Our nation’s youngest adults are at an historic disadvantage due to a generation of policy shifts away from the commitments that once built America’s strong middle class. Today's 20-somethings are the first Americans to face downward economic mobility compared to their parents' generation. Most young people today earn lower wages than their parents, yet pay more for education, health care, child care, and housing. In short, it has become significantly more difficult to work or educate one’s way into the middle class.

A new report entitled "The State of Young America," provides a comprehensive look at economic trends among young adults. An accompanying national poll of young adults reveals a population worried about their financial prospects and still reeling from the Great Recession. With the 2012 elections right around the corner, young adults identified key priorities for Congress and strong interest in making their voices heard at the ballot box.

Please join us for a conversation with policy experts and youth leaders about the economic challenges facing today’s young adults and the policy reforms that could help ensure our nation’s future middle class.

Join award-winning director Chris Weitz and star actor Demian Bichir in a special screening of A Better Life, a heart breaking tale of the lives of today’s immigrants.

From Chris Weitz, director of About a Boy, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and The Golden Compass, comes A Better Life – a poignant, multi-generational story about a father’s love and everything a parent will sacrifice to build a better life for his child. This highly acclaimed film puts on the silver screen the perils and tribulations that immigrants face every day across our nation.

Carlos Galindo (Demian Bichir) dreamed of good things for his wife and future son when they crossed the border into the U.S. But after years of hard work and little reward, Carlos’ only goal became to make sure his son Luis was given the opportunities he never had. After everything he’s worked for is suddenly taken away, father and son embark on a physical and spiritual journey where they discover something more important – that family is the most important part of the American dream.

The Center for American Progress, with special thanks to the Gala Hispanic Theater, presents a special screening of A Better Life, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session featuring Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan, Chris Weitz, Demian Bichir, and Angela Kelley.

President Obama has something going for him that few pundits recognize—he's a Teflon president. Entering the presidential election year, the word "scandal" does not mar his presidency. Yes, there are the "birther" inanities, uproars over "policy czars," and empty allegations of corruption. But even the Solyndra affair seems to have fizzled without the mainstream press invoking the "s" word on a front page.

This lack of scandal is now drawing attention in Washington. In his new cover story for the Washington Monthly, Jonathan Alter steps back and asks why it is that Obama has turned out to be a Teflon president—and how, in a tight race, that could help his reelection. Please join Alter and Think Progress editor Faiz Shakir for a panel discussion on “The Teflon Presidency of Barack Obama", cosponsored by Washington Monthly.

We often discuss the American Idea in terms of economic opportunity, human rights, and our responsibility abroad. Creativity and innovation are critical drivers of the American economy and arguments for the American Dream, and they've been recognized as such since copyright was enshrined in the Constitution. But the rise of digital media—and with it, new norms about content consumption and content theft—pose new challenges to the creative economy, and raise key issues about the future of the internet and international trade.

Join us for a conversation with former Senator and Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America Chris Dodd about the future of the creative industries and the relationship between technology and intellectual property in a global and rapidly-evolving marketplace.