New York State is facing a $2 billion deficit, said Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday. Cristobal Young, a sociologist at Cornell University who studies income inequality and the effects of taxation on the rich, comments on Cuomo’s explanation that the deficit was caused by Trump’s federal tax cuts.

New York State

Economics and Business

Law and Policy

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Christopher Dunn, a botanist, ecologist and director of the Cornell Botanic Gardens, comments on what melting Himalayan glaciers means for indigenous peoples.

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President Trump will deliver his re-scheduled State of the Union remarks Feb. 5 and is expected to reiterate his interest in working with Congress to develop a comprehensive infrastructure package.

Law and Policy

Cornell in DC

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Cornell University environmental historian Aaron Sachs, also a fellow at the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, says that a proposed Green New Deal would be similar to the original New Deal in its focus on serving vulnerable members of society.

Law and Policy

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

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The European Union announced it has set up an “International Contact Group,” including members of the EU as well as four Latin American countries, to help find solutions to the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela. The group, set to meet in Uruguay on Thursday, will pressure Venezuela’s current president to set a date for new elections. Lourdes Casanova, academic director of Cornell University’s Emerging Markets Institute, says that on top of the uncertain political situation, Venezuela’s economic realities also do not leave much room for easy solutions.

International

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

Johnson Graduate School of Management

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On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced that it was leaving interest rates unchanged and cautioned that the bank will be “patient” in future action on interest rates. Cornell University economist Steven C. Kyle, an expert in macroeconomics and government policy, says that signs of a slowdown in the current economic climate are behind the Fed’s recent change of approach.  

Economics and Business

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management

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Charles Greene, professor of oceanography at Cornell University, comments on Japan's plans to return to commercial whaling after three decades.

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Glenn Altschuler, a professor of history and American studies, says that President Trump’s 2019 address may be the most partisan State of the Union ever delivered – even if not delivered in the House Chamber. 

Law and Policy

Cornell in DC

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Mark Wysocki is a meteorologist who specializes in forecasting and weather analysis at the Northeast Regional Climate Center. He says the rapidly developing storm brings the potential for heavy snow and high winds for much of the Northeast.

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Mark Wysocki, a meteorologist who specializes in forecasting and weather analysis at the Northeast Regional Climate Center, comments on a fractured polar vortex likely to bring frigid temperatures to the eastern U.S.

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