Why is EVERYTHING So Expensive?

Doors will open at 5:30 PM. The event will start at 6 PM, followed by a post-event reception.

Groceries. Rent. Childcare. Utilities. Health Care. Under both Democratic and Republican administrations, the cost of living keeps climbing and no one seems to agree on what’s driving the squeeze or how to fix it. As we head into a new year with midterm elections on the horizon, tariffs shaking global markets, a disrupted farm economy, and the national debt at historic highs, this program asks a simple question: why is everything so expensive, and what does that mean for communities like Kansas City? Join American Public Square for a candid, fact-checked conversation about the forces shaping our wallets. Our panel of economic experts will unpack the pressures behind the rising cost of living and explore solutions we may be overlooking. 

Gordon Gray is Vice President for Budget Analysis at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Prior to joining Peterson, Gordon served as the founding Executive Director for the Pinpoint Policy Institute, a policy research nonprofit. Before launching Pinpoint, he served as the Vice President for Economic Policy at the American Action Forum, where his portfolio included the federal budget, taxes, the macroeconomic outlook, and general economic policy matters. Gordon previously served as a senior policy advisor to Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and was policy director during Senator Portman’s 2010 campaign. Before joining the campaign, he was a professional staff member for the Senate Budget Committee, and previously served as deputy director of domestic and economic policy for Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, and spent several years with the American Enterprise Institute. Gordon has testified as an expert witness before multiple committees in Congress on a range of domestic and economic policy areas, and has provided commentary and analysis appearing in print, TV, radio, and other media. Gordon is a graduate of Tufts University.

Esther L. George served as president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City from 2011 to January 2023, when she faced mandatory retirement from the Federal Reserve. As president, George led a workforce of more than 2,000 employees located at the Bank’s Kansas City office and Branch offices in Denver, Oklahoma City, and Omaha who supported the Kansas City Fed’s role in national monetary policy, financial institution supervision, and the provision of payment and financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. Treasury.