Vaclav Klaus, who studied at Cornell in ’69, has created quite a bit of controversy following his budget cuts. Large demonstrations have appeared on the ancient streets of Prague to protest the smaller budget contributions to social services. Klaus’s plan, which is being implemented amid a decline in the value of the Euro and deadlocked interest rates in the Brussels-based trans-continental economy, would reduce the budget my 10% in the coming year.
Considering that the United States has many of the same problems as Europe (poor currency value, mounting debt and established spending holes, and sluggish interest rates), Cornellians should be greatly interested in hearing what Klaus will have to say to the young American intelligentsia. At the very least, he should be entertaining: the Times of London has even called him Eastern Europe’s Margaret Thatcher.
