First, the Chinese financial system allocates resources to the least efficient firms - state-owned enterprises - while denying the same resources to Chinese private enterprises, forcing them to look for a foreign investor. Specifically in the Chinese case, enterprises may look for foreign investors, being constrained in their activity due to distortions in the state-dominated system. Incoming foreign investment provides additional sources of capital. Those who attended the town hall generally agreed that the format of asking unscripted questions allowed them to address the issues and ideas that students at Hamilton are thinking about today. The event ended, as political events so often do these days, with a line-up of students eagerly awaiting a selfie with the senator.This paper tests the significance of FDI as a way to alleviate credit constraints. “In retrospect, I wish someone had asked what are her policy goals and concerns as it relates to issues that face rural New York communities like Clinton,” Konforty said. Nadav Konforty ’20 noted that he was pleasantly surprised that the senator took the time to visit Hamilton and rural Central New York. Issues of moral conscience demand leaders who push for votes and common sense legislation, she said. In her view, members of congress are too prone to play partisan politics, which is dangerous when it supersedes concern for people’s lives. She openly voiced frustration over Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s refusal to allow certain bills to come to a vote. Gillibrand also was candid on a number of issues. Gillibrand poses with Joyce Lee '20 and Mary Kate McNeil '20 after the Q&A session. One student asked for her thoughts on abolishing the filibuster, and she discussed her thought process on the issue, acknowledging that she did not yet have a firm stance given the pros and cons. Perhaps most refreshing was Gillibrand’s readiness to admit that she did not always have a clear answer. Students also asked for her advice on topics such as going to work in DC in the current political environment, and how to mobilize students to vote. In her answers, Gillibrand often brought up policy ideas, like her push for publicly funded elections. Other students asked for the senator’s opinions on gun control, disinformation campaigns, and the future of the Democratic Party.
“I was happy to hear that she supports divesting NY State’s pension fund from fossil fuels, something she is leading on ahead of even Hamilton College,” Stenzel added. “Though she did not explicitly support as I asked, she expressed general support for the concept pending her reading the bill.”Īnother student asked for her thoughts on fossil fuel divestment, to which Gillibrand responded in favor of the idea. “The senator demonstrated that she is paying attention to the climate crisis,” Stenzel said. Eric Stenzel ’23, who leads an environmental group, asked the senator if she supported the recently introduced Green New Deal for Public Housing Act. The session opened with questions related to the climate crisis, a hot-button issue on many campuses across the country. Eric Stenzel ’23 poses a question to Gillibrand. She also expressed her hope that students would continue the fight against hate in its various forms, like racism, homophobia, and xenophobia. The one-time presidential candidate said she’s proud to see young people across the country marching and fighting for issues such as gun control and a better climate. After a brief introduction by President David Wippman, Gillibrand remarked that she is always excited to visit college campuses as students often lead the debate on the key issues of the era. 18 for a Town Hall Q&A session in the Hamilton Chapel.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) stopped by College Hill on Nov.