Cornell Review XXXIII #3

The Cornell Review "We Do Not Apologize."

An Independent Publication Vol. xxxiii, no. III

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CAMPUS

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: TCAT Edition As relations between Cornell and TCAT turn toxic, can an economically viable solution still be found?

shay CoLLins Staff Writer

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t started when the Cornell University administration ordered the bulldozing of the “Redbud Woods.” It resulted, almost a decade later, in the Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit’s (TCAT’s) $740,000 deficit. It reached its conclusion, perhaps, when

HONG KONG PROTESTS

President David Skorton stated on Oct. 13 this year that Cornell would pay an additional $1.125 million to the TCAT over the next three years.

Despite President Skorton increasing Cornell’s contribution to the TCAT, some Cornell and local community members remain apprehensive, if not standoffish and vitriolic.

On campus, numerous students have organized a group called Save the Pass Coalition. According to its Facebook page, the group seeks “a binding commitment to $1 per ride and… a fair contract for workers, a contract that does not force the burden of the deficit onto the workers.” Their actions have included protests,

teach-ins, and marches around campus.

The one dollar per ride figure forms the crux of the debate: over the years, as Cornell ridership has increased while its payments to TCAT have not, the subsidy-per-ride figure has dropped from $1 in 2006 to $0.84 in 2013. The

Continued on page 8

SEEN ON CAMPUS: CHALK-TIVISM

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Abhinav Saikia ‘17 explores the ongoing protests in Hong Kong.

BLASTING DE BLASIO

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Jake Zhu ‘18 takes issue with NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “living wage” initiative.

FEAR FACTOR

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Do politics and current events scare you? Check out the middle spread.

WHY COMPLAINING ABOUT BILL GATES TICKET SCALPING IS WRONG. MIRANDA HAWKINS PAGE 5

A group of students spent the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 17 chalking Ho Plaza with various slogans criticizing the university and visiting trustees. There were about ten separate chalkings in total, each featuring slogans similar to the one pictured above.

NATIONAL

Republican Tom Red and Democrat Martha Robertson ‘75 Square Off in the Final Weeks of NY23’s Midterm Elections anDres seLLitto Staff Writer

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his year’s midterm election hits close to home for Cornellians and Ithacans.

New York’s 23rd District has borne witness to a wearisome electoral face off between Tom Reed, the Republican incumbent, and Martha Robertson ‘75, a Democratic Tompkins County legislator.

Come Nov. 4, the district will know who represents it in the House of Representatives for the next two years.

Reed, a lawyer and former mayor of Corning, was first elected to the House in 2010 in a special election that took place after the resignation of Democratic incumbent Eric Massa, who stepped off after sexual harassment allegations.

Reed then defended his seat

against Tompkins County legislator Nathan Shinagawa ‘05 by a close margin of 9,464 votes (3.8 % of the vote) in the newly born 23rd district race in 2012.

He is now looking for reelection against Robertson, a Cornell Law graduate who served one term as the Chairman of the Tompkins

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FACE-OFF: Democratic challenger Martha Robertson ‘75 is becoming less of a threat to the re-election bid of Tom Reed (R-NY23).

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National

Campus

Midterm Elections: In Ithaca’s NY23, Republican Tom Reed Fending Off Democrat Martha Robertson ‘75 Continued from front page County legislation, during which, among other things, she voted for a 4-times increase of her own salary and a doubling of the municipal property tax.

While in Washington, Reed has promoted a considerable amount of legislation, including the Pay Our Veterans and Seniors First Act, ensuring pay for active and retired armed forces members during government shutdown, and the Fighting Hunger Incentive Act, encouraging businesses to donate their food inventories in exchange for tax breaks. He was also named to the United States House Committee on Ways and Means, becoming one of the only freshmen congressmen to reach a position on one of the most influential legislative committees. He has lately promoted the very beneficial Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act, meant to reinvigorate the depressed post-industrial economy of the Southern Tier by creating “a national network of industry-driven, regionally-based Centers for

Manufacturing Innovation (CMIs)”.

The 23rd district includes Ithaca and its rural surroundings, spanning across several counties. Whilst most of the Ithaca voters are staunchly liberal, the remaining part of the district is strongly conservative.

The race has evolved

city, have failed to resonate with the rurally conservative, financially hard-shipped voters elsewhere Among the very long list of concerning points promoted

by Robertson, she has put forward climate change as the number one issue while representing an economically depressed district that has

focused on Congressman Reed’s former heavier physique, using images of him before he underwent a gastric bypass surgery more than a year ago which helped him drop more than one hundred pounds.

On top of this, not only has Robertson barely interacted with the local media, she has actually censored non-friendly

“Local conservatives can only hope that this blow to blind liberalism will come in the form of a crushing Reed victory.” considerably in the past few weeks, with overall voter favorability swinging back to Reed’s side. Robertson has stuck to promoting programs and promises widely acknowledged as extremely liberal—or as the Reed campaign puts it, the work of a “crazy Ithaca liberal.”

For instance, she has promised during her campaign that her first act as a Congresswoman would be to vote for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House.

Ostentatious political points like this are directed only to the Ithaca’s blindly liberal voters, and, while successful in this

seen the departure of most of its industry. The 23rd District boasts an 8.0% unemployment rate, compared to the average 6.4% rate of New York State, and the 5.9% national unemployment rate. She was also quoted saying, “Honestly, you have to go single-payer” when discussing the possibility of lowering healthcare costs for the government in a 2009 clip. How would she fund that?

“Our taxes would go up”, she responded to this issue in a 2011 clip.

On a more personal aspect, her campaign has perversely

media in her events, as The Cornell Review documented last month when she visited Cornell to give a speech at a Cornell Democrats event.

Cornell Daily Sun reporters were cleared to video the event while Review correspondents were prohibited.

The fat-shaming attacks, combined with out-of-touch stances that heavily favor the Ithacan electorate and media aloofness vis-a-vis have greatly harmed Robertson’s chances of defeating Congressman Reed.

In a late development, the Democratic Congressional

Campaign Committee (DCCC) pulled back most of its support, including $465,000 destined for television and radio advertisements. The DCCC explained that they do not see “a path to victory” for Robertson in this race.

It seems that Martha Robertson’s fate is already decided. The latest poll by Real Clear Politics published on October 14 placed Reed up by 8 points and labeled the district “Likely Republican.”

This election should serve as a reminder that this kind of outof-touch, far-left authoritarian figure should start fading away from the political landscape, to show that the reality people live through every day weighs more than whatever the elitist bubble of the college world desires. Local conservatives can only hope that this blow to blind liberalism will come in the form of a crushing Reed victory.

Andres Sellitto is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at as2747@cornell.edu.

The current universal higher education paradigm in the U.S. is driving tuition prices sky high

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t’s a part of the American Dream.

Regardless of race, religion, socioeconomic background, or any other demographic factor, college is thought to be the great equalizer in the modern day.

According to a 2010 statement from the Labor Department, over 70% of the 2.9 million U.S. high school graduating class was collegebound. That’s up from 57% in 2000, and 54.3% in 1992. Given this astounding trend, one might be led to believe there is a lot of great equality on the way within the coming years.

However, despite more and more students of all backgrounds attending college, income inequality continues to increase in the United States. Whether these trends are correlated or not, if the underlying intent to pushing a universal higher education agenda--as Obama and company have—is to combat income inequality in general, there is a dearth of tangible data justifying such intent.

In his 2012 State of the Union Address, the citizen-ofthe-world President mentioned that, “We’re shaking up our system of higher education to give parents more information, and colleges more incentives to offer better value, so that no

middle-class kid is priced out of a college education.”

This is all fine and well. In fact, both sides of the political aisle are ultimately vying for the same goal with regards to “shaking [things] up” in order to maximize universal attainment of higher education. However, it is this very paradigm of calling for this reform that is to blame.

In the same speech, the President went on to say that the government ought to “help every hard-working kid get to college and succeed when they get to campus.” The first exception(s) to this assumption that ambition correlates with academic interest are the Zuckerbergs, the Gates, and the Jobs of the world.

Attending college was fairly ephemeral in their respective trajectories. And even at an Ivy League institution like Cornell, it is evident that not every student on this campus has the drive, motivation, and/or work ethic of any of these men aforementioned.

It’s easy to fall victim to this fluffy rhetoric: that to succeed one needs to attend college, graduate with a four-year degree, and take up a job in business, engineering, medicine, or law. Although this is a path I and many others have chosen to pursue, it is not one for every ambitious youth.

