The Fiscal Outlook And Housing Affordability

Tom Barkin, president and CEO of the Richmond Fed, chats with Steve about Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium. They also discuss Ken Rogoff’s lunchtime remarks about the end of low real interest rates and what that means for the US fiscal outlook. They wrap up with reflections on lessons learned about housing (un)affordability by driving around Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, and North and South Carolina.

Recorded on August 28, 2026.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Tom Barkin is president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and a member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed’s chief monetary policy body. Previously, he was a senior partner and CFO at McKinsey & Company, where he also oversaw McKinsey’s offices in the Southern United States. He holds bachelor’s, MBA, and law degrees from Harvard University.

SOURCES

• “In Our Time,” keynote speech by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, 28 August 2026.
• “Jackson Hole: Economist Rogoff Says a `Shock’ Needed to Trigger Action on Debt,” Wall Street Journal, 28 August 2026.
• "How Do Small Towns Grow?" with Tom Barkin on Economics, Applied, 15 October 2025.