 "Photo: Alexis Johnson")
Lakshman Achuthan did not bother trying to sugarcoat the current state of the U.S. economy to a crowd of 50 at 19 W. Fourth St. last night.
"There is a recession here," Achuthan said.
Achuthan is the managing director of Economic Cycle Research Institute, which monitors all major economies, providing reference data and forecasting cycle turns. He was this semester's third speaker in the SHARP lecture series, a student-run effort to introduce a wide spectrum of science, history, arts, religion and philosophy viewpoints.
Although the government plans to give out more than $150 billion in tax rebates over the next few weeks as part of an economic stimulus package, Achuthan believes it may have acted too late to avoid the current economic situation.
"The policymakers' fatal flaw was their willingness to allow a delayed delivery," Achuthan said of the stimulus package that was announced in April, but will not actually have an effect until after people have filed their taxes.
"It's like if someone falls on the floor and the medics say 'that person needs CPR,' and then do it in a few months," he said.
Throughout the evening, Achuthan explained the recession's intricacies and steered clear from overgeneralizations.
"[Achuthan] was very responsible that he didn't make any bold comments," Stern student Jeremy Markowitz said. "Personally, I think we stand in dangerous times."
While Achuthan does not think that recessions are completely avoidable, he said he believes this recession could have been held off.
"Yes, with rising inflation in things like the housing market, the bubble needs to pop - but the problem is, how to pop it gently?" Achuthan said. "The earliest the recession would end would be the end of this year, but first we're going to see job loss, more foreclosures, and the credit situation is not going to be helped."
With this year's seniors graduating in a few weeks, some students wonder how their lives will be directly affected by the economy.
"If you're going into things like booze or toilet paper, you'll be unaffected when you're going to look for a job," Achuthan said. "But if the industry you're going into is something that's not a necessity, you may not be able to be so picky. I would go out there knowing you're in a recessionary environment."
Stern sophomore and SHARP founder Matt Rappoport did not seem as nervous as some of the other attendees.
"[The economy] goes in cycles. I'm not gonna start freaking out," Rappoport said. "It may take a year or so, but it'll come around. I'm not worried."
Marc Beja is a staff writer. E-mail him at campus@nyunews.com.