Not to pull an infamous Obama anecdote, but I recall in high school there was a young man in the grade level above me who was a master carpenter. In fact, he was so gifted in his craft that he had to take time off from school the second semester of his senior year to relocate to the British Isles. There he was utilized for his structural expertise in

resorting old castles and other decaying edificial structures.

This example is rather niche.

However, what is important to note is the context of the story. I went to a relatively upper-class, suburban, nationally-ranked high school that just this past year sent over 97% of its grads to a four year university/college. If my contemporary had fallen victim

Rising Enrollment. Rising Avg. Yearly Tuition 21 million 20 million

$18,497

$20,000

$15,000

15.3 million 14 million

15 million

$11,380 $10,000 12.1 million

10 million

$3,489 1980-81

$7,077 1990-91

$5,000 2000-01

2010-11

Tuition figures include room and board, and are yearly averages for all degree-granting institutions. Monetary amounts are presented in 2012 dollars. Enrollment figures are the average of both years listed. All data is from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Founded 1984 -> Incorporated 1986

Jim Keller Jerome D. Pinn Anthony Santelli, Jr. Ann Coulter Casey Breznick Editor-in-Chief

Mark LaPointe President

Laura Gundersen Managing Editor

Nathaniel Hunter Treasurer

Steven Lai

Art Director

Staff Writers Shay Collins Jonathan Furman Miranda Hawkins Christopher Nowacki Roberto Matos John Pedro Benjamin Rutovsky Abhinav Saikia Andress Sellitto

Board of Directors

Christopher DeCenzo Joseph E. Gehring Jr. Anthony Santelli Jr.

Faculty Advisor William A. Jacobson

Universal Higher Education a Misguided Policy Christopher Nowacki Staff Writer

The Cornell Review

to the societal pressures of normalcy (in pursuing a typical four-year degree), not only might society and the private sector be underemployed in the industry of craftsmanship, but so too might he end up economically worse off in pursuing a potentially less lucrative career—all the while putting artificial pressure on the demand for higher education.

This leads to the bulk of the dilemma: the rising costs of education. To put this general upward trend of costs of higher education into perspective consider that according to the Department of Education average public four-year university tuition and fees have risen 101% since 1964 and average private four-year university tuition and fees have risen a startling 137.2% since the same year.

There, of course, are many factors at play when it comes to the rising cost of education.

But rising costs on the end of the universities cannot explain such huge tuition increases over the years. The major culprit? The copious availability of governmentsubsidized student loans.

It seems counterintuitive to point a finger at (or bite) the hand that feeds you, but it really is a simple economic dynamic.

Continued on page 9

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Dissing the Cornell Disorientation Guide Casey Breznick editor-in-chief

rave about it. Probably the latter.

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he intellectually elite leftist students of Cornell have struck again. In their latest foray into struggle, a group of anonymous students published a twenty-page “Disorientation Guide” detailing eleven grievances against the university.

Self-loathing, misandry, and shame are its central themes, and a sense of entitlement is its underlying premise.

The guide was originally published at the beginning of the academic year, but The Cornell Review only recently learned of its existence. Other campus publications, such as the Dartmouth Review, only recently ran stories on their respective campuses disorientation guides.

No two guides are the same, but the coordinated release and common name more than suggests collusion among left-wing students at various campuses.

The grievances of the Cornell Disorientation Guide are all familiar regurgitations of leftist gospel, wherein all that exists is evil and all that could be—if only the guide’s authors were given absolute authority—is good. To disagree with them, naturally, is to incur their wrath. The loving, open arms of the left are closed to the open-minded.

A line-by-line refutation of the Disorientation Guide, tempting as it is, would drag on just as the guide does. Rather, I have decided just to address select points from the first three grievances, and perhaps in subsequent issues I will delve into the remaining ones.

1. Cornell’s ongoing colonial occupation Cornell, founded in 1865, sits on land that was occupied by the Cayuga tribe until 1779, when George Washington ordered a scorched-earth campaign to drive them off the land. The specific grievance in the guide is that Cornell does not acknowledge its “colonial” occupation of former Cayuga lands. Obviously, the guide authors are unaware of what colonialism is (hint: it’s when one country rules another country or group of people and benefits from exclusive trade policies). Stepping back from the literal definition, it is still Furthermore, there is no explanation of what such an acknowledgement would accomplish.

Would it lift the 22% of Native Americans who live in poverty out of it?

Would it employ the 60, 70, 80% of Native Americans unemployed on some of the largest reservations? Would it

MISGUIDED: Anonymous students authored a “disorientation guide” with 11 grievances against the university. alleviate rampant alcoholism so devastating nearly 13% of Native American deaths are alcohol-related? Would it save the one in three Native American women who are raped on reservations? No, but it would make the campus activists feel good about themselves.

This section then takes extreme digression with the idea of colonialism to imply Cornell is the colonial master of Ithaca. The guide criticizes Cornell for only giving Ithaca $1.25 million instead of the $6 million usually requested by Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 or the estimated $6 billion tax bill.

Clearly, the guide’s authors are ignorant of or oblivious to the very obvious fact that Cornell is the economic lifeline of Ithaca. Over 8,000 people are employed by the university in non-faculty roles, and a university report released this year showed that Cornell contributed $3.2 billion to the New York state economy last year. The influx of students’ money keeps the real estate market sky-high, fill the coffers of local businesses, and incentivizes continual investment in this otherwise unattractive place to do business.

2. Consolidating patriarchal power “Don’t pledge frats! They’re f***ed up and boring. Attacking frats is on the rise!”

So concludes the guide’s next section, an indictment of Cornell’s Greek Life.

It is not incorrect to call the Greek system patriarchal, but the key distinction is that Greek Life is completely voluntary. Joining chapters and attending their social events is not an obligation or duty of any student.

But truly, not all is right and well with Greek Life here or on other campuses. The guide correctly criticizes both fraternities and sororities for objectifying women, creating environments prone to and sometimes encouraging of sexual assault, and glorifying excessive drinking and drug abuse.

But leave it to the leftwing students behind the Disorientation Guide to take a perfectly justified set of complaints and warp it into another facet of socalled struggle. Borderline nonsensical rhetoric (‘‘Attacking frats is on the rise!”) subtracts from the gravity of the real issues. Most readers finish this section laughing at the ridiculous last sentences, completely forgetting all else. Worse, the divisive and truculent rhetoric turns off people who are less inclined to, say, topple the “patriarchy,” but are willing to reconsider preconceived notions about campus Greek Life. The guide authors are destroying their own cause by making a caricature out of it.

It leads me to ponder whether they truly want to end the “patriarchal power” structure or simply rant and

3. Cornell doesn’t care about racism The call to arms in this section concerns last year’s Cornell Athletic’s “Cinco de Octubre” Mexican-themed event. The event was a marketing stunt for a home football game. It featured all that anyone would expect from something as asinine, and in its aftermath a majority of campus threw a collective fit.

Perhaps this event was racist. Only Mexicans could truly say, and plenty of them on campus said so. In response, Cornell Athletics profusely apologized, Vice President Susan Murphy wrote a letter apologizing, and most of the Cornell Daily Sun’s left-wing editorial board hounded on the topic for days. Compare this outpouring to the nonexistent reaction concerning the flyers specifically targetting a conservative writer of the Cornell Daily Sun. Cornell clearly cares about racism.

Apologies, however, are not enough. The only solution, as the guide authors suggest, is to “intervene” and “change” students’ and administrators’ “internalized oppressive worldviews.”

Indeed, the old paradigm whereby institutionalized racism-which is determined by intent not outcome, by the way-- could be eradicated but individual instances not has now given way to a new paradigm: reeducation of the masses.

Of course, the same people whose economic central planning leads to collapsing economies want to now foray into social central planning.

Venture to guess what the result of that be?

These left-wing students behind the Disorientation Guide, they stare into the distance, the setting sun, with a twinkle in their eyes and envision the day when they can socially engineer humanity to their every whim. To them, a more perfect society is one in which there is a specific result-that is, a certain set of outcomes created by specific values, policies, and beliefs. They will perhaps never learn that a perfect society is not defined by what it does, achieves, and believes in, but rather how and why it does, achieves, and believes in what it does.

All those interested in reading the Disorientation Guide can visit the Review Blog at blog.thecornellreview.com.

Casey Breznick is a sophomore in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

He can be reached at cb628@ cornell.edu.

The Review encourages letters to the editor. Long, gaseous letters that seem to go on forever are best suited for publication in the Cornell Daily Sun. The Review requests that all letters to the editor be limited to 350 words. Please send all questions, comments, and concerns to cornellreview@cornell.edu.

