Beautiful! On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 9:08 PM, Patrick Bond <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > (Anyone else getting these feeble letters from the alma mater? Really, can > we not pass up such an opportunity to gloat? The college I went to was > ranked, at the time, #1 for undergrad economics in the US by the silly > magazine US News and World Report. I had great teachers like Bernie Saffran > and FM Scherer, my thesis advisor. But it took *political economy* to give > me any sense of why the Crash of 2008 was inexorable, and quite a lot of > deprogramming of neoclassical dogma went into that.) > > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Re: Swarthmore's Current Financial Circumstances > Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2008 07:00:27 +0200 > From: Patrick Bond <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > Dear president Bloom, > > I studied economics at Swarthmore during the early 1980s, during a prior > severe economic crisis. At the time there was one Marxist lecturer, David > Weiman, who was limited to teaching the History of Economic Thought. I had > to commute to Penn to study Post-Keynesian macroeconomics under Sidney > Weintraub and heterodox finance under Edward Herman (and later went to Johns > Hopkins for my doctorate in economic geography, where I focused on the > theory of capitalist financial crisis, supervised by David Harvey). > > Because I was deprived of a rounded economics education at Swarthmore, and > because since then, market-oriented scholars in the discipline very > effectively policed against Marxist, Post-Keynesian and heterodox analysis, > I suppose I am not surprised that your finance managers did not protect the > endowment by diversifying into social investments. What salary, may I ask, > are you paying these managers as a reward for blowing 30% of the endowment, > thanks to their touching faith in capitalist markets? May I suggest you buy > them copies of Das Kapital as an investment in their education? > > I would definitely consider donating to Swarthmore, if I felt it would > contribute to ideological diversity on the faculty, so that the economics > and other social science disciplines open up much more to critical thinking > about capitalism, so that, in turn, the next generation of financial > managers are not so stupid and destructive. > > Yours, > Patrick Bond > (Senior Professor, School of Development Studies, University of > KwaZulu-Natal) > > > Alfred H. Bloom, Swarthmore College wrote: >> >> Dear Swarthmoreans, >> >> As you are all aware our nation and world are facing the most dramatic >> decline in financial assets in recent times. Unfortunately the College has >> not been immune from the effects of this decline. >> >> Swarthmore has benefited from a continuing tradition of generous >> philanthropy and has over the years enjoyed exceptional investment success. >> The College has held prudently to a conservative spending rate on its >> endowment during years of excellent return so that it would be well >> positioned in years of disappointing performance. It has also maintained a >> 15% allocation of the endowment to U.S. Treasury securities to support the >> budget and to avoid having to sell equities during periods of market >> weakness. This history and these measures have placed the College in a >> relatively strong position today. >> >> Nevertheless, the almost 30% decline in the endowment from its June 30 >> value of $1.4 billion has been much steeper than anyone anticipated. If the >> endowment remains at its current level or declines further and we continue >> to spend at our current level, we would soon start to erode the financial >> foundation of the College's future. Moreover, until a turnaround takes >> place we can expect a reduction in philanthropic support and an increase in >> the cost of meeting the demonstrated financial need of our students. These >> conditions, coupled with the distinct possibility of a protracted recession >> ahead and uncertainty over when an eventual financial turnaround may take >> place, make it essential to plan for, and move prudently toward, a >> significantly more constrained budgetary environment. >> >> This past weekend the Board of Managers discussed the situation fully. We >> have together decided on a sequence of measured courses of action. >> >> * >> Effective immediately, the College will pull back from all >> non-essential construction work, refrain from initiating any new >> programs, and stringently evaluate any faculty or staff hiring. >> * >> In developing the annual budget for 2009-10 to be submitted to >> the Board of Managers in February, we will shape recommendations >> on enrollment, tuition and fees, and compensation in ways >> sensitive to the financial environment and set guidelines on >> spending across departments that ensure tighter management of >> our resources. >> * >> Over the coming semester we will develop a contingency plan for >> more significant reductions in the budget, which the College >> will begin to implement if by this time next year the College's >> financial situation has not improved. >> >> The College will adhere fully to its current financial aid policies for >> all students presently enrolled as well as for those admitted for the Class >> of 2013. >> >> It is very sobering to consider that this community, which makes such >> careful, constructive, and creative use of its resources, will have to adapt >> to a more constrained financial environment. But in these very exceptional >> times, we must take care to conserve for the future the resources that past >> generations of Swarthmoreans have so carefully conserved for us. And, as >> president, I must ask you to give as generously as you can to the Annual >> Fund this year to help meet the cost of our recent commitment to loan-free >> financial aid awards and to cover the increase we expect in financial need. >> >> I am confident that by acting together, and by maintaining educational >> quality and regard for the people who make up this remarkable community as >> our priorities, we will weather this environment with the distinctive >> excellence of this college undiminished. >> >> Sincerely, >> >> Alfred H. Bloom >> President >> >> ID: 0007523 , Patrick M. Bond '83 If you do not wish to receive future >> electronic mailings from Swarthmore College/,/ click here. >> <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> >> > > > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l >
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