Thursday, September 25
Economic Club of NY Luncheon
Waldorf Astoria
On Thursday, September 25th 2008, eight LGS scholars had an opportunity to attend the luncheon hosted by the Economic Club of New York and meet the Honorable President of Mexico Felipe Calderón Hinojosa in person. Below is a reflection of the day written by Mashal Hamidi.
My fellow Levermore Scholars and I were greatly excited to attend the luncheon with the President of Mexico Felipe Calderón hosted by the Economic Club of New York at the Waldorf Astoria. The opening speaker was Robert D. Hormats, Vice Chairman of the New York Economic Club and the Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs. It was fascinating to hear him speak in the midst of an economic crisis in the United States.
As for the Mexican President, I was more interested in what he had to say than actually meeting him. His ideas and policies are highly crucial to the people in the United States due to our close ties with Mexico geographically, politically and economically through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). One part of his speech that caught my attention was him apologizing for the economic crisis in the United States. I was simply astonished because I could not understand why he would apologize.
The President also mentioned all the wonderful things that Mexico has to offer, including natural resources. This is the reason the country does not have to rely on anyone else for certain commodities. However, it is a shame that the lack of actual leadership and implementation of effective policies has hindered Mexico from flourishing. President Calderon mentioned that organized crime is a major issue in Mexico and he aims to eradicate organized crime and drug trafficking. ''Everyday I dream of a safer Mexico,'' Calderon said. I truly hope he turns his dream into reality for his people. His people deserve better jobs to attain better livelihoods.
One other topic that was of great interest to me was his educational policies. He promised to make education accessible to everyone. I believe that access to education in Mexico would lower the crime rate, lessen drug trafficking and illegal immigration to the United States, and create better economic opportunities for families. One interesting policy that he mentioned was assisting families by providing them with a small amount of economic funding as an incentive for families to send their children to school.
Overall, he spoke eloquently and truly sounded ambitious in implementing reform policies in his country. In the end we even got to take a picture with President Calderon!
Written by Mashal Hamidi, LGS Junior
Read more about the Luncheon