International

National

International Review

Economics Review Federal Reserve Hidden Culprit in Financial Crisis

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Hong Kong Protests, When Can We Have a Serious World Watches China Debate About the Middle East?

Jon FUrMan Staff Writer

“

BIG YELLOW: Screenshot from a Facebook event organized by Hong Kong students at colleges across the country.

aBhinaV saikia Staff Writer

H

ong Kong currently finds itself embroiled in a political struggle with the Chinese government over the touchy topic of democracy for the quasi-independent island.

In the past, China could afford to stifle internal struggles with brute force with little coverage to worry about.

Now, however, outcries against broken promises and images of protesters using umbrellas to protect themselves against tear and spray gas are the dominant themes found in international media coverage, with the movement even being coined the Umbrella Revolution.

Hong Kong plays a major role in the global economy, and the consequences of the ongoing protests are set to have a huge impact on both Chinese national policies and the watching world.

A quick history lesson is needed in order to fully understand the situation today.

Beijing governs Hong Kong through Basic Law, a system negotiated between the British and Chinese governments in the mid-1980s, well before Britain signed over their territory.

Under Basic Law, the region is to be controlled under a “onecountry, two systems” form of government; this protects Hong Kong’s capitalist economy and allows its people to have a political system more open to freedom of expression and civic participation than that of the ruling Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. Basic Law is guaranteed for the first 50 years of this agreement and in return, China is responsible for Hong Kong’s national security and foreign policies.

The one country, two systems policy also promised the implementation of universal suffrage, with candidates for Chief Executive to be chosen by a committee, broadly representative of the political parties in Hong Kong. The election in 2017 was supposed to be the starting point for this process, but on Aug. 31, China’s National People’s Congress decided to limit this committee

to the same 1,200 members that have selected executives in past elections. This effectively rid the committee of members from the democratic parties within Hong Kong and filled it up instead with pro-Beijing factions.

This breach in policy has led to mass protests, mostly from the student population in Hong Kong. Driven by public fervor, droves of students have undertaken the task to “Occupy Central” and to show their disgruntlement through passive resistance and protests. In turn, the Chinese government has been adamant in declaring that their decision is not going to be revoked or modified and that the protesters should disperse. Inactivity from current Chief Executive C.Y. Leung has done little to allay the situation. Incidents of violence perpetrated by the police and by pro-Beijing thugs have received intensive media scrutiny, thus creating an antiChinese sentiment in the global media.

Venus Mia Tse, ’17, has lived in both Shanghai and Hong Kong and views the situation as less black and white than is portrayed. She narrates: “The media’s portrayed the situation in such a biased way that some students are protesting just for the sake of it. One of my friends, after watching YouTube and Facebook videos about the protest, told me how proud she was about Hong Kong people standing up for democracy, yet a few days later she asked me what exactly were the details of the policy set by the CCP.” Most people unfamiliar with the events in Hong Kong view the situation as a Chinese attempt to suppress democracy, but Beijing has its own national policies to worry about as well.

While she harbors sympathy for the cause of the protestors, Tse can also see why the Chinese take such a strong stance on their part. She is aware of the tense political situations elsewhere in other independent regions such as Xinjiang and Taiwan. The people there watch on with interest as Hong Kong tests the political power and might of the Chinese. If China alters

War crimes”, “BDS”, “apartheid” and “genocide”-these are the buzzwords and phrases for anti-Israel protests, articles, and attacks. On American campuses, in cities, and on blogs, the Left applies these epithets indiscriminately and with little regard for the situation on the ground in the Middle East.

Palestinians yearn for, among other things, peace, safety, security, freedom of religion and association, and basic housing and health care.

Individuals look to their government for an environment which provides these basic necessities and

power above all else, uses terror tactics to gain legitimacy within Gaza and around the world.

This is not consistent with the laws governing armed conflict or natural law. The American Left needs to understand these basic truths and re-arrange its priorities from solely attacking Israel to helping Palestinians look inward and help themselves.

America (especially the Left) needs to hold Hamas accountable for its lack of transparency, its disregard for basic human rights, and its charter (which contains provisions which are contrary to the values Americans hold sacred).

Although neither side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can

American Left get serious about what the Palestinians need—that is a non-corrupt government which cares more about the fact that its citizens squat in graveyards, lack economic empowerment and safety than its own aggrandizement? When will we see a self-aware article in a US journal recognizing the shortcomings of Hamas? The situation on the ground is not just Israel’s fault, as the Left would have us believe.

The hot summer months brought kidnappings, revenge killings, rockets, tunnels, and military action. In this most recent spike of violence, which culminated in a continuous rocket barrage from Hamas

“Human shields, kidnappings, tunnels, and rockets--these are the primary “institutions” of the Hamas “government.” which allows them to flourish.

A government which does not provide these essential rights is not a government at all; a corrupt government cannot be considered a government.

Human shields, kidnappings, tunnels, and rockets--these are the primary “institutions” of the Hamas “government”. Hamas, as a result of a desire to stay in

benefit from the status quo, the Palestinians’, and specifically Gazans’, situation is becoming increasingly dire. So why, even as Gazans continue to suffer, do Hamas and the American Left continue to attack Israel instead of trying to ease the suffering in Gaza? Why not pursue strategies for a peaceful resolution to the conflict?

When will Hamas and the

controlled Gaza and Israel’s Operation Protective Edge, civilians on both sides of the conflict quickly became the victims. The summer’s events made one things clear: the status quo is unsustainable.

Since 2007, when Hamas took complete control of Gaza, its strategy towards Israel

Continued on page 10

BenJaMin rUtkoVsky Staff Writer

R

onald Reagan once said, “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”

Such wisdom, seemingly lost today, captures the problems with today’s lackluster economy. It serves as the correct lens to examine the causes of the 2007-08 Financial Crisis, whose main culprit was the quasi-governmental Federal Reserve System.

The Federal Reserve System, or the Fed, is the country’s central bank, even though it is not officially a government agency or department.

Originally designed in 1913 as a provider of liquidity for stressed banks, the Fed’s responsibilities have since expanded to setting interest rates, pumping money into or sucking out of the

economy, regulating banks, lowering unemployment, and setting inflation targets.

Yet from its very incarnation, the Fed has unwisely or irresponsibly used its power to expand and contract the nation’s money supply—by fluctuating interest rates, buying and selling U.S. treasury bonds, and setting bank reserve ratio requirements—causing inflation or deflation outside of normal market conditions.

Especially damaging is when it keeps interest rates artificially low and buys bonds, effectively pumping “cheap” money into the economy. The negative effects are two-fold: flooding markets with money stimulates bad investment decisions, and it decreases the value of the dollar via inflation. Ultimately, the “easy money policies” cause the infamous bubbles of bad investments, such as the real

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estate bubble that raged just a decade ago. The eventual pop of the bubble, like that of real estate in 2008, leads to endless boom and bust cycles.

According to the Austrian School of economics, without the Fed’s tampering with money markets, the economy would experience sustainable growth with smaller, natural fluctuations. With it, markets experience extreme highs,

A

cting on behalf of his radically progressive agenda, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio issued an executive order on Sep. 30 that increased the minimum wage of city employees covered by the living wage law from the previous $11.90 per hour to $13.13 per hour.

In New York, the living wage law is a form of price control that dictates people must be paid a minimum wage high enough to maintain a “regular standard of living.” The mayor’s office boldly claims that this order could aid the impoverished,

the financial means to buy food and pay rent, it is important to not let good intentions distort reality. Despite what benign motives are behind de Blasio’s order, the inconvenient truth is that it weakens New York City’s economic position as a retail center of the world, therefore reducing the number of jobs available to workers surviving along the poverty line.

Despite clear evidence against the practicality of the executive order, Bill de Blasio is determined to not only expand his impractical ideals into other cities in New York but also set the standard of “povertyreduction” policies for the rest

Netanyahu, left, and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, right. Images courtesy of Wikimedia. its strategy to accommodate their demands, the protests in Hong Kong could become a catalyst for further unrest in other regions, something that the Communist Party simply cannot tolerate.

Essentially, the Chinese government faces several unappealing courses of action. It could instill a heavy crackdown and risk incurring the backlash from the rest of the globe. It could do nothing and let the demonstrations stretch for months on end, thus encouraging other regions to follow suit. Or, it could negotiate a compromise with the protestors, a slow and quite possibly fruitless process given how entrenched both sides are in their views.

