Open Forum at Converse to Focus on Economic Plans of U.S. Presidential Candidates
A non-partisan economic forum will be held at Converse College Oct. 20 to help voters decide for themselves whether Senator John F. Kerry’s or President George W. Bush’s economic plan is best for the U.S. economy.
The forum, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Converse chapter of the Pi Gamma Mu National Honor Society, and will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Daniel Recital Hall. Featured panelists will be Converse economic professors Dr. Madelyn Young and Dr. Woodrow Hughes, and Limestone College economic professor Dr. Paul LeFrancois.
“So much of this presidential campaign has been focused on image and who best served their country patriotically rather than about economic issues,” said Converse senior Sarajane LoGuirato, president of Pi Gamma Mu. “In our economic forum, the panelists will cut through all of the ads and propaganda of both campaigns, and match their stated economic plans with what actually works and what does not.”
The central issues of the forum will be Social Security, trade policy, taxes and the budget, and the minimum wage. “These are the economic issues that are usually dominant in presidential campaigns,” said Dr. Hughes. “We will make a concerted effort to keep this as non-partisan as possible. For example, we will say, ‘here is what President Bush says he will do about the minimum wage, and this is how we-as economists-think his plan will actually affect the economy.'”
For more information about the economic forum, call 596-9089.