John L. Palmer currently holds the title of ‘University Professor’ at Syracuse, where he was previously dean of the Maxwell School and professor of economics and public administration for 15 years. He also recently served two terms, from 2000-2008, as a presidentially-appointed public trustee for the Medicare and Social Security programs. After receiving his Ph.D. in economics from Stanford in 1971, and prior to moving to Syracuse in 1988, Dr. Palmer held several different positions in Washington, DC, including senior fellow of The Brookings Institution and of The Urban Institute and assistant secretary for planning and evaluation of the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Palmer has published thirteen books and a multitude of professional and popular articles on a wide range of topics related to economic, budgetary and social policy concerns. He has provided expert testimony to Congress on numerous occasions and served as a consultant to various government agencies, private foundations, and universities. He also has been an officer of several national professional associations and is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and past president of the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI). His other professional activities include serving on various committees of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)—for whom he co-chairs a joint NAS/NAPA project on The Fiscal Future of the U. S.—the visiting committee of The Brookings Institution, the council of academic advisors of The American Enterprise Institute, and the research advisory board of the Committee for Economic Development (CED). He received his B.A. in mathematics from Williams College.