Decades of development and prosperity under the guiding hand of the British have

endowed the people of Hong Kong with a sense of elevated importance and whetted appetites for personal freedom. But the crisis does not have to do as much as with cultural differences as with Chinese policies and economics. With both sides unwilling to compromise, it remains to be seen whether a peaceful resolution can be reached.

The umbrella revolution continues to divide the Far East as democracy rears its head under the heel of communism.

Abhinav Saikia is a sophomore in the College of Engineering. He can be reached at as2586@ cornell.edu.

of the nation.

Unfortunately, de Blasio’s decision to increase the living wage is only a scintilla of the massive left-wing movement to “aid the poor” by imposing minimum wage legislation that obstruct free-market economics.

Liberals view enactment of such policies as victory for the working poor, but nothing could be further from the truth.

If providing more income through minimum wage helps stimulate the economy, then why not replace the $13 minimum wage with a $100 one instead? By liberal logic and reasoning, this entails that an individual who works 1500 hours a year gains a yearly income of $150,000. Of course,

Continued on page 9

$0.76 $0.58

$0.75

$0.57 $0.37

$0.50

$0.32 $0.22

$0.25

$0.10

$0.07

1983

1993

$0.05

$0.04

2003

2013

$0.00 1913

1923

1933

in reality, the only difference between a $13 hourly wage and a $100 one is the degree to which it harms the economy.

First of all, minimum wage hinders low skilled workers from finding a job. In accordance to basic economics, it is only rationale for a firm to hire an additional worker if that individual contributes at least as much value to the firm as it costs to hire him or her. If, for example, an individual lacks the skill or talent to flip enough burgers to match the minimum wage, then the restaurant cannot hire the person. So wouldn’t the individual applying for the job be better

“ A rise in wage cost generates no net gain but entails at least one of three negative consequences: employers pay more, customers pay more, and/or people lose their jobs.” underpaid working class by increasing their yearly income from an estimated $16,000 to approximately $27,000.

Through such a large increase in the minimum wage, de Blasio hopes to fulfill his campaign promise of shrinking the economic divide between the poor and the rich in the nation’s largest city. Unfortunately for the citizens of New York City, this increase in living wage is just another misguided legislation crafted by liberal progressive politicians like de Blasio who have minimal comprehension of economics.

Although hardly anyone would disagree with the principle that an individual who works tirelessly in a fulltime occupation should have

case, Americans should recall the enormous of trust blindly given to the unelected officials of the Fed. Today, the U.S. dollar is under the “fiat” currency system, which is to say its worth is exclusively based off the reputation of the U.S. government—not any hard asset or something of objective

Devaluation of the U.S. Dollar Since 1913*

$1.00 $1.00

NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio’s Living Wage an Economic Living Nightmare Jake zhU Staff Writer

extreme lows, and greater uncertainty.

Americans historically have little trust in the government, which makes it puzzling that they would entrust a quasigovernmental agency with manipulating the value of the dollar (i.e. the supply of money). Perhaps too few Americans truly understand what the Fed does, and what it does incorrectly. Whatever the

off if he or she worked for less than the enacted minimum wage as opposed to not being hired at all?

Furthermore, proponents of the minimum wage forget that money does not originate from thin air. The increase in pay that workers receive is not new income or spending; it comes from another person’s wallet. A rise in wage cost generates no net gain but entails at least one of three negative consequences: employers pay more, customers pay more, and/or people lose their jobs.

Perhaps most outrageous of all is that the minimum wage impedes upon the fundamental freedom of an American laborer to work at his or her

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1953

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Bill Gates Ticket Scalpers Criticized

by Clueless AntiCapitalist Students MiranDa hawkins Staff Writer

W

hen the first distribution of free tickets for President Skorton’s interview of Bill Gates occurred on September 25, those tickets were gone within thirty minutes.

Come the second distribution, hundreds of students waited hours outside of Willard Straight Hall in the early morning to get their hands on them (each student could get up to two tickets). Considering the popularity of the event, it was not all that surprising when an underground trade for the highly coveted tickets immediately sprang up.

For five days, students seeking to buy or sell tickets to the event—a Q&A session between Gates and President Skorton and then with students—flocked to Cornell’s online social networks. In short time, prices rose as high as $165.

Unfortunately, given the enormous demand for tickets, not everyone who wanted to go could ever possibly have fit inside Bailey Hall, which has a maximum capacity of 1300 seats. Anyone with a brain would suggest that the limited number of tickets should go to those students to whom the experience is worth the most.

How can this be achieved most fairly? The answer is simple: ticket scalping.

Although many students expressed outrage at this apparent “abuse of the system,” ticket scalping was actually the most effective way to ensure that the tickets went to the students who wanted them the most. The ticket buyers were clearly willing to pay however much the sellers were asking or else they wouldn’t have bought the tickets. It’s that simple.

Some might argue that the buyers had no choice: if they wanted to see Bill Gates, they had to pay the huge amounts that the sellers were asking.

The counterargument is simple. The buyers obviously wanted to see Bill Gates, but if the prices for the tickets rose too high the buyers would have just decided not to bother and instead watch the event’s live stream. The fact that the buyers were willing to pay up to $165 for those tickets clearly shows that those tickets were worth at least $165 to those specific buyers.

When discussing this with a friend, he asked me, “Yes, but why would those people who are selling be in line in the first place? Why can’t they be nice and let others who waited in line get a ticket?”

Unfortunately, any system which relies on a community of thousands of people to all act kindly and selflessly, while lovely in theory, is doomed to failure. There was no way to determine which of the

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WHEN GOVERNMENT FEARS THE PEOPLE, THERE IS LIBERTY. WHEN THE PEOPLE FEAR THE GOVERNMENT, THERE IS TYRANNY. - THOMAS JEFFERSON Jefferson’s scariest political enemy?

North African Pirates. During his presidency, the U.S. was engaged in the First Barbary War, the first militarized conflict authorized by Congress.

POLITICAL FEAR FACTOR Blood, guts, shadows in the dark, vampires, ghosts--forget all of that. If you want something truly terrifying, look no further than politics. Think about it: Even if you’re one of those nonchalant, too-cool-for-politics types, you have to realize politics governs every aspect of your life, for better or for worse. Big government predicated on invasive political systems like socialism and fascism can turn your life into a living hell. Under the yolk of both do-good and do-evil political systems, your economic, social, and intellectual Approximate numebr of deaths due to Communist oppression freedoms wither away. Even worse, most people are either woefully ignorant of what is going on or are actively cheering on their own demise.

YOUR SHARE OF THE NATIONAL DEBT Currently over $17,888,532,700,000, the debt clock keeps ticking.

To put this amount somewhat in perspective, one would have to spend a dollar every second for 31,000 years to spend a trillion dollars. This means that it would take more than 554,280 years to spend the amount that we are currently indebted.

So, on what is all this money being spent? A lot, it turns out, is entirely wasteful. No fear, though, at least the National Institute of Health spends your taxpayer dollars well. As reported by Breitbart, $387,000 dollars was allocated to Swedish massage for rabbits, which were later euthanized. $371,000 was used to research the emotional states of women at the sight of their dogs.

Reagan’s scariest political enemy?

Mikhail Gorbachev. Reagan took the USSR Head On with several big gambles, but he ultimately succeeded in sewing the seeds of its downfall.

CURRENT GROWING NATIONAL DEBT

ISIS ABROAD AND AT HOME Not only is ISIS terrifying in and of itself--videotaped beheadings, sex slavery, etc.--ISIS seems to be cunningly good at recruitment. A growing number of these fanatics are Americans—our very own neighbors—evolving into terrorists themselves. Recently, an online predator tried to persuade three teenage girls into joining the terror group, with promises of husbands and homes, according to Business Insider. Terrorists have been recruited for years from the U.S., and the success of the terror groups in drawing support is a terrifying concept indeed. Screenshotted above is a recent ISIS tweet. The attached photo featured the ISIS flag held up in front of the White House at nighttime.

In case you don’t know, North Korea is by far the most insane place on Earth (Ithaca is up there). Normality dare not set its foot in the socalled Hermit Kingdom. Of course, this impoverished country ruled by a meglomaniacal man-child possesses nuclear weapons. Why wouldn’t it? For about a month, Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un was missing in action, not photographed or seen at any political rallies, public celebrations of national holidays, or at the Supreme People’s Assembly. Political, military, and intelligence officials and pundits worried over whether a coup had occured, or if the leader was simply ill. Many wondered who controlled the country’s nuclear arsenal, if indeed Jong-un was out. Fear not, however, as the

EBOLA COMING TO TOWN

EBOLA NUMBERS

+10,000 CASES WORLDWIDE

courtesy of NYTIMES.COM

THE NINE MOST TERRIFYING WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARE, “I’M FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND I’M HERE TO HELP” - RONALD REAGAN

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$17,888,532,700,000

NUCLEAR NORTH KOREA

Luckily, you’re reading The Cornell Review, and have learned a thing or two about how to shield your mind from both leftwing politics and political apathy. Unfortunately there is plenty out there that still might scare you. As stated above, even something seemingly a-political is, in some sense, affected by or rooted in politics. Take, for example, Ebola, once but the concern of virologists and doctors. As soon as government becomes involved, we see just how political it can become with some pundits claiming the topic could sway some midterm elections.

