. >>> former congressman ben weber is an economic adviser to presidential candidate mitt romney.e debated economic policy with afl-cio president richard trumka yesterday at a conference hosted by bloomberg news. it also included the president of the richmond federal reserve bank, jeffrey lacker. this is just under an hour. [applause] >> we do want to move on to our next panel as well. we're going to continue our focus on the economy, talk about the economic agenda with a slightly more political spin here with our next panelist. want to call up to the stage paula dwyer, the editor of bloomberg view, and she's going to be moderating our discussion. paula, if you want to head on up with your screw as the chairs get -- your crew as the chairs get set up. joining paula, a lot of us know him as the former chief economist at the international monetary fund, and he is the author of "white house burning: the founding fathers, our national debt and why it matters to you." joining simon johnson on stage, richard trumka, and right behind him is ben weber, a former member of congress, republi