Effect of International Students on the US Economy

Effect of International Students on the US Economy

Shreya Sharma
Economics

Of the 19.9 million students that attend college in the US, 1 million of those students come from countries from around the world. In light of the pandemic, many of these students have not been able to travel back to their home countries due to travel bans and the danger of traveling abroad. But as per the policy issued by Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the week of July 6th, all international students were forced to leave the country as numerous colleges transitioned to online/hybrid classes for the fall. Under its policy, ICE ruled that all students with study visas will not be allowed to take a full course load or continue living in the United States if their colleges have transitioned to online-only for the fall semester. The policy also states that students that have previously left the country will not be allowed to return either. ICE put this policy in place due to the “extraordinary circumstances” posed by this virus and are calling for a suspension of employment and student visas. Colleges across the country decided to take a stand against this new policy and although the final verdict resulted in the policy being revoked, it is important to recognize the impact these students have on the US economy and our global standing.

The Fight Against Human Trafficking Begins at the Computer

The Fight Against Human Trafficking Begins at the Computer

Monica Wallace
Current Events

The seventh episode of the fifth season of the Emmy-Award Winning TV series Friends features a conversation between Phoebe Buffay and Joey Tribbani while sipping coffee in the famed Central Perk. In jest, Phoebe challenges Joey’s masculinity during the scene to which he responds defensively, “Hey, I am secure with my masculinity… You’ve seen my huge stack of porn, right? (Friends). His response represents a similar theme echoed throughout the series, modern popular culture, and society as a whole: male consumption of porn is both universal and representative of how “real men” should act. Meaning, if you fail to fulfill this expectation, you have forfeited an integral element of your manhood.

Kelp & Climate

Kelp & Climate

Ethan Wildes
Environmental Policy, Economics

As the new President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office in January, he plans to usher in a new administration and agenda that aims to bring large changes to how America handles climate change. Part of his plan includes “an enforcement mechanism to achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050” (Plan for Climate Change, 2020). Bringing a nation to net-zero emissions takes more than just talk. It involves compensating for existing carbon dioxide emission sources like cows and industrials, greenhouse gas emitters that won’t simply disappear in the next thirty years. It goes beyond simply reducing our emissions. To accomplish this, we will need to see significant methods of removing these emissions from the atmosphere. One such method, and the focus of this article today, is the farming of kelp.

Election Controversies and Delayed Presidential Transitions: Then Compared to Now

Election Controversies and Delayed Presidential Transitions: Then Compared to Now

Naomi Buchanan
Government Current Events

Donald Trump’s presidency has been different than others and the transition has been no exception. Since Joe Biden’s victory, Trump has been adamant that the election has been rigged against him despite no evidence of fraud, leading to a contentious transition of power. Trump’s four years in office have been branded by divisive partisan politics, Twitter outbursts and personal feuds so it is unsurprising that his reelection loss has been handled without grace. Throughout American history, the period of time between Election Day and Inauguration Day has traditionally been used to coordinate a smooth transition between the incumbent and the president-elect. Instead, president Trump has spent the remainder of his time in the White House focused on spreading unfounded claims about widespread government corruption to his supporter base. While Trump’s theatrics have resulted in a notable nationwide divide, disputed election results are not new in recent American history.

The Relationship Between Game Theory and COVID Guidelines

The Relationship Between Game Theory and COVID Guidelines

Celia Schurman
Political Theory, Economies in Games

Amidst a growing number of COVID-19 cases and elevated uncertainty surrounding the trajectory of the pandemic, municipalities across the US are reinstating lockdown restrictions. Heated criticism comes from every direction, as both lockdown-proponents and opponents contest the best method for managing the virus. While everyone has different opinions on the matter, a familiar question has resurfaced: will people adhere to stay-at-home orders? Enforcing lockdown measures has proved to be difficult. Despite safety guidelines, many people continue to ignore recommended precautions, and the question of “why?” arises. While the answer is often reduced to saying that deviators simply don’t care about public welfare, this generalization doesn’t capture all the factors at play. Behavioral economics can explain why many people deviate from COVID recommendations; the pandemic can be treated as a game, and as such, game theory can elucidate why public consensus on how to handle the pandemic is not uniform. Examination under the lens of game theory shows that individuals often benefit more by not following guidelines. From this conclusion, the added benefit of further lockdowns becomes questionable.

