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June, 2003: Peronet is a 29-year-old Haitian-American who currently works for the Financial Times as US economics reporter (www.ft.com). He has accepted an offer from USA Today to become their chief economic policy correspondent (www.usatoday.com). USA Today is the most widely distributed paper in the United States. It is #1 in daily US circulation at 2.25 million, exceeding the Wall Street Journal (1.82 million), The New York Times (1.13 million), The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. It is owned by media giant Gannett, whose $20 billion stock market value exceeds that of The New York Times, Journal parent Dow Jones, and the Washington Post combined.
Peronet said of the news: "For the child of immigrants from the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, built by the sons and daughters of slaves, to end up at a top reporting job at the #1 newspaper in the world's richest and most powerful country at the height of its power is incredible. It is also deeply humbling and more than a bit intimidating. It is a great tribute to Haiti -- its culture, its proud heritage, conservative and Christian family values -- and, above all, to my parents and the Despeignes family. It seems the daily mind-numbing lectures on the virtue of education, manners, hard work, Haitian pride, and prayer for divine guidance... and last, but not least, all of those spankings -- paid off. Educational Synergy, Haitian Style! Anmwe!
It is also a great tribute to the US. It has its faults, like every other country, and it has a long way to go, but it is a great nation that has come a long way. It is the closest thing this world has to a color-blind meritocracy. For all its flaws, it is a model. So many of the things that happen here are impossible and inconceivable almost everywhere else."
Biographical Profile:
Peronet's parents met in the US, and Peronet was born in Manhattan, raised in the Bronx and later on Long Island, NY. He lived in Haiti for two years, from when he was 8 to 10. Peronet's father, Peronet Despeignes, Sr, is a retired doctor originally raised in Limbe, Cap-Hatien and Port-au-Prince. His mother, Guerda Jean-Louis, was a laboratory technician originally from Jacmel. She passed away in 1983 at the age of 42. Perry and his wife Christina have a six-month-old daughter, Perrin, and reside in Virginia.
Educational Profile:
Peronet received a BA in economics from Harvard University as a member of the class of 1995.
Professional Profile:
He will begin work at USA Today August 15th. Until then, he will continue to report for the Financial Times. At USA Today he will report on policy debates and decision-making at the highest levels of the US government -- including the White House, Congress, Treasury and the Federal Reserve. Peronet will cover a range of areas with significant or potentially significant economic implications -- including the federal budget, taxes, trade and regulation. He will initially focus on the debates of the 2004 presidential campaign; the ballooning budget deficit; the current debate over Washington's treatment of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the economic implications of post-September-11 security measures and the long-term financial challenges posed by Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the open-ended war against terrorism.