into the 10 case studies, the funding that is allocated for deferred maintenance only covers 4% of the total need, so that is very low.” -Geoffrey Buswick: “In 25, we're on track for nearly $600 billion in municipal bond volume, and that is an all-time high mark after last year, which was also an all-time high mark.” -Geoffrey Buswick: “So, in the industry, we've become accustomed to federal government incentivizing capital projects through regulations, grants, project matching funds, but as these tools are being curtailed or cut at the federal level, more of the costs are likely to fall to other levels of government. This could further challenge this needed upkeep in spending. And at a time when the American Society of Civil Engineers is estimating about $3.7 trillion of capital needs above current funding levels over the next 10 years, simply to get to a level of good repair?” -Leslie Richards: “you can't maintain your way out of a 50-year-old fleet. At some point, the equipment simply needs to be replaced. And that's where the financial pressure comes in.” -Leslie Richards: “I often describe it this way, using capital funds for operations is like using your roof repair fund to pay the light bill. It keeps things working today, but the storm is still coming, and you need a strong roof. And SEPTA is not alone in this. Agencies all over the country are being forced into the same trade-offs.” -Leslie Richards: “we can't keep running 21st century service on 20th century equipment with 19th century funding models. We have to build a new approach, one that values reliability, transparency, and safety of the people who ride and operate these systems every day.” -Hughey Newsome: “agencies, as best as they can, have to think through how do you find other stable sources, given that, there's always going to be volatility coming from Washington.”
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    Less than 1 minute
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