Using Canada as a future indicator for the US

Using Canada as a future indicator for the US

Jack Geiger
Politics

Republicans and Democrats can both agree on the fact that the coronavirus is costing the US economy a substantial amount of money. Stimulus is nearly entirely funded through government issued debt, or bonds. Debt has been a gargantuan issue for the US government for the last decade, which leaves Democrats and Republicans fighting over the size of stimulus bills. Canada’s rationale and commentary behind their recent stimulus measures may prove insightful to the United States in deciding how to proceed. The stakes are rising as countries get deeper into debt and the economic horizon is still uncertain. One strategist commented, “Canada could come off as heroic if this spending is done right…If Canada fails, all the emergency spending might have been done in vain because we won’t have the capacity to power the post-vaccine recovery” (Vieira and Mackrael, 2020). As the United States legislature debates another stimulus bill, lawmakers should consider the reasons behind Canada’s recent economic actions.

Tesla’s Inclusion in the S&P 500

Tesla’s Inclusion in the S&P 500

Luke Kathman
Economics, Finance

In early September 2020, Tesla fell short of what was thought by many to be a done deal: inclusion into the S&P 500 Index. This Index is supposed to reflect the total investable market culture. A reflection on whether or not the market is healthy. Inclusion would help Tesla’s stock boost since investors can see that it is one of the most valuable companies on the market. This index did not include Tesla, the largest automotive maker by market capitalization. Also, by market capital, Tesla is the eighth largest publicly traded company on the market (Elmerraji, 2020), beating companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Proctor & Gamble (Randewich, 2020). Both of which have been included in the S&P 500 for many years.

Automation, From an Economic Point of View

Automation, From an Economic Point of View

Juan Dufour
Economics

In the next ten years, one out of three American workers (and 800 million globally) are at risk of losing their jobs to new technologies, according to research from McKinsey (Manyika et al., 2019). Automation, the use of largely automatic equipment in a system of manufacturing or other production processes, and Artificial Intelligence, the development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, are going to replace millions in the workplace. Many people are freaking out about this; while at the same time, many people are looking forward to it. Should we be worried about automation or should we be happy? That depends. When discussing automation it is crucial to understand that (i) we don’t want jobs, (ii) it will bring about massive economic disparity, and (iii) we must approach this future in an intelligent manner.

THE COVID-19 VACCINE: Does it Come with 2 Day Free Shipping?

THE COVID-19 VACCINE: Does it Come with 2 Day Free Shipping?

Shraiy Gupta
Economics

Coronavirus has uprooted life for most people and penetrated into every aspect of our lives. New working from home policies, virtual learning, mask mandates, politics, and communication are focused on the raging pandemic. Current data suggests that the worldwide death toll has surpassed 1.34 million deaths, with 254,000 of those being within the US alone [1]. However, there has been hope on the horizon. Pfizer and Moderna have made incredible strides, creating a vaccine that is 95% and 94.5% effective at treating the Coronavirus. While the fact that a vaccine has been discovered is amazing, there is still a huge issue: distribution. With the spread of Coronavirus, the world's optimized supply chain network took significant damage. Now, it is this same crippled system that will be placed in charge of distributing the cure to the Coronavirus. This article intends to highlight the current issues with the distribution network and potential issues to resolve before the vaccine distribution.

All Eyes on the Middleman 

All Eyes on the Middleman 

Ethan Plasker
Finance

The race to produce a vaccine for COVID-19 is coming to a close finish as drugmakers await FDA approval for their vaccines and distributors await massive shipments to issue across the globe. McKesson is a “global leader in healthcare supply chain management solutions” and is currently under contract with the United States government for $568 billion to produce supply kits with needles, syringes, and personal protective equipment for business related to the COVID-19 pandemic (LaVito, 2020). Traditionally, McKesson partners with healthcare organizations to match their products and services to the right customers in a timely, safe, and cost effective manner (McKesson, 2020). The healthcare company was also chosen as the central distributor by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to supply the government’s Operation Warp Speed (OWS), which is an accelerated vaccine process designed by the government this year. This unprecedented task at slating the completion timeline for the vaccine process to 14 months as opposed to the typical 73 months will come at a great challenge (Figure 1, defense.gov). We are at a critical point in the process with Phase III clinical trials in the rearview. With the spotlight on McKesson, we will look to them for updates on the vaccine distribution process in the coming weeks, but for now, let us dive into what that might look like.

Load More