Faculty looks at impact on civil liberties and a possible recession
By Tyler Stanley
Staff Writer
After last Tuesday’s events, members of the campus community were weary of the country’s well being. In particular, concerns were raised about the economy, the political world and the civil liberties provided.
“I fear that these attacks are a cancer on liberties both in the U.S. and around the world,” said Andrew Goodman, a junior psychology and media studies major.
Harry Wright, a junior political science major, is concerned about liberties that could be taken away.
“I’m afraid that something’s going to give,” he said, “I think we’re going to lose a lot of freedoms.”
Michael Hamilton, chair of the Political Science Department, said that this event could trigger lawmakers to make new decisions regarding personal freedoms. The country may have to ask itself if e-mail should be monitored. According to Hamilton has done in other countries and goes on selectively here.
Hamilton noted that with an event of this size, there are many potential outcomes. One thing for sure, he said, is that many rumors will be flying around.
“The most immediate short term fallout is rumors,” he said. “The smartest thing you can do is not believe everything you hear. Verify it the next day.”
Some things may be more certain than others, however.
“Clearly, it’s going to take a lot longer to get through an airport,” said Hamilton.
Most of the passengers aboard planes are doing business. If travel slows it certainly could bring business down with it. Hamilton said we may see more business decisions made on wire rather than in person.
Knowing that business is slowed down raises questions about the already suffering economy.
Michael Hillard, chair of the Economics Department said this event has affected two major determinants of the American economy.
The first major loss was to large industries such as travel, professional sports, tourism, Federal Express, UPS, and the insurance industry. According to the New York Times, the insurance industry is taking a loss twice the size of the one created by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
The second major loss is to the certainty of the economy. The immediate future could depress consumer and investor confidence.
“These are ingredients for a recession. Possibly severe,” Hamilton said. “However, things could get relatively back to normal in a month.”
It could be a bump in the road, he said, or a bridge collapsing.
Many Americans will be looking at members of Congress in the coming days to see what actions they will be taking. Hamilton said we will see a lot of finger pointing in Congress pertaining to how this could have happened.
In recent years, the government has put more concentration on technology as means of intelligence, he said. After last week’s events many will ask if this was a good idea.
“Have we allowed human intelligence to wither away and was that a good idea?” asked Hamilton.
Both Hamilton and Hillard agree that the confidence of Americans in their economy will play a major role in its future.
“Airlines hope confidence in air travel will be restored,” Hamilton said.
According to Hillard, Maine’s economy was somewhat lucky because the disaster just missed the tourist season. However, Hillard said, “It could be enough to turn Columbus Day from a good one into a bad one.”
Staff Writer Tyler Stanley can be contacted at: [email protected]