To the Editor:

It’s unfortunate that we have not seen more coverage of an unprecedented event in our nation’s history, occurring as we speak covered in more detail here in The Sun. The stimulus bill currently being debated before Congress is massive in scale and scope on a level before seen in our nation’s history.

We have all read about the programs of the New Deal in our history books and how they permanently changed the role of government in our society. Today we face a bill that even in inflation-adjusted dollars dwarfs those game-changing social programs.

This legislation will directly affect our generation not only because these programs will be rolling out over the next decade, but because the burden of financing these endeavors will fall on our shoulders. It is important that we engage in a public dialogue about how this bill’s passage could affect our present and future. Already students and professors have spoken out on the issue. An advertisement will run this week in The Sun featuring the signatures of over 200 professors, including four from Cornell arguing against the bill completely. On Wednesday, students will coordinate educational events across the Ivy League about the potential effects of the legislation. But this is an issue that we all must face together, not simply a select few working for the cause.

It’s right time that this important conversation be jump-started into the consciousness of Cornell.

Andrew Loewer ’09

President, College Libertarians at Cornell University