Actually watch the movies on your To Be Watched list

by PATRICIA PATNODE staff writer Coronavirus has ushered in the end of an eleven-year bull market. Panic on Wall Street is rampant and investors are terrified. There is a lot to be concerned about, however, the fundamentals of the U.S. economy are strong, putting us in a hopeful position as the country faces the pandemic crisis.

When looking at the US economy, it’s easy to cherry-pick different numbers, averages and features of our monetary mechanisms to suit their opinion much like any other subject. However, when looking at the economic data, it is impossible to deny the good place that the United States economy is in right now.

The economy rises and falls according to the global market, labor force availability and thousands of other indicators. Fundamentally, all markets are mirrors of human behavior. For example, if people are afraid of traveling to China because of the Coronavirus, then that fear will be reflected in the market for plane tickets and other tourist services. Similarly, markets are greatly impacted by the regulation of a country’s government.

So what exactly has happened in the past four years since President Donald Trump took office? Lost in the wake of his loud tweets and political drama were massive changes to U.S. tax code and economic policy. In 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which has increased the expensing limit for small businesses and incentivized owners to invest in their company through equipment, transportation or other asset purchases. The corporate income tax rate was also cut, making the U.S. tax rate drop below other international competitors. Additionally, small businesses were granted a 20 percent deduction on passthrough income.

Currently, U.S. unemployment sits at 3.6 percent, a 50 year low; about 7 million jobs have been added since 2017 and we have the lowest unemployment rate for Black, Hispanic, and Asian Americans in history. U.S. average hourly year-to-year wage increases took a massive hit between 2008-2009, but now they are finally returning to their pre-crisis level at above 3 percent change increase year-to-year.

The Bureau of Labor statistics also measures that attitudes of business owners and small business optimism broke a 35-year record in 2018 and still remains very high.

Everything described paints a very hopeful and successful economic picture. Still, some speak of an impending recession, claiming that optimism and this period of growth can’t last. Many are still skeptical from 2008, wary that any economic success is a Trojan horse carrying another disaster like the loan crisis that sent us spiraling over 10 years ago. The U.S. economy at the beginning of the Trump Administration was still slowly climbing out of the 2008 market disaster. By 2017, the Trump Administration implemented meaningful legislation to make the economy more competitive through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and waged war on hundreds of U.S. regulations, maintaining the impressive ratio of repealing eight regulatory rules for every one passed.

It would be wrong to say that the economy under Trump is a result of the economic policy of the Obama Administration, as Trump has fought Obama’s economic, healthcare and trade policies since inauguration. Still, the economy was beginning to recover under the Obama administration, so it would be a fair analogy to say that President Trump took the ingredients that Obama bought, then made a cake, hosted a party and gave everyone who attended a check.

by GATIEN DELAUNAY staff writer The word “Coronavirus” is on everyone’s lips and is now affecting our daily lives. People are calling their families and starting to pack. By Friday, Mar. 20, most Loras students will be back home trying to stay away from the COVID-19. However, not all of them will have the opportunity to do so. Loras College is also the home for several international students, and some of them come from far away countries such as Colombia, Brazil, Ghana, and France. They are unable to go back home.

I am not writing this article as a feature writer and columnist for the Lorian but as one of the international students who will have to stay on campus for an undetermined period. It isn’t very easy to make sense of what is happening right now, it is simply too early.

Upon hearing this announcement, both emotions and questions follow one another. Will this situation last until the end of the semester? Will we be able to stay on campus until then or be obliged to go back home? Students remaining on campus will have to move to Binz Hall and agree to not leave the Dubuque area. This is the deal we were given and I feel angry and sad to have to cope with it so far away from my friends and family. However, I understand the situation and accept it because the main reason Europe is struggling so much is because this threat was taken lightly.

Given how fast the virus spreads, every day counts, and making a decision even one week late can have terrible consequences. Now some countries in Europe are paying the price. In my home country, France, time seems to have stopped and inhabitants will be in confinement. Making this kind of decision before the virus arrived would have been the best way to prevent it — or at least reduce its impact. My main concern is to know if I would have to go back to France, which is unideal given their current situation, and I don’t know if I will be able to come back to the U.S. after that. Two months away from graduation, the seniors – including myself – are heavily concerned.

“It is something that has no precedents in the history of human kind,” said senior Jorge Ramirez, an exchange student from Colombia. “We are talking about a virus that is affecting literally every single person on earth. The younger generations will come out of this stronger, and everything will be put in place again.”

“As an international student, you always worry about your family members who are nowhere near you, but it is important to pray for their well-being and hope everything is over quick. Mentally, we all need to be stronger in times like this. I’m very sad my senior year had to end like this,” Ramirez concluded.

He and his current roommates will be renting an Airbnb in Galena for a month, waiting to find out if Loras

College is closing for the semester. Juniors Juan Arias and Juan Caicedo, also students from Colombia, expressed their concerns about staying at Binz Hall. They both currently live in LMAC, and even though they appreciate the offer made to international students to stay on campus, they don’t understand why they would have to move to Binz, where there is only one kitchen for everybody.

“I think transferring us to Binz is not the best decision because of the moving in, and most importantly, our alimentation,” Arias said. “It’s good that they are letting us stay, but it’s not the best location at all.”

Caicedo decided to go to Chicago as he has some family over there. Arias, for his part, remains undetermined.

I am not only speaking as an international student but also as a senior student. Many people are in the same situation and ask the question: will we be able to walk across that stage at graduation and show the community our accomplishments? The answer remains uncertain. We may also have to say goodbye to some people we have grown to love and cherish throughout our studies at Loras College.

We certainly thought that things would end a different way, we don’t deserve this. It is unfair, but at the same time we know that such drastic measures are indispensable given the current situation. It’s a mix of conflicting feelings and thoughts that come through my mind and the minds of many other students, whether they are international or not, whether they seniors or not. The only thing we can do right now is wait, accept, and respect the measures taken. Let’s hope that this virus is not going to end our fantastic adventure at Loras College prematurely.

To all the people I have met and got to know during my years here, I love you and wish you all the best.

executive editor: JON QUINN

news editor and graphic designer: ANNA PETERSEN

opinion editor: CONOR KELLY

sports editor: KEEGAN GODWIN

executive copy editor and web editor: MIKAILAH SHEALER

assistant copy editor: SARAH LANDERHOLM

advertising manager: SAM MARTIN

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