WRITTEN BY CASEY BREZNICK AND LAURA GUNDERSEN

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US WORKERS WHO RECOVERED

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DEATH(S) THE US

With more than 10,000 cases of Ebola worldwide, and about half of these cases resulting in death, Ebola has proven to be a relentless virus spreading like wildfire around the world. A more recent case resulted in the death of a two-year-old child who traveled for thousands of miles via public transportation from Guinea to Mali while symptomatic, which is the most contagious time.

Also, the doctor who flew into New York City spent the day perusing around on subways and socializing.

Perhaps, however, we should be even more concerned about the government’s dealing with the disease. We’ve seen a few cases in the U.S. now, and what did the IN CDC and other authorities do? They ignored health concerns of the symptomatic health workers affected by the disease and encouraged travel. (Flights, cruises, and bowling fun, to be specific.) Then they blamed the doctors for not following their ineffective protocols, while at the same time saying that Ebola is extremely hard to contract and the average person should be unconcerned. A travel ban from affected countries has yet to

THE 20TH CENTURY DEATH TOLL OF POLITICS All throughout history famine, disease, and natural disasters have caused massive numbers of deaths, and we rightfully fear them. But why do we not fear certain political systems as well? They too have been responsible for extreme pain and suffering and for countless deaths. Let’s take a look at just the 20th century, where the frenzied forces of politics spilled the blood of millions.

According to Necrometrics, a website that compiles data about causes of human death, there were about 5.5 billion deaths in the 20th century. Various sources put the number of fatalities due to Communist oppression anywhere from 60 million to 100 million, thereby accounting for anywhere from 1.1% to 1.8% of all 20th century deaths. Collectively, Rudolph Rummel puts the democide--death by government--figure at 169,198,000 deaths, with Communism contributing 100 million and democracies contributing 2 million. Compare these figures to the website’s data on the total number of deaths casued by tobacoo, 70 million, and those caused by natural disasters (excluding droughts and famines), 3.5 million.

ESTIMATED HEAD COUNT

49-78 MILLION

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MILLION courtesy of popten.net

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TCAT Bus Brawl Continued from front page

including fair compensation for workers—and being weary of throwing away students’ tuition to populist causes.

What, then, is the solution here?

Free Passes: A Historical Primer

In 2005, Cornell commenced the clearing of a wooded area containing many redbud trees to create a parking lot for the new West Campus dormitories.

Protestors cried foul, pointing out that Robert H. Treman, a Cornell alum and former owner of the land, requested that the land remain undeveloped when he bequeathed it to the university. According to a June 7, 2005 New York Times article, however, “he made no legal provisions to ensure that.”

Although a 2004 ruling by the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission declared the area to be a historic site, rulings by the Tompkins County Supreme Court and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court both struck down the decision.

Lacking a legal argument, faculty, students, and community members instead questioned the morality of destroying a natural area to create a parking lot.

Protestors resorted to drastic demonstrations, chaining themselves to trees and even constructing platforms and taking up residence in the trees’ branches. This has since been referred to as the “Redbud Woods Incident.”

When Cornell administrators refused to abandon the development plans or observe a six-month moratorium, the protestors agreed to end the occupation and signed a document with then-president Henry Rawlings III—one which was not legally binding by any means.

“The agreement states that all new students, including freshmen, transfer students, and professional and graduate students, will receive a free transit pass if they do not request or receive a parking permit,” according to a July 17, 2005 Cornell Daily Sun article.

Yet, today, President Skorton and president-elect Elizabeth Garret face the challenges of rising undergraduate tuition, settling the TCAT’s deficit, and, according to some community members, honoring Rawlings’ promise of free freshman bus passes.

Free Bus Passes: Powerful Incentive or Economic Irrelevancy?

The fundamental problem, as the Save the Pass Coalition argues, is that Cornell does not subsidize the TCAT enough.

The Cornell community reportedly comprised 71% of the TCAT’s 2014 ridership, but the university’s payments

only constitute 26% of the TCAT’s revenue. To them, this is economic injustice, and is the major cause of the TCAT’s hundred thousand dollar deficits.

But it is an equal injustice to students and their tuitionpaying parents to blindly siphon tuition dollars to the TCAT simply because it is asking for more. Before signing blank checks, the administration must ensure that the university spends its funds responsibly and logically.

The logic of providing free bus passes to new students is faulty on a few points. First, riding the bus is not a necessity, it is a luxury. For the average student, a cross-campus trek on foot is feasible even in the dead of winter.

Second, Cornell only provides free bus passes to new students. Why would free bus passes for new students alter returning students’ decisions to bring cars to campus or not? Conceivably, returning students who desire to park their car on campus will continue to do so regardless of whether Cornell continues to provide free bus passes to new students. The maintenance of free bus passes for new students seems to relate only tangentially to the amount of vehicular traffic on campus.

Finally, some Cornell community members allege that eliminating free bus passes would create more difficulty for new students who want to go to the Ithaca Mall or the Commons. Yet, Ithaca College students, who do not receive free bus passes, still frequently use the TCAT system even without free bus passes. Three dollars for a round trip to and from the Commons or the mall does not seem like an unfair or unmanageable sum.

The Redbud Woods incident occurred nearly a decade and two university presidents ago.

The intended implementation of the agreement constructed by the Cornell administration and protestors is vague and, as such, should not alone serve as justification for subsidizing bus passes.

Funding the TCAT in a manner that fairly compensates TCAT employees and reflects the TCAT’s costs is a responsible use of university money. Continuing to pay for free bus passes for all new students due to questionable incentives and decade-old events: not so much.

Shay Collins is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at smc377@cornell.edu.

Politically Correct Campus Names of certain buildings and spaces on campus are downright offensive and perpetuate classism, racism, and sexism. It’s time for Cornell to take a more politically correct approach to redesigning campus.

The Review is here to help.

Gender Neutral, Gender Equal

The People’s Plaza

Willard All-SexualOrientations Hall

The Ag Quad’s “Mann Library” reinforces both patriarchy and the cisheteronormative gender binary.

For far too long, “Ho Plaza”has stigmatized female sexuality and shamed all women who have walked through it.

“Willard Straight Hall” creates an uncomfortable environment for all the nonstraight people who enter it.

Nanny State: Student Assmebly Mandates Mental Health Information On Course Syllabuses John peDro Staff Writer

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ornell’s Student Assembly (SA) recently adopted Resolution 8, a proposal on behalf of students that seeks to mandate the inclusion of mental health information on all professors’ course syllabuses in an effort to help combat student stress and other mental health issues. The proposal now moves on to the Faculty Senate, whose adoption of the measure would make it binding.

The first half of the proposed section required to appear on every syllabus would read: “It is normal to experience stress at a school like Cornell; it is important to realize when this stress is no longer healthy and instead becomes debilitating.

Professors, administrators and students recognize the importance of accommodating this stress and there are a number of resources on campus meant to assist you in times of need.”

On its face, this is a wellintentioned legislative action.

At Cornell, stress and academic hardship are copious and can often take significant tolls on students’ physical, emotional, and mental well-beings. There are numerous compelling arguments in support of the resolution: increasing the abundance of mental health information increases the chances a student in need will find it, and the template provides a standardized measure for professors who

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have not already placed such info on their class materials.

Matthew Henderson ‘16, Student Assembly member, pointed out that, “Students will often read through a course syllabus after doing poorly on a test or after forgetting to turn doing poorly on a test or after forgetting to turn in a homework assignment. Thus, putting the information in a location where students are bound to look in a time of stress made sense to the SA.” One would be hard pressed to find a professor who isn’t concerned about the mental health of his or her students because of how cirtical th issue has become. According to The American Freshman Norms Report from 2010, students’ perception of their mental health is at its lowest point in twenty-five years. Many consider today’s youth the most stressed generation ever.

However, mental health information on campus is already ubiquitous. For example, every dorm room bathroom has multiple flyers and stickers with contact information for various campus resources regarding mental health problems.

