Will the government’s $787 billion stimulus package actually work? Who knows?
Actually, 5 Staples students do.
They’re the school’s Moody’s Mega Math Challenge team. Last month they spent 14 perfectly good Saturday hours devising the answer to a question that has bedeviled Nobel Prize-winning economists, politicians of all stripes, and ordinary human beings like you and me.
Moody's Mega Math Challengers (from left) Naveen Murali, Justin Sherman, Jonathan Choi, Jason Gandelman and Kyle Beatty. (Photo courtesy of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics)
Starting at 6:45 a.m., the Stapleites — Kyle Beatty, Jonathan Choi, Jason Gandelman, Naveen Murali and Justin Sherman — used mathematical models, reams of research and their own wits and creativity to examine the stimulus from every conceivable angle.
By nightfall, they had their answer.
Only 2.6 million jobs will be created or saved, they said — short of the 3 million goal.
A 2nd stimulus plan may be needed, they noted. The best multiplier effect involves infrastructure projects; that would cost another $100 billion. If the 2nd plan ceneters on tax cuts, it could reach $180 billion.
Naveen and Kyle explained all this yesterday to WSHU‘s Mark Herz, patiently and clearly. Listening, I felt confident and assured. Not about the current economy, mind you — but about the leaders of tomorrow we’re producing today.
And if the Board of Education hires these guys as financial consultants, I’ll really sleep soundly.
