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Show Dir. Miiinslw Lectures On "The Crisis understand the financial and institutional causes of economic instability and the recurrent cycles of prosperity and recession that plague the capitalist system. Thirty years ago most economists believed the problem of economic instability had been solved. Minsky alone cautioned that the manner in which investment is financed the American econthe winter of 1932-3omy collapsed ushering in the Great De3, Dr. Hyman Minsky, renowned economics researcher, spoke on The Crises in Finance on Wednesday, October 30, in the Gore Auditorium as the first lecturer for the 1991-9- 2 Weldon J. Taylor Executive economy. Hamilton created the First Bank of the U.S . which was the second U.S . bank. This was followed by wild cat banking all over the nation until congress passed the pression. We are now witnessing an implosion, the collapse and decline of the economies of the Soviet Union and its former satellites. Its a chaotic situation at best, said It is very similar to what we Minsky. experienced during the 1930s. Capitalism in the U.S., Germany and many other countries around the world was a failed system in 1933 when Pres. Roosevelt (along with many state governors) closed the banks, according to Minsky. The federal government put a new banking system into place which allowed many of the healthier banks to reopen. Many others remained closed. Minsky said this new system has served the country well in the ensuing years. Federal deposit insurance has protected most depositors accounts against failure of financial institutions. After World War II, our country s econ-om- y experienced what many people call our golden age from 1946 to 1970. However, Minsky said we only had a practical best. There were still imperfections and things went wrong, but thats the Lecture Series at Westminster College. Minsky has spent a lifetime trying to National Banking Act in the 1870s. This lasted for approximately 50 years. In the early 1900s, we went on the Federal Reserve system which was meant to cure all of our financial ills, and it did, for about 10 or 12 years, said Minsky. Then die stock market crash of 1929 started a process of economic declines and minirecoveries that went on for 42 months. In nature of the human beings and human society. All in all, we had year after year of economic growth, said Minsky. The benefits of our economy were more widely distributed than ever before. Then things began to unravel, according to Minsky. He said we had inherited an economy that had a history of failure which was transformed into a success, but sue- - necessarily generates instability. History has vindicated Minsky. have experienced We numerous credit crunches, bank failures , leveraged buyouts, the 1987 stock market crash, S&L failures, etc. In brief, recent events make Minsky among the most important and relevant economists living today, said Watkins. Minsky said problems of the financial structure and performance of the economy have been with us since the birth of the Republic. Alexander Hamilton, first secretary of the U.S. Treasury, thought it vitally important that the federal government assume the state debt because the federal debt was viewed as a unifying effect on the by Fred Thaller Forum staff writer Glaeser Takes On New Responsibility by Heather Bradley Forum staff writer Salt Lake City native Janet Andrews Glaeser has been appointed vice president for institutional advancement at Westminster. Glaeser, who is responsible for fund raising and supervising annual giving, grant writing, public relations and printing operations, said, Its a good fit for me. Glaeser moved back to Utah about a month ago with her husband Alfred L. Glaeser, Jr. She loves her position at Westminster and said Wesminster is a great educational and caring environment Glaeser said people will want to support the institution financially because of the confidence iit the administration and a feeling that the board is fiscally responsible and creative in approaching future direction of the institution. Glaeser says she has a responsibility to make certain money is spent however requested by the donors and to see that donors are recognized for their generosity and are kept abreast of the area they funded, as well as remaining up to date on Westminster affairs. The donor needs to feel Continued on page 3 In Finance" cess is very transitory, it doesnt last Minsky said we must be aware of the nature of the beast if we want to harness the power of our economy for the betterment of all people. Hardly a day goes by we dont hear in the media about the failure of large companies and financial institutions, said Minsky. Congress has constantly been tinkering with things. They forget about the old slogan, If it aint broke, dont fix it Congress is currently considering a massive overhaul of our financial structure. There are things that need fixing, but Congress may be taking the wrong path. Minsky said we need to stop and think about what we are doing. Congress tends to go for the quick fix on individual projects without consideration to long-tereffects. Minsky said we have many things to consider before making policies that will affect us far into the future. The changes going on in the Soviet Union will have an impact on us. These newly emerging counuies have no clear concept of private property rights or interest rates. Creating a viable financial structure is going to be very difficult tor tnem. mere are now m credit crunches occurring world-widVirtually every country is trying to retool its financial structure to fit in with the economic realities of today. What is a financial structure? Minsky said the fundamental concept is the balance e. sheet; listing assets on one side and liabili- Contmued on page 4 Westminster Senior Saves Life Of Infant 7 , Volume XXXIV Issue IX Westminster College of Salt Lake City Tuesday, November 12, 1991 Chris Bertram saved the life of the son of Jeff and Sherry Gonzales. The baby, Mark, had been running a high fever and had a seizure as he was riding in the back of his parents car. Mrs. Gonzales said she glanced into the back seat of their car to check on the boy and noticed he had stopped breathing. The parents spotted Bertrams patrol car at a convenience store and frantically approached the officer with the baby. Bertram, 23, had been on solo patrol for a few weeks. It was a real busy night, he said. Im talking to the clerk, and see this car come screeching into the parking lot It pulled in behind my car, I couldnt have imagined what was going to happen, he said. The deputy took control of the near-fatsituation. He immediately called for paramedics on his hand unit, and laying the baby on the trunk of his car, he calmly al Forum staff writer began giving him Westminster student and rookie deputy mouthrto-mout- h I wondered how long he had been on the job, said the babys mother, but he sure knew what he was doing. Paramedics arrived in less than three minutes. By that time, said MikeUlibarri, one of the first medical technicians on the scene, the baby was breathing on his own. The deputy did everything right, said Ulibarri. Had he not known what to do, by the time the parents drove the boy all the way to the hospital, it could have been too late, he said. This is the first emergency situation when Bertram has had to actually perform mouth-to-mout- h. I wasnt consciously scared until I realized what had happened and everything calmed down, he said. You do so many things as an officer that people hate you for, said Bertram, so when something like this happens to you, it really feels good. It was one of the greatest feelings ever, he said. Bertram is a senior, planning to graduate this spring with a degree in psychology. |