Often times, the stigma of mental health prevents students from seeking proper attention. In a survey by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 50% of respondents who suffered from a mental health condition did not report it to their school. The real problem is not knowledge

NANNIED: Unofficial logo of the Nanny State. of mental health service and support, but instead feeling secure enough to seek help.

This is not an issue addressed

by Resolution 8 at all.

It is dubious to believe that a standardized syllabus section will cultivate cultural change around mental health awareness. It would be far more effective for individual professors to talk about issues of stress and can direct them to appropriate resources.

The major problem with Resolution 8 is its nanny-state implications.

Government mandates always infringe on the rights of the people, and those that attempt to protect the individual from himself are truly the most tyrannical.

Mandates are authoritarian in nature and rarely truly necessary.

Resolution 8 strips responsibility from the individual to take care of himself, and gives the SA unyielding power to now go require whatever it wants of the student body and faculty.

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Higher Education, Higher Enrollment, Higher Tuition Continued from page 2 Higher demand for college education pushes up its price, and the federal government’s largesse in its provision of student loans subsidizes this growing demand. In fact, according to a 2012 piece in the Washington and Lee Law Review, nearly all students are eligible for federal student loans, regardless of credit score or other financial issues.

If altruism was the only goal here, this would be significantly less alarming.

The problem with the manner in which the federal government guarantees loans for those interested in attaining a four-year degree is that the beneficiaries themselves are not buying into private, high-interest loans.

In a private loans market, it is probable to believe that the pool of students vying for four-year degrees would return to its previous, 20th century level, as student loans themselves would be valued so high, that interest rates would sky rocket. This would put a negative demand-side strain on universities, which would then lower their tuitions.

As the federal government becomes larger and larger and gains more influence over the education system, it is likely that the current system will never change. The only way for the cost of higher education to at least plateau in its upward trajectory is by instituting some degree of cultural change. Instead of Barack Obama telling every ambitious youth that he or she needs to go to a fouryear school to achieve, he should be suggesting policy

ideas around championing all skill sets, and to pursue those career paths that are extremely lucrative and best learned at a community college or a trade school, like electrical work, auto repair, plumbing and craftsmanship.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, middleskill jobs (those that require a certificate or associate’s degree to obtain) will make up more than 45% of new job openings by the end of this year. Also, in terms of job growth, those which require an associate’s degree are the fastest growing at a rate of 19%.

This is where efforts need be allocated. And the federal government doesn’t have to even get involved.

These forms of higher education are low cost, both implicitly and explicitly, yielding some of the highest returns on investment in percentage terms.

Education can be a great equalizer, but it is difficult to manufacture equality, especially in the form of student loans. With the way in which the federal government tampers with the loans market, the net result is gross inflation of tuition rates and fees. The quicker that students and parents realize the heart of the tuition/ student debt problem, the quicker the education gap and income gap can be addressed and potentially narrowed.

Christopher Nowacki is a student in the College of Human Ecology. He can be reached at cmn63@cornell. edu.

Bill Gates Scalpers Continued from page 5 students in the line most wanted to see Bill Gates, and thus were “most deserving” of the tickets.

Ticket scalping actually benefits everyone involved. The buyers get the tickets that they may not have otherwise gotten, while the sellers get money.

To the buyers, the tickets are worth more than the money, while to the sellers the money is worth more than the tickets.

Since the tickets were originally free, as long as what the buyers paid the scalpers exceeded the opportunity cost of idling in line for several hours, the scalpers would profit. This is a classic example of a free market: prices are determined solely by supply and demand, without outside regulation or intervention. Since the market itself determines prices, those prices are the optimal ones for both parties involved.

Considering how basic the idea of free markets is, it’s a little ridiculous that so

many students still can’t wrap their heads around it. The arguments that free market capitalism “isn’t fair” and “doesn’t treat everyone equally” are by no means new. The counterarguments are still just as effective as they’ve always been.

Free markets are a highly effective way to ensure that all participants receive their most preferred outcomes.

Anti-capitalist sentiment on campus is quick to label scalpers as “greedy” simply because they desire money in return for their ticket. Everyone has wants and desires. It’s not greedy to pursue them. It’s what any economic system relies on, outside of communism or totalitarianism.

Let Bill Gates put it to you: “Capitalism has worked very well. Anyone who wants to move to North Korea is welcome.”

Miranda Hawkins is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at meh399@cornell.edu.

A Well-Balanced Argument for the Minimum Wage I’m worth more than $7.25/hr!

ment nemploy Higher u

Strike Poverty!

f city, outside o s b jo s e Driv country prices state, or onsumer c r e h ig H ployers sts for em o c r e h Hig , lowlow skills g in v ti n Ince t ploymen level em ention nt interv e m n r e v Go arkets in free m

Dream of a living wage!

We are worth more!

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#RaisetheWage!

Minimum Wage Hurts Poorest

Continued from page 5

agreed-upon wage. The price floor effect of the minimum wage obstructs workers from working at a wage that is below the politically-designated rate, even if it benefits them to do so. Likewise, the employers face financial loss because they are constrained from hiring new workers. When the government obstructs the mutually-beneficial exchange of employers and employees in the labor market, it asserts the dominance of tyranny over compromise. The laborers’ right to work is repudiated in favor of the political elites’ coercive jurisdiction in “protecting the collective good.”

Anyone who denies that the minimum wage restricts people’s freedom to work or alleges that it does not harm employment is essentially rejecting one of the fundamental principles of microeconomics, the Law of Demand, which states without exception that as the price of anything increases, lesser

amounts of quantity will be consumed, including workers selling their labor.

By regulating the employeremployee pay scale, de Blasio is not helping to increase overall economic growth, but rather incentivizing businesses to operate outside of the economically-restrained city. Through basic economic analysis involving profit and loss, increasing numbers of businesses will realize the mounting costs of investing in New York and seek to pursue their projects elsewhere.

Even the restaurant industry, a primary supplier of entry-level jobs for lowincome individuals, feels threatened by the order. The CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association Melissa Fleischut asserted that “more than ever, restaurants have a choice about where to open and we believe New York City should be adding incentives to open here, not barriers.” By deterring new restaurants from opening, de Blasio exacerbates

the city’s difficulty in bringing jobs to economically-impaired communities.

Although politicians love to paint themselves as champions of the working class by proposing minimum wage legislation, they do so in order to garner support from the uninformed electorate.

Therefore, it is important for sensible American citizens to analyze the actual impact— rather than intent—of their “War on Poverty” increases in minimum wage. After all, elected officials in favor of raising the minimum wage are those who fail to understand basic supply-and-demand economics. If these lawmakers fail to grasp such elementary ideas, the American public certainly cannot entrust them to craft legislation that could economically advance the nation.

Jake Zhu is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at jjz43@cornell. edu.

Fed Policies Destabilize Economy Continued from page 5

worth. Over the hundredyear existence of the Fed, the fiat system has only served to devalue the U.S. dollar, which excessively incentivizes spending, discourages savings, and partially explains the personal debt crisis of today.

Middle class consumers are hurt most by this tactic, as wages do not often increase with inflation, and they aren’t invested in assets that increase in value along with or outperforming inflation like the stock market. So as the cost of living goes up from inflation, their compensation at work does not, causing financial strain.

The danger in an unbacked currency is apparent: rampant inflation or stealthy devaluation. Both produce the same result, which is economic hardships for hard-working families.

A decrease in the power of the Fed, beginning with the passage of the Audit the Fed

bill moving through Congress, would increase stability within the economy. Some argue that the U.S. should transition back to the gold standard, or a modified one where Fed policies are somewhat tamed by hard-asset constraints.

Such a transition, however, would cause massive deflation and immense economic pain for a few years. The voting public would simply not have it, unless truly informed of the damages done by the Fed as it operates today. Furthermore, there simply isn’t enough gold available to make this transition. An estimated $2.3 trillion in U.S. notes and coins are in global circulation, a figure which doesn’t come close to the actual money supply of U.S. dollars. In comparison, the U.S. Treasury only has about half a trillion in gold reserves.

The Fed has become too powerful of a part of the lives of United States citizens. At the least, the Fed’s low interest rate policies must be ended. Only big banks and big businesses

that can borrow at the lower rates are helped through this tactic. Also, big banks benefit from the Fed as a moral hazard is created through the Fed’s protection of these banks from failure. This gives them the idea that they are too big to fail and do not have to make responsible investments. Therefore, they take on huge amounts of risk, knowing that if they fail, they will be bailed out by the Fed. Overall, the Fed’s involvement with the monetary policy and regulation have slowed the recovery of the financial crisis of 2008. In order to see a true recovery and unemployment rates back to more desirable levels, the role of the Fed must be reformed.

