Collegiate Times

Former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore makes a stop at Virginia Tech today to talk about the present economy.

His lecture, entitled "America's Financial Crisis: What Needs to be Done," will be held from 3:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. in the Latham Ballroom in the Inn at Virginia Tech. It is part of the BB&T Distinguished Lecture Series on Capitalism hosted by the Pamplin College of Business. The lecture is free and open to the public.

"My speech will address the present state of the American economy and the bearing that it has on people's liberty," Gilmore said. "We are obviously in a recession - just look at the 10 percent unemployment rate. The central issue in the U.S. today is government spending and how that will impact each and every citizen."

Gilmore, a Republican, served as governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002 and was a candidate in the 2008 Republican presidential primary, but he dropped out of the campaign after several months. He then ran for Senate in the same year, but lost the race to Democrat Mark Warner.

Douglas Patterson, the program director for the BB&T lecture series as well as a finance professor at Tech, chose Gilmore to speak for several reasons.

"We chose Gilmore because he's a well known public figure, he's very distinguished," Patterson said. "He has very strong ideas about the financial crisis and believes in a free market system, which is the spirit of this program."

The program, made possible by a $1 million grant from BB&T, brings a speaker to Tech bi-annually and funds courses in economics. The purpose of the program is to teach students and inform the public about the economy and free markets by looking at all sides of economic issues.

"I can guess what Gilmore is going to say based on his past positions," said Hans Haller, an economics professor at Tech.

Haller cautioned that the economy is extremely complex and that repairing it is not something that is quick or easy.

"It will be a slow recovery," Haller said. "And politicians like to take credit for the economy's rise, but there are some things that government just cannot control. Likewise, politicians are not always responsible for economic decline."

Gilmore's speech, and the informed public discourse the BB&T program hopes to create, is especially timely given the current election season that is underway. Gilmore and others have different views on the candidates for governor and how they will address Virginia's economy.

Neither candidate has left a strong impression on Haller.

"We have two candidates who talk about tax cuts and nothing else, and that's not very honest," Haller said. "It's not what Virginia needs."

Gilmore, however, supports his fellow Republican Bob McDonnell.

"I think that McDonnell is going to win because of two reasons: One, the public is rejecting Obama's policies just like they did Bush's in 2008, and two, McDonnell has done the best job of addressing the issues most important to Virginians, which is jobs and the economy," Gilmore said.

As for his own political future, Gilmore hopes to continue to push initiatives that he believes in.

"I am organizing and raising money so that I can help candidates who I think are addressing the right issues," Gilmore said.