FEBRUARY 4, 2009 | THE MEREDITH HERALD • Educating Women to Excel | VOL XXVI • ISSUE '10
Snow Day at
Meredith College
(SEE page 3)
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ECONOMY GETS WORSE
BEFORE IT GETS BETTER
Morgan Ericson
Staff Writer
“For. everywhere we look, there
is work to be done. The state of
the economy calls for action, bold
and swift, and we will act — not
only to create new jobs, but to lay
a new foundation for growth. We
will build the roads and bridges,
the electric grids and digital lines
that feed our commerce and bind us
together. We will restore science to
its rightful place, and wield technol
ogy’s wonders to raise health care’s
quality and lower its cost. We will
harness the sun and the winds and
the soil to fuel our cars and run our
factories. And we will transform our
schools and colleges and universi
ties to meet the demands of a new
age. All this we can do. And all this
we will do.” -excerpt from Presi
dent Obama’s inaugural address
During Obama’s initial days in
office, he has campaigned for an
economic stimulus package, hold
ing separate meetings with congres
sional Republicans, Democrats and
twelve CEOs. On Wed., January
28, 2009, the House approved the
$825 billion package, whose total,
according to CNN, would rise to
$1.2 trillion with interest. 11 Demo
crats voted against the bill, and no
Republican voted in its favor. A
different version of the bill will be
reviewed by the Senate; Democrats
must win at least 60 votes (including
two Republican votes), and leaders
hope to have Obama sign the final
bill into law by President’s Day
in February.
According to CNN, the Congres
sional Budget Office has estimated
that 64 percent of the package’s
funds would be distributed in 2009
and 2010, providing the bill is ap
proved soon. Critics worry that the
package would not create enough
jobs and output at a fast enough
pace. The package would also al
locate funds to states’ transporta
tion and infrastrucmre sectors, but
the Congressional Budget Office
has estimated that five years would
lapse before states would be able to
utilize 85% of their augmented bud
gets.
In other news, job losses from
the last week in January resulted
in layoffs for more than 100,000
people nationally. On January 28,
2009, CN>5 reported that Starbucks
will be closing 300 of itS'stores and
cutting over 6,700 jobs, a decision
that will affect 6,000 retail workers
and 700 non-store employees. Star
bucks’ president Howard Schultz
has informed the public that he will
have his salary cut to under $ 10,000
dollars for this year (last year he suf
ficed with $1.2 million). Also within
the food industry, every box of Girl
Scouts Cookies will contain 2-4 less
cookies due to higher transportation
costs; several of the cookies will
change shape and size.
The United States Postal Service
is also in a bind: due to a lower vol
ume of packages and a loss in reve
nue, mail delivery might be reduced
to five days weekly instead of the
federally mandated six days.
Technology and electronic indus
tries such as Dell and Jabil Circuit
also announced job cuts this week,
the latter stating it would cut 3,000
jobs globally. Intel reported a 90
percent drop in profits in the fourth
quarter (“I.B.M. Tops Forecasts for
the Quarter”, New York Times).
IBM has fared considerably well
through the economic recession.
Despite Chief Executive Samuel
Palmisano’s statement that the com
pany was approaching a different
alternative to layoffs, it has been
estimated that at least 1,200. em
ployees were laid off in the United
States and Canada during the last
two weeks. Although it has not been
determined how many IBM. em
ployees at RTP were affected by this
downsizing, Lee Conrad, a member
of a labor union tracking the layoffs,
has determined these layouts affect
ed employees in Research Triangle
Park, NC, East Fishkili, NY, and
Tucson, AZi
The economic crisis has not only
affected RTP but the entirety of
North Carolina; local students may
See ECONOMY, PAGE 2
Green Tip for
the Week of
February 4
Recycle old magazines
During the 2008-09 academic
year, Meredith College's cam
pus theme is “Sustaining our
Environment: Developing
our Greenprint.” To help the
Meredith community make
daily choices that are ben
eficial to the environment,
Angels for the Environment
have compiled a year’s worth
of tips for greener living.
To view green tips from
previous weeks, visit www.
meredith.edu/campus-theme/
environmental-tips.htm.