Local News

Courtesy Photo

Panelists to draw correlations between nation's depressions

By Paul LeBlanc GVL Staff Writer
10/11/2009

A year after the nation's financial system almost came to a complete standstill, the economy remains a contentious topic of discussion on television stations and at kitchen tables across the country.

In light of public interest on the subject, the debate will come to Grand Valley State University this week.

The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies will host a debate between Jonathan Alter of "Newsweek" magazine and Amity Shlaes of Bloomberg online news tonight at 7 at the Fountain Street Church in downtown Grand Rapids.

The two nationally-renowned journalists will square off in the presentation "Nothing to Fear? What the 1929 Economic Collapse Can Teach Us Today."

The debate will focus on the financial disaster that led the country into the Great Depression in the '30s.

Alter and Shlaes will voice their opinions on the causes of and solutions to that crisis, as well as relate the lessons learned then to today's economic concerns.

But the debate will not end there.

Tomorrow at 7:30 a.m., GVSU will host a panel of economists in the Pew Campus' Loosemore Auditorium.

The event, part of the Peter F. Secchia breakfast lecture series, will focus on the country's current economic predicament and what policies should be favored in addressing it.

Panelists will include GVSU economics professors Dan Giedeman, Hari Singh and Paul Isely, chair of the economics department.

The panel will also include Lawrence Reed, president of the Foundation for Economic Education; Harry Veryser, graduate program director in economics at University of Detroit Mercy; and Gary Wolfram, professor of political economy at Hillsdale College.

Giedeman said he expects the debate to focus on the role government should take in helping to mitigate the effects of the economic downturn.

He said he will argue the government has a necessary role to play in the economy.

"The question is: how far should it go?" Giedeman said. "Some debate exists over whether tax cuts or direct spending are the best methods, but I would say overall that the government has a role to play in our economic recovery."

Giedeman added he believes government actions over the past year have not been perfect. But overall, he said, they have had an positive effect on the economic climate in the country.

The panel will feature a number of individuals with a wide range of opinions on the subject, including those who disagree with current government policies.

Nathan Wickland, a marketing major at GVSU, said he hopes to hear a number of alternative methods for economic recovery.

"I would hope that debate panelists would mention lowering business tax rates, as the United States is at a competitive disadvantage with other countries as a result of its being so high," Wickland said.

pleblanc@lanthorn.com

Comments: