Election 2008

After starting his campaign off strong, America's Mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, has faded in the race for the White House. Of the remaining republican candidates, Giuliani has the least number of delegates for nomination: two, according to CNN.com.

However, Giuliani has stockpiled campaign funds greater than that of US Sen. John McCain, US Rep. Ron Paul, and former Ark. Gov. Mike Huckabee combined. New York City's former mayor had over $47 million as of Jan. 7, an amount that could rebuild Alumni Arena.

In Delaware, the 45th most populated state, Giuliani has raised $102,700. According to the 2006 US Census Bureau, the estimated income of a four-person family in the state was $78,321.

Why have people given so much to a candidate that has shown so little promise? So far in the primaries, Rudy has finished 3rd in Wyoming, 4th in New Hampshire, and 6th in Iowa, Michigan, Nevada and South Carolina.

Giuliani is allowing Florida to determine his presidential future; on Jan. 29, Floridians will have to decide if Giuliani's millions bought him the election. The Mayor has already out-fundraised his republican counterparts in the Sunshine State with $3.5 million.

Even if Giuliani is relatively successful in the closed Florida primary, and he wins 50 percent of the vote, he will still only get about 30 delegates towards the nomination, not even close to the amount that he needs to catch former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney or McCain. In all likelihood, Rudy won't win dramatically, if he even wins at all.

For at least the past 30 years, every republican presidential candidate that has gone on to accept his party's nomination has won either the Iowa caucus or the New Hampshire primary - it's not looking too good for Rudy or his $47 million. Americans should be disenchanted Rudy - the candidate of inaction.

(Don't) Panic

UB's Dr. Southwick encourages students to "buy low, sell high."

According to The New York Times, the Federal Reserve cut its interest rate by .75 percent to ward off the "R" word: recession. In an interview with The Spectrum, University research scholar and financial expert, Lawrence Southwick, Ph.D., called the article "sensationalized."

"Usually, people who are panicked tend to push the market down. They're like sheep. The market is down, what, fifteen percent? It isn't a big deal."

The stock market may seem like it's freefalling, but J.P. Morgan said over one hundred years ago, markets "fluctuate." For uncertain investors, pulling money out of the market may seem like the best thing to do short term, but in the long term, it hurts the economy.

For students, it may be particularly frightening to invest in the stock market during a depressed period in the world economy, but experts like Southwick explain that things must first get worse before they get better. A student who buys low will have a wealth of investment when prices are high later in life.

"The way to retire early is to start early on building a nest egg. A good way to do that is not through stocks, but through bonds. Whatever you're going to do, get started early. Look into the stock market [and] cheap index funds. [Professors] who have put money into stocks have done very well over their careers."

According to Southwick, since there have been two "down" quarters in a row, the six-month period statistically indicates a "recession" even though the market may not be really "depressed." Recessions are all part of the business cycle, since what goes up must come down. Factors such as the unemployment rate determine whether the nation is in a depression, or an otherwise prolonged recession, according to HowStuffWorks.com.

According to The International Monetary Fund, the gross national product for the United States was $15,526,772, roughly 32 percent of the world's GDP. The IMF estimates by the end of 2007, the US will hold only 30 percent of the world's GDP.

Sidney J. Harris knows the difference between a two commonly confused terms: "a recession is when your neighbor loses his job; a depression is when you lose your job."

The declining strength of the dollar and the troublesome housing market are more worrisome than a dip in the Dow's percentage points. The recession is still a safe time for investment, and now is a better time than ever to start. We students can take a lesson from Dr. Southwick, who remains optimistic.

"The future of America is going to be wonderful, I believe that," he said.