Benjamin Rutkovsky is a sophomore in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

He can be reached at bmr88@ cornell.edu.

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Civil Liberties Under Assault in Houston as Mayor Subpoenas Church Communications LaUra GUnDersen ManaGinG editor

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efenders of religious liberty are outraged at Houston Mayor Annise Parker’s subpoena of “all local church speeches, presentations, or sermons related to HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity.”

It all began with the opposition to HERO, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, which according to the Houston Chronicle bans “discrimination based not just on sexual orientation and gender identity but also, as federal laws do, sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, pregnancy and genetic information, as well as family, marital or military status,” and

“applies to businesses that serve the public, private employers, housing, city employment and city contracting.

Religious institutions would be exempt.

Violators could be fined up to $5,000.”

The ordinance passed in May allows any person to use any gendered bathroom, regardless of his or her biological sex.

Branded “Mayor Parker’s Sexual Predator Protection Act” by the

Student Protests Don’t Solve Problems for Middle East continued from page 4 has been both ineffective and irresponsible.

Rocket attacks, tunnel building, and kidnappings have replaced hopes for peace and rational discussion.

Hamas’ actions over the last seven years certainly do not represent steps to peace. Not only do these reckless tactics endanger civilians living in Gaza, but they also inhibit any sort of progress towards a resolution of the conflict. While Gazans live without consistent running water, electricity, education, and jobs with living wages, Hamas does nothing.

Instead of taking practical steps to aid the civilians they claim to be protecting, Hamas uses violence towards Israel as a quick way to attain easy legitimacy and radicalize the youth of the Palestinian Territories. What should be done?

America needs to call Hamas and Arab countries to account. Maybe President Obama has started to make his way in the right direction.

In his speech to the United Nations on September 24th, President Obama explained, “the countries of the Arab and Muslim world must focus on the extraordinary potential of their people -- especially the youth.” If it truly hopes to bring the Palestinians forth from isolation, Hamas must begin with the President’s call to action.

Instead of radicalization, Hamas should seek education. Instead of investing in rockets, Hamas should invest in its brightest young minds. It should hope to join with universities to send high achieving Palestinian children to the West. In fact, in the same speech, President Obama noted that America would partner with those that seek education as a means for peace.

It is only through education, innovation, and understanding that the conflict can end its final chapter with peace instead of war.

Although the Arab League has boycotted Israeli made goods since 1945, modern Western support for Palestinians has come largely from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which was created in 2005 by

Palestinian non-governmental groups and has been coopted by the extremes of the American Left. This modern iteration of the 1945 boycott not only harms the Palestinian people, but also blocks any hope for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. There are at least two significant problems with the BDS movement.

The first issue is purely economic. The BDS movement, which aims to alienate Israeli businesses and its economy, probably does more harm to Palestinians than to Israelis.

As a “start-up nation,” Israel certainly has achieved economic success. According to Forbes, Israel has, per person, attracted more than double as much venture capital investment than the United States and thirty times more than Europe, it consistently has the most start-ups and patents per capita of any nation in the world, and it has, other than the United States, the most companies listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

But while Israel enjoys incredible success, neighboring Palestinians are unable to enjoy the benefits.

In a 2013 New York Times Opinion, Ed Husain, a Senior Advisor to the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at Council on Foreign Relations, noted this burgeoning economic problem.

“The main victims of this boycott are not Israelis, but Palestinians. Israel’s economy is booming, while Palestinians languish in abject poverty. The decades-long Arab boycott has failed miserably. An estimated 70 percent of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem live below the poverty line.”

For any university student, the most pernicious aspect of the American Left’s defense of the Palestinian people is the misguided boycott of Israeli academic institutions, scholars and ideas. Across the United States, calls for academic boycotts of Israel, or still worse declarations of Israel as an apartheid state guilty of genocide, twist, pervert, and radicalize the conflict. Israeli society is in fact as introspective and critical of its own government and policies as any Western society. The refusal, by members of the American

Left, to acknowledge, and listen to, Israeli scholars, shuts out one of the most valuable resources for peace. It is only through a marketplace of ideas, which includes contributions from Israeli academics, that the status quo can be altered.

What is equally troubling about the Left’s recent strategies and ideas is that they often originate with students.

In many circles, wrongly accusing Israel of atrocities has suddenly become the cool, liberal thing to do. If young adults, who are meant to be learning about open discourse and understanding, believe in a restriction of dialogue as the mechanism for resolution, the conflict will never end. If students continue to believe that the only true democracy in the Middle East is guilty of genocide, nothing can be done.

Instead of holding protests on college campuses that accuse Israel of atrocities, young adults of the Left should pressure their institutions of higher learning to partner with schools in Gaza and the West Bank. They should strive, through education and communication, to end the radicalization of the Palestinian youth.

Hamas needs to commit itself to ending the plight of civilians in Gaza in a peaceful manner. If a new Hamas, one committed to economic reform, education and against radicalization, emerges instead of an organization committed to furthering its own illegitimate goals then peace and security are attainable. If this shift in strategy occurs, the onus will be on Israel to do its part to achieve a just peace.

Until this change occurs, and the American and European Left, pro-Palestinian groups acknowledge that the road to peace begins with marketplace of ideas, and not anti-Israel slander, the status quo will remain. Until this change occurs, Israel will be justified both morally and legally to meet aggression with military action in its own self-defense.

Jonathan Furman is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences.

He can be reached at jmf358@ cornell.edu. *This article was originally published by the Cornell Political Reivew on their website.

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Chairman of the Harris County Republican Party, this order faces a great deal of criticism.

For example, the law allows a man dressed as a woman or allegedly confused about his gender identity to use women’s bathrooms and locker rooms.

This opens up doors for sexual predators to prey on women and girls more easily, and in general is considered a major violation of privacy. However, Mayor Annise, Houston’s first openly gay mayor, seems to think otherwise.

After the ordinance passed, opponents gathered more than 50,000 signatures to support repeal of it. The city questioned petition’s legitimacy, rejecting many of the signatures and preventing the desired public vote.

Later, in August, opponents of HERO and a conservative Christian advocacy group, the Alliance Defending Freedom, sued the city. In September, city attorneys subpoenaed sermons given by local pastors who voiced opposition to HERO, and HERO was placed on hold.

The Mayor faced an incredible amount of heat for demanding text of the sermons. Reacting to the opposition she tweeted, “If the 5 pastors used pulpits for politics, their sermons are fair game.” However, she later revised the original subpoenas, which still cover all other aspects initially detailed, but now demand not sermons, but “speeches.”

Now, all that is wanted is “all speeches or presentations related to HERO” as well as 17 categories of information, according to Fox News.

To note the obvious, “speech” is a synonym for sermon, so it’s questionable as to what the mayor was aiming at resolving with the change of wording.

Regardless, the subpoena still calls for communication that should be off-limits, and is a complete attack on freedom of speech and religion.

Why is the Mayor so interested in prying so far into the business of the churches?

It’s doubtful that there would be interest in investigating a mosque, for example, where views on homosexuality are less than accepting, and where there is the possibility for the evolution of far more radical ideas that threaten national security. Perhaps the mayor simply wants to silence the churches.

Erik Stanley, an attorney representing the pastors, told Fox News, “The city of Houston still doesn’t get it. The subpoenas still ask for information that encompasses speeches made by the pastors and private communications with their church members.” He went on to explain, “Any inquiry into what these pastors did in

Review Blog standing against the ordinance passed by the city of Houston and encouraging members to sign the petition is a violation of the First Amendment.” But no need to worry, the attorneys aren’t looking for sermons now; they’re looking for speeches.

It is important to clarify that the issue has little to do with homosexuality and acceptance, unlike what Ms. Parker seems to believe. The opposition to the subpoenas is centered on religious liberty and freedom of speech. First Amendment rights are completely ignored in the subpoenas of church communication, and regardless of the reasons for the intrusion, the church is an area off limits.

In fact, pastors can say whatever they’d like about the values that the church teaches. It is not wrong for pastors to choose to teach that homosexuality is a sin.

Others who choose not to attend these sermons are welcome to teach their children otherwise, but it is wrong to hush these views. Where is separation of church and state? What happened to the Constitution?

The resistance to the subpoena extends nationwide.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz recently commented, “Caesar has no jurisdiction over the pulpit.”

