Leading financial-reform expert Phil Angelides warned students, faculty and the general public of a double-dip recession while talking economics Thursday evening in Pugh Hall.
"We will never close our long-term deficit problem - which is what we have - until we put people back to work in this country," said Angelides, chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.
The U.S. Federal Government commissioned the group to explore causes for current financial and economic conditions.
Angelides was the first speaker in the Bob Graham Center for Public Service's fall lecture series.
Former Gov. Bob Graham and moderator Dominic Calabro, from Florida TaxWatch, joined Angelides on the panel.
Graham said the key to a possible dip lies in the American people's confidence in the political economy.
"This country is going to have to get back to what I learned in economics class here at the University of Florida: a mixed economy," he said.
Audience members asked questions regarding the possibility of another recession and the current state of the housing market.
In response to Calabro's remark that the current state of mind of Americans is a "moral hazard," Graham cited a restructured view of the housing bubble.
"Don't buy into the belief that housing prices will only go up. That formula worked the past decade of exponential growth - but it collapsed," Graham said.
Guests included former gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink and Paul D'Anieri, the dean of the UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
After the discussion, Sink said the most fascinating part of the evening was the restatement of the report's findings that the economic crisis was completely avoidable.
"I'm just distressed about Florida," Sink said. "Think of the homes, unemployment, the loss of 24,000 small businesses, and it all got started because of this sub-prime crisis."
Phil Angelides, who chaired the U.S. Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, discussed the current economic and financial crisis to students and faculty in Pugh Hall Thursday night.
