
Here is what the young people of Columbia Univ had to say.
Campaign Advisers Square Off On Economy
By Javonni Judd
Created 10/20/2008 - 7:41pm
The senior economic advisers to the two presidential candidates met Monday night in Roone Arledge auditorium to debate the merits of their candidates’ plans to salvage the American economy.
Sponsored by the Program for Economic Research and moderated by economics professor Donald Davis, the event allowed for Senator John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Senator Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) Austan Goolsbee to face off over spending, the bailout, and federal tax policy.
“With the election two weeks away, the economy is the number one issue on the minds of Americans,” University President Lee Bollinger said in his opening remarks. The candidates’ plans, he explained, were especially important in light of such new American perils as lower standards of living, joblessness, and even “a deficiency of basic human conditions.”
Goolsbee opened the debate with praise for Obama’s anticipation of the financial crisis, citing a speech the senator gave last September warning about the looming financial dangers. “This financial crisis has documented that he is calm and on top of the issues,” he said. He also stressed direct tax relief for the middle class and the need to invest in long-term infrastructure rather than focusing only on the current Wall Street crisis.
“Voters are faced with real choices,” Holtz-Eakin told the audience, “as they are manifested in the policies and characters of the candidates.” Despite his Republican affiliation, he described the Bush administration’s tenure as “eight years of spending hand over fist” and lauded the Balanced Budget Act passed by President Clinton and Congress in the 1990s.
McCain, he explained, hopes to encourage businesses to create jobs in America by lowering their operation costs. “If headquarters are here and research and development,” he said, “manufacturing will be here.”
The conversation shifted to the divergence in tax policy between the candidates, with Holtz-Eakin decrying health care costs as the largest impediment to keeping businesses competitive.
Goolsbee argued that McCain’s policies would increase the national deficit. “Eighty to 90 percent of the people in the country are facing a squeeze,” he said. “Regardless of what you may think the cause of that squeeze is, it’s undeniable and you do not use tax policy to pile on top of that squeeze.”
The debate had a few contentious moments. While Holtz-Eakin accused the Obama campaign of promising money to everyone they encountered on the campaign trail, Goolsbee sometimes openly mocked Holtz-Eakin’s positions. “And this part of the debate is brought to you by Aleve,” he said, “because every time I try to understand McCain’s positions, I get a headache.”
To Juan Aristi, Business ‘09, this was less than admirable. Goolsbee, Aristi said, came off as “a bit of a performer” who at times “got a little bit carried away.” But the overall debate, he said, went deeper into the issues than those between the presidential candidates.
Gregory Feldman, SEAS ‘12, found Goolsbee to be articulate and intelligent and agreed that the event was aimed at a more specialized audience than the national debates. It was, he said, “tailored to a specific audience of people who understand economics.”
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