Respectively, radio show host Rush Limbaugh called the situation “one of the most vile, filthy, blatant violations of the Constitution” that he has seen, and questioned why Mayor Parker is not being pursued.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott called for a prompt withdrawal of the subpoenas mid-October, stating, “The people of Houston and their religious leaders must be absolutely secure in the knowledge that their religious affairs are beyond the reach of the government.”

The only way to fix this blatant attack on civil liberties is to eliminate the subpoena in its entirety. Parker’s extreme agenda is clearly not welcomed in Texas, and the government should stay out of the private communication of the church.

If Mayor Parker is so interested in what is said by the pastors, perhaps she should attend a sermon. Maybe she’d learn something about the ideas of acceptance, basic values, and human rights.

Laura Gundersen is a sophomore in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

She can be reached at lcg63@ cornell.edu.

(blog.thecornellreview.com)

Month in Review from the Review Blog

Written by Casey Breznick

Tom Reed vs. Martha Robertson ISSUES

Tom Reed

Martha Robertson

More important to create economic opportunities; Local governments should set minimum wages, not federal government

Need an “economy for everyone”; support increase in federal minimum wage

“Peace through strength”; Most important is proteching homeland and securing borders; no boots on the ground

Opposes boots on the ground, prefers building coalitions; cited experience as kindegarten teacher in getting people to get along

Firm believer in right to bear arms; should focus on mental health care not gun control

Supports universal background checks for all gun purchases

“Right thing to do” to repeal Obamacare; against big government programs; keep some provisions like coverage of pre-existing conditions

Supports Obamacare

Against Common Core; should empower parents, teachers, and local governments to set education policies

Supports Common Core but criticizes implementation; says need national education guidelines; everyone “deserves quality education”

Minimum Wage

ISIS

2nd Amendment

Obamacare

Common Core

SA Adopting Authoritarian Mandates Continued from page 8 After passing this resolution, what could be mandated next?

The proverbial floodgate could be swung wide open. Granted, this proposed mandate pales in comparison to other more encroaching ones, most notably the “Individual Responsibility Requirement” in Obamacare, which requires every citizen to purchase health insurance or pay an escalating fine. However, the same principles apply on all levels.

Mandates are created on a macro level yet exist to control behavior on a micro level.

They transgress the organizing principle of subsidiarity—that a problem should be addressed and solution implemented on the lowest scale possible. In this case, Resolution 8 seeks to solve an incredibly complex problem with a carpet-like solution thrown over every student and professor. This one-size-fits-all thinking is dangerous, hollow, and unbecoming of an institution “like Cornell” as it is somewhat snobbishly distinguished in Resolution 8. Rather, professors and students, on an individual basis, should formulate the ways and means to address and solve mental health issues.

In the sleepy little town of Elmira, New York, Rep. Tom Reed (R) and Democratic Tompkins County Legislator Martha Robertson ‘75 duked it out in NY23’s only election debate.

About 160 people, old and young, Republicans and Democrats, gathered into the civic auditorium where the one-hour debate was held. The debate was also broadcasted live on CSPAN. Debate topics included familiar ones like immigration policy, job creation, gun control, and ISIS. Some more unexpected questions featured Common Core and a question about Ebola and whether candidates supported travel bans (Reed did, Robertson didn’t). Overall, the two candidates answered as one would expect.

Reed mostly stuck to his fiscally conservative, small government platform while Robertson espoused big government progressivism.

The highlight of the night came when each candidate had the opportunity to ask the other a question.

Robertson asked why Reed was part of the “war on women,” but upon uttering those words the audience burst out in laughter, causing Robertson to ask for time back on her clock. Footage of this is quickly going viral.

Overall, Robertson’s liberal progressivism, immature answers (e.g. citing her experience as a kindegarten teacher when talking about ISIS), and constant, relentless attempts to personally attack Reed lost her the debate.

Oct. 10: Daily Sun in Full Panic Mode As Robertson Loses DCCC Funding

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) recently cut its advertising funding for New York’s 23rd district Democratic candidate, Martha Robertson ’75. The ads would have aired in the final two weeks leading up to the election and were slated to cost $465,000.

This is a drastic setback among many others for Robertson, who just back in March was placed by the DCCC in the “Red to Blue” program. But all along the way, Robertson has clung to her cookie-cutter liberal platform, which seemingly doesn’t go over well outside of Ithaca in the mostly conservative, job-hungry, economically- depressed Southern Tier and Western New York.

The Cornell Review has covered some of her recent shady behavior and unethical collusion with the left-leaning Cornell Daily Sun. Legal Insurrection has John Pedro is a sophomore in a plethora of articles on just the College of Arts and Sciences. about everything else she He can be reached at jmp488@ has done wrong. cornell.edu.

Lastly, reliance on collective legislative or governmental action to solve problems, especially problems of the individual, is dangerously indolent. One example is the past proposal of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to ban sugary drinks of sixteen ounces or more, in order to fight obesity. The idea that mandates by the few can cure the ails of the many is also inherently arrogant. Bloomberg declared that his soda ban (which was struck down by the State Supreme Court) “earned [him his] place in heaven.”

Such mandates and decrees erode personal freedom and individual responsibility—the backbones of a dynamic and resilient society.

The implementation of Resolution 8 would do no great harm, nor would it do any great good; by this standard, it should not be implemented. Though pertaining to a crucial topic, it is unnecessary, doesn’t address the underlying problems that prevent students from dealing with mental health, and should not become a mandate to professors.

Oct. 23: Robertson Loses NY23 Debate

But the Sun apparently isn’t taking Robertson’s electoral demise too well.

Today’s front page dominant story was on Robertson losing the DCCC funding, with a headline spanning the entire page reading “Martha Robertson ’75 Sees Setback After Dems Pull Funding.”

The front page featured two other articles, one of which was campus specific, and both of which had good photos.

Why did the Sun editorial board feel this article had to be the leading news story?

For aloof, apathetic, and/or ignorant students, this isn’t that big of a deal.

More likely, it’s because the Sun’s editorial board is panicking now that they see Robertson’s chances of turning NY23 from red to blue are diminishing as each day passes.

Tom Reed, you‛re part of the war against women.* *actual quote

12

Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people wanting to be important.

T.S. Eliot

Wisemen & Fools

Business creates wealth; government divides it.

William Spencer My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.

Thomas Jefferson To the anti-government wingers in my thread: so far, the only “spread of Ebola” in the U.S. was caused by a private hospital in a red state.

Amy Reid, MSNBC host Universal education has created an immense class of what I may call the

28

Number of Harvard law faculty that signed an op-ed protesting new campus sexual assault policies

New Stupid, hungering for certainty yet unable to find it in the traditional myths and their rationalizations.

Aldous Huxley

When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes.

Napolean Bonaparte

combating global warming and climate change than finding the terrorists who killed a US ambassador, two former US Navy SEALs, and another American in Benghazi.

Lt. Col. Allen West

this is whatever.’ No. There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own.

Nobody.

Elizabeth Warren

It’s important to recognize A tree fell on Greg Abbott. He that Cornell administrators sued and got millions. Since really aren’t here for our then, he’s spent his career interests, that student working against other victims. government isn’t in a position to actually represent students, Ad for Wendy Davis, Texas that Cornell’s historical and Democratic gubenatorial ongoing purpose to educate candidate some of the American America is a country founded population has always and can only proceed through the on guns. It’s in our DNA. It’s subjugation and immiseration A nanny state is hostile very strange but I feel better of others. to liberty. Any attempt to having a gun. I really do. I Cornell Disorientation Guide institute or continue it should don’t feel safe, I don’t feel be opposed, root and branch. the house is completely safe, Government intervention is if I don’t have one hidden never the solution; it is always somewhere. That’s my Change change change part of the problem. thinking, right or wrong. change change change change change change Laurence Vance, author Brad Pitt change change change change change change The [Obama] administration I hear all this, you know Barack Obama is more comfortable ‘Well, this is class wafare,

Just the Numbers $50 $1.125 0 Millions of dollars hedge fund manager David Einhorn ‘91 donated to Cornell this month

Number of hazmat suits provided to U.S. military personnel fighting Ebola in West Africa

Millions of dollars Cornell will give in additional funding to the TCAT system over the next three years

$17,883,775,500,000 $18.2

Billions of dollars ride-sharing app Uber is worth, more than Avis, Fiat, Dropbox, and Airbnb

1300

Seating capacity of Bailey Hall, where the Bill Gates event was hosted

$20

Desired minimum wage of the Freedom Socialist Party

U.S. National Debt

$13

How much the Freedom Socialist Party pays web designers per hour according to employment ads

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