AUGUST 26, 1998 Tony Perkins "Silicon Valley's Biggest Fish Stories"

Anthony B. Perkins is CEO and editor-in-chief of Red Herring Communications, Inc., a San Francisco-based media company that provides strategic news, analysis, and opinion on the business of technology. The companys flagship product is Red Herring, the only international monthly magazine that focuses on the business of technology. The company also currently produces Red Herring Online, a Web-based daily news service, and executive conferences including the Venture Market series, Herring on Hollywood, Herring on the Enterprise, and NDA98, an invitation-only executive summit on the future of technology business.

Mr. Perkins appears weekly on CNN Financial Network's Digital Jam show. He also provides commentary and analysis on technology and trends for CNN, CNBC, ZDTVs News programs and Silicon Spin, and European Business News.

Ranked as one of the top ten technology/business journalists by Marketing Computers magazine, Mr Perkins writes guest columns for various industry publications and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences. His public activities include serving on the board of American Entrepreneurs for Economic Growth in Washington, D.C., and as founding chairman of the Churchill Club in Palo Alto, California.

Prior to launching Red Herring Communications in 1993, Mr. Perkins was the founder and CEO of Upside Publishing Co., and was vice president of business development at Silicon Valley Bank.

SEPTEMBER 2, 1998 Mark Spiegel The Asian Crisis

Mark is an economist with the Fed and was recommended to us by Jack Beebee. He is a specialist on the financial crisis in South East Asia and will be presenting us with an up to the minute evaluation of developments in that region.

SEPTEMBER 9, 1998 Ethan Berkowitz State Politics from the Inside

Place of Birth: San Francisco, California

Occupation: State Representative, 20th Legislature Committee assignments: House Judiciary, House State Affairs, House Special Committee on Economic Development, House Special Committee on Telecommunications, House Finance Subcommittees on Revenue and Commerce and Economic Development

Education: Harvard College B.A. Government and Economics (with honors); Cambridge University Masters of Philosophy, Polar Studies; University of California, Hastings College of Law, J.D

SEPTEMBER 16, 1998

Cynthia M. Fagnoni Director, Income Security Issues U.S. General Accounting Office

Topic: GAO'S ROLE IN INFORMING: The Social Security Solvency Debate

ABOUT THE SPEAKER : Cindy Fagnoni is Director of Income Security Issues for the Health, Education, and Human Services Division. Ms. Fagnoni provides senior leadership over issues such as Social Security reform; public and private pensions; welfare reform; disability programs; and child care, support, and welfare programs. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Ms. Fagnoni holds masters' degrees from Columbia University in international affairs and from George Mason University in public administration.

ABOUT THE TOPIC : A national debate is now under way to identify how best to solve Social Security's long-term financing problem. The system's annual cash surpluses are currently projected to decline beginning around 2008, and by 2013 benefit payments are expected to exceed cash revenues. By 2032, without corrective legislation, the trust funds are expected to be depleted, leaving insufficient funds to pay the current level of benefits. While the financing problem is not immediate, analysts agree that it should be addressed soon to mitigate the impacts of whatever changes are made to correct it by spreading them out over a longer period and allowing participants more time to adjust.

The policy debate surrounding the Social Security program has progressed rapidly, and policymakers expect Social Security reform proposals to receive serious consideration in the next Congress. However, because actions to ensure long-term Social Security solvency will affect the nation and its economy for years to come, policymakers will need to make decisions with full knowledge and debate of the trade-offs inherent in each proposed change. Recognizing the need to more fully understand the range of options and their implications, the Congress and the Administration have conducted forums, debated proposals in congressional hearings, and established working groups to explore options and develop possible solutions.

The U. S. General Accounting Office (GAO) is playing a key role in providing policymakers with information and analysis on Proposed changes and the implications they hold for individuals, for the long-term viability of the Social Security system, and for the national economy. In a recently-issued report, for example, GAO provided an overview of the financing problem and examined the different approaches being advanced to address the program's future solvency. In recent testimony in Congress, GAO provided the impact on the Social Security program and on state and local governments of mandated coverage for state and local government employees. GAO currently has work underway that examines the implications of creating individual retirement accounts--a proposed reform that has attracted significant attention and support--and assesses the ossible effects of reforms on specific population groups, such as minorities. GAO's work is designed to both inform the current Social Security debate as well as establish the key implementation and evaluation questions that will need to be addressed once reforms are enacted.

SEPTEMBER 23, 1998

New Program Chairman Stanley Berneys First Speaker; More information to follow

SEPTEMBER 30, 1998 NO MEETING

-- wex (wex4@SLIP.NET), August 21, 1998