pubTalk

The question that seems to be on everyone’s mind these days (or at least on mine) is, "what is going to happen to our economy, and how will this affect me?� As a research assistant, these concerns are especially poignant as I will be graduating in slightly over a year from now with a significant amount of graduate school debt, and a drive to work in the nonprofit sector. I keep wondering, how will this economic ‘slow down’ / recession / depression affect the nonprofit sector, that depends so much on donations and government grants? Initial findings from The New York Times and a Gallup poll indicate that people have already started to be more prudent in their spending habits, and people feel the job market is worsening. This I worry will lead to a bleak outlook for nonprofits in the near future. Additionally, I wonder how McCain or Obama’s new tax system will affect how nonprofits receive grants.

Thinking of the differences between the two Presidential candidates' tax systems and ways of fixing our economy led me to wonder about how any discussion of our economy appears to me to be politically polarizing. I think back on the political nature of the ‘rescue plan’ Congress passed last week, and the tone that is used in discussing the economy in the Presidential debates. In thinking of how I wanted to discuss the economy in this blog, I worried how expressing my concern and my opinion might be seen as partisan, and would that be inappropriate as the PNLC is apolitical? How have others attempted to discuss policy in an apolitical way? Is it ever truly possible to stay apolitical in the nonprofit or public field, when political decisions affect organizations in such a clear way?