Everyone’s familiar with Tom Brokaw’s publications that idealize the proverbial “greatest generation,” referencing the generation of Americans who won the second world war, reshaped the world’s political order, built the American middle class, laid the interstate highway system, integrated our schools, passed the civil rights act, challenged us to put a man on the moon and to build a great society, all while generating untold sums of wealth and making America the economic envy of the world.

The reason that the American financial system collapsed is far more fundamental than a lack of regulation, the pervasiveness of greed and irrational exuberance, or even the rewards implicit in the structure of our financial interactions. The contemporary model of business education (and more broadly, social values) should be blamed.

That’s right — as much as I’d like not to admit it — the MBA education is (extrapolating from our observation of the current financial crisis) far from sufficient in a globally interdependent 21st century economy that has never before been quite so complex. If it were, our nation’s business leaders would have seen this coming — and they would have stopped it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Savoring his first big victory in Congress, President Barack Obama on Saturday WASHINGTON (AP) — Savoring his first big victory in Congress, President Barack Obama on Saturday celebrated the newly passed $787 billion economic stimulus bill as a "major milestone on our road to recovery. "

Officials said he would sign the measure on Tuesday in Denver.

Speaking in his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said, "I will sign this legislation into law shortly, and we'll begin making the immediate investments necessary to put people back to work doing the work America needs done."

As spring semester gets under way, the worries of most Cornell seniors are no longer whether the bump on their crotch is an ingrown hair or a herpes sore, but where — and even if — they will work once they graduate. Conversations with students across majors have confirmed that the state of the economy has profoundly affected their prospects. With layoffs of qualified workers at an all time high — inexperienced labor, regardless of if it is Ivy educated, is not what employers seek.

You may want to hold off on that new car or think twice before booking that Spring Break trip to Acapulco, or even stop yourself from shelling out the $7.00 for a Collegetown bagel, because despite the House’s approval of the economic stimulus package, experts warn that there will be no quick solution to the financial crisis. 

Yesterday, just over 40 people gathered at the Tompkins County Public Library to hear a panel of experts discuss what President Barack Obama must do to begin to right the economy. The event, which was sponsored by the Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America, featured four speakers who offered unique insight into different aspects of the issue. 

Facing charges of fraud, lawsuits from investors and an impending divorce, Marcus Schrenker faked his own death in a plane crash in the Alabama wilderness. He attempted to fool FAA officials with fake calls of mayday, claiming that his windshield had “imploded” and bloodied his face. In reality, he parachuted to safety and sped away on a motorcycle he had stashed away in a storage unit. Schrenker was later spotted running into the woods near a hotel in Harpersville before he was captured.

In an effort to help alleviate the economic strain on customers, Wegmans Food Market Inc. has decided to make prescriptions for oral antibiotics free for its Club Shoppers. The program will run during the months when usage of such medicine peaks, from Jan. 7 to March 31.

“We realize that customers and employers are feeling the pinch of economy,” Jeanne Colleluori, Wegmans communications and media specialist. “One way to help people lead healthier lives is by relieving the economic pressure of their pharmaceutical requirements.”

Although Wegmans will not divulge the financial cost of this initiative, the company expects that its customers will save $1 million.

Wegmans recently announced that it would offer free generic antibiotics to customers with prescriptions, following in the footsteps of other supermarket chains such as Giant and Stop & Shop. While this is a positive measure for families otherwise unable to afford antibiotics, the time and money spent on this program could be better spent preventing disease in the first place.

Although Bernard L. Madoff’s $50 billion ponzi scheme has burdened many institutions of higher education with unforeseen losses in their endowments, Cornell has yet to report any losses incurred by the scandal.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Madoff on Dec. 11 and federal prosecutors charged the 70-year-old man with securities fraud. While Madoff’s investors include wealthy individuals like New York Met’s owner Jeff Wilpon and banks around the world like HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland, Bloomberg reports that Madoff “had directly affected 400 U.S. nonprofits.”

James Walsh, chief investment officer for Cornell, said in an e-mail, “I am glad to say we had zero exposure to Madoff and strongly believe it would never have found its way into our portfolio.”