President David Skorton outlined several measures the University will take to combat state budget cuts and revenue losses resulting from the Wall Street crisis in a e-mail sent to the Cornell community yesterday. Though the long-term effects of the current state of the economy will not be known for several years, actions will be taken immediately in anticipation of further cuts and continued losses.

“While we cannot be certain about the dimensions, depth and duration of the difficulty, we are confident Cornell is in a good position to adjust operations and budget to address a loss in revenue in the wake of the financial crisis, relying on the institutional expertise and commitment of faculty, staff, alumni, students and friends,” Skorton stated.

President David J. Skorton gave his annual address to staff yesterday at Barton Hall. The speech came in the middle of the Energy Fair, whose organizers took a lunch break while University personnel gathered to hear Skorton discuss the state of the University and how staff will be affected by the recent economic crisis. The address was sponsored by the Employee Assembly, an elected body that represents Cornell staff.

Kicking off the staff meeting was Brian Cornell, chair of the Employee Assembly, who welcomed the audience and introduced Mary George Opperman, vice president of human resources. Opperman discussed her personal concerns over how staff and the University will fare amidst the financial turmoil.

Correction appended. See below.

While the national government is taking measures to deal with the recent economic crisis, state governments are also forced to deal with the issues. The state of New York has a huge budget deficit, according to The Wall Street Journal, that Gov. David Paterson (D) and the state legislature are being forced to deal with.

In order to minimize the deficit, the state has to limit its funding to different institutions including schools. According to The Ithaca Journal, the state will force the State University of New York (SUNY) to absorb an estimated $70 to $96.3 million of the losses and Cornell will feel the effects of the cuts.

Before I begin this, I would first like to respond to all my detractors from two weeks ago. Yes, the Ron Paul folks sent me countless emails and left countless more comments on cornellsun.com. Although I was tempted to just print the same column again, to drive home a point, I instead decided to do some research and “oil my gears with the truth.” The conclusion? They have an agenda and I don’t. And who was that guy who wrote to me that, “as a senior citizen and an observer of economic trends over the last 45 years … [more libertarian agenda]”? Was that you, Dr. Paul? I looked it up and 45 years is actually about how long Ron Paul has been claiming to understand the economy. Ron Paulites, you made this personal.

Over the last three months, Wall Street has taken America on a wild ride, dragging the world along with it. Setting records for the lowest drops and highest rises, the unstable market has left the economy in disarray and many are wondering what will come next. From an imploded housing market, to the collapse of multi-national corporations like Merrill Lynch, the effects are being felt across the globe.

Origin

While Wall Street has been left reeling in the wake of plunging stock indexes, what caused the recession? Many have traced the collapse of banks and the subsequent economic decline to the stagnant credit markets generated by subprime loans.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Retail sales fell off a cliff in September, plunging by the largest amount in three years as worried consumers shunned the malls and auto showrooms in the midst of the country's financial meltdown.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday retail sales decreased 1.2 percent last month, nearly double the 0.7 percent drop that had been expected. It was the biggest decline since retail sales fell by 1.4 percent in August 2005.

The bigger-than-expected decline significantly increased the risks of a recession because consumer spending is two-thirds of total economic activity.

The weakness was led by a 3.8 percent drop in auto sales. Sales dropped below 1 million units as consumers struggled to find financing.

We are less than three weeks away from Elec­tion Day. In the longest presidential campaign in Amer­ican history, 15 primary candidates became two presidential hopefuls: Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain. At this point in time, a typical campaign analyst would presume both platforms would have been well articulated, challenged, and disseminated in the presidential debates. But this is not a typical campaign, and that does not seem to be the case. In the midst of bemused moderators and citizens it is important to ask, what have we learned from Obama and McCain in the debates?

The national student-loan default rate increased by 13 percent in 2006, leaving many concerned about the effects the current financial crisis will have on borrowers over the next two years.

The cohort default rate measured the number of borrowers who were due to enter repayment in 2006 but failed to make any payments on their loan, and defaulted after two fiscal years.

The rate, which was 4.6 percent in 2005, increased to 5.2 percent in 2006, according to a report released by the Department of Education in September.

With the meltdown of some of Wall Street’s largest investment banks and the current choked state of the credit market, the future of the student-loan default rate remains unclear.

You know what really grinds my gears? People. People who say, “Do you hear me, local representative?! I will not re-elect you. Be afraid. Be very afraid.”

First off, saying, “local representative” instead of, “Kucinich” or whomever is generally a good indication that you don’t know who your local representative is. Second off, who votes for local representatives? Did you vote for your local representative last year? Do you know whether or not he voted for the bailout bill? Were there actually local elections last year? Did he hear your voice? If you did not have a representative, would you even know the difference? All valid questions.

Hoping to read something exhilarating, enchanting, or provocative? Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, I have little to no experience when it comes to sex, drugs, or even rock ‘n’ roll. In searching for a column topic this week, I thought long and hard about which unique, intriguing, and fresh topics I could discuss. However, amongst prelims, the return of stereotypical Ithaca weather, and the statistical elimination of both the Mets and the Yankees, I came up void of creativity. If you are looking for a mystical story or a revealing memoir, I encourage you to pick up a daily horoscope, or simply take a trip to the Ithaca Commons.