Maxwell School News and Commentary

A single piece of information rarely changes anyone’s opinion, "whether it’s true-or false," says Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science, "That’s a good thing." The idea that a handful of unreliable outlets were going to substantially alter views or behaviors "is pretty far-fetched, given what we know about the stability of people’s political attitudes," she adds.

"'The Dow's off 1,000 points, oh my goodness, that's horrible.' But the Dow's [near] 30,000 points, so that's a 3% drop," says Donald Dutkowsky, professor emeritus of economics, adding that a 3% drop is not good, but not awful. "I would advise investors to take a deep breath. If you're in it for the long-term for like your pension, take a deep breath and stay the course."

Stephanie Pasquale ’94 B.A. (PSt)/’97 M.P.A. has been appointed as director of neighborhood engagement at the Allyn Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization working to improve the quality of life across Central New York. In this new position, Pasquale will be the Allyn Family Foundation’s liaison with the City of Syracuse, working closely with the Syracuse Housing Authority on large scale affordable housing projects.

Kathleen Stress ’08 M.A. (PA) has been appointed the executive director of the Onondaga Community College Foundation. In her new position, Stress will oversee the foundation’s programming and outreach, while helping develop plans to attract philanthropic support for Onondaga Community College activities. 

"I think it is fair to say that the tax increase—assuming it is as big as Senator Sanders projects—is about as large as the [13-point] tax increases enacted to finance World War II," as measured as a share of GDP, says Leonard Burman, Paul Volcker Chair in Behavioral Economics.