4 - Tuesday, February 3, 2009 r° a ~, II The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu ROBERT SOAVE COURTNEY RATKOWIAK EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR GARY GRACA EDITOR IN CHIEF Unsigned editorials reflect the official position oftthe Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. Unstated rules 'U' must establish clear rules for judging residency status Y ou might have a driver's license registered in this state. You might pay taxes here. You might work here, live here, get married here and say "pop" instead of soda. But according to vague and inconsistent residency standards here at the University, this doesn't mean you necessarily qualify for in- state tuition. So what does? The truth is that, outside of the office of the Registrar, no one really knows. The state of uncertainty regarding residency status needs to change - the policy must be standardized and widely publicized so that all prospective stu- dents are aware if they qualify for in-state tuition. He's coming out of jail like anyone else would:' - Warren Evans, Wayne County Sheriff, on former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's release from Wayne County Jail, as reported yesterday by the Detroit Free Press. ELAINE MORTON URE CALLS E-MAIL ELAINE AT EMORT@UMICH.EDU w.__._..._ r_._.._._.... _.1l - h in fo . CS SIcsheOtr. o G -on iA es-Sc-irgsStOic.O, G-df rromSO-l- eDtos Recession and depression myths 4 Last week, the Detroit News ran an arti- cle about Keiva Shults, an Ann Arbor resi- dent who has lived here, paid taxes here and worked here for the past five years. But when she applied to the University's graduate program for nursing, she was told that she was considered a Maryland resident and would be charged out-of-state tuition, regardless of the fact that she has been living in this state for an extended period of time. Shults fits the most basic requirements to be qualified as a resident of the state, yet she still was denied in-state status. If Shults is not considered a resident by the University, who is? Unfortunately, situations like Shults's are not uncommon. In fall 2007, the registrar's office processed 1,941 residency requests and denied 346. According to University Regent S. Martin Taylor, who was quoted in the Detroit News story, the University judges these residency requests on a case- by-case, "highly subjective basis." This is especially concerning when taking into account the fact that out-of-state under- graduates pay about three times more in tuition. And for many, residency status could determine whether or not they can afford to attend school at all. Policies for determining residency at the University need to be transparent and available for any student with questions. In order for this to happen, there needs to be a standardized, fair and objective set of guidelines in place to determine residency status. What's more, students need to be aware of this standard when making their education plans. The University might think higher tuition is in its financial best interests, but this campus will end up losing students with great potential who just can't afford the out-of-state bill. And since tuition keeps rising while the availability of finan- cial aid and scholarships steadily declines, the University should be focusing as much attention as possible on making education affordable for everyone. This is a problem that has existed, and will continue to exist, until University offi-' cials and the Board of Regents provide a clearly defined system. Most public universities share Michi- gan's inability to explicitly explain what qualifies a student's residency, but that doesn't mean we should keep up the trend. There is no reason for students to have to wonder whether they will be classified as in-state or out-of-state. It's up to the Regents to put the question of residency status to rest by establishing a rule that makes sense, because making residency decisions on a "highly subjective basis" isn't good enough. With the nation in the grips of a failing economy, the Obama administration is prepared to step up the government's fight against a pos- sible Great Depres- sion II. The types of solutions that the government is considering, how- ever, are the exact same mistakes that caused and wors- VINCENT ened the first Great PATSY Depression, when Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt turned an acute recession into a chronic depression. The popu- lar history of the Great Depression goes as follows: the Roaring Twenties were a period of unrestricted laissez- faire capitalism, which naturally became unbalanced, and the unwise policies of quiescent Hoover caused the system to fail and created a mas- sive depression. The depression was solved by Roosevelt's policies of gov- ernment intervention into the econo- my and the onset of World War II. Thankfully, most of that tale is completely false. The Roaring Twenties was not a period of unrestricted, laissez-faire capitalism, mainly because the Fed- eral Reserve and other central banks around the world poured in tons of easy credit. Much like the current cri- sis, when any central bank expands credit (lowers the interest rate), it causes disturbances for investors who then misallocate capital into unprofit- able investments or malinvestments. The malinvestments usually occur in the stock and real estate market, and would not have been undertaken if it were not for the interest rate expan- sion. When the central bank attempts to slow the pace of the credit expan- sion, like the Federal Reserve did in 1928, the bubble bursts and causes a stock market crash, a decline in real estate prices and a general financial panic. Artificial credit expansion throughout the Roaring Twenties led to phony prosperity not as a result of laissez-faire capitalism, but rather because of government interference into the market. Electedin1928,HerbertHooverand his policies were the most interven- tionist in U.S. history. His program to end the Depression included keeping food prices and wages artificially high, propping up weak firms, construct- ing massive public works (ever heard of the Hoover Dam?), implementing monetary expansion and enforcing protectionism as evidenced by the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. These types of policies have become standard pro- cedure by the federal government during recessions, so this has become what people view as laissez-faire capi- talism. But the free-market position on recessions is to stop inflating the bubble by raising interests, decreasing the size of government and allowing malinvestments to become liquidated. Only by following this path will the recession be eliminated and not just papered over. Comparable in size to the stock market crash of 1929 and the result- ing monetary contraction, the 1839- 43 Depression also saw a rise in consumption (21 percent) and Gross National Product (16 percent). In the 1839-43 Depression, there was no "federal response" and the economy healed much faster. But during the 1929-33 contraction, with Herbert Hoover's proto-New Deal policies in place, there was a decrease in con- sumption (-19 percent) and GNP (-30 percent). Franklin Roosevelt merely expand- ed the Hoover playbook and with similar results. FDR not only failed to solve the Great Depression, he also doubled the public debt. In 1932, FDR inherited an unemployment rate of 25 percent - in 1938, it was still 19 percent. His plans never worked at solving the crisis for a simple rea- son: government cannot produce new resources; they can only employ resources that are already produced. By taxing and spending, the govern- ment shifts resources from private usage to public usage. All that the New Deal programs accomplished was a shift of resources from one group of taxpayers to another. The last aspect of the Great Depression Myth is the belief that World War II "got us out of it." This makes even less sense than believing in the success of the New Deal - at least New Deal programs did not destroy resources. When we built massive fleets and sent them into the middle of the Pacific to get destroyed, as we did in World War II, we did not create jobs. This was an economic Gov't intervention wasn't the answer then or now. waste, with labor and material being emiployed for purposes other than usage by the general public. We are now worse off because that steel and electronic equipment is at the bottom of the ocean and not part of trains, radios or consumer goods. The Depression ended because of the destruction of most of the world's industrial base, a repeal of most New Deal-era programs and a return to normal production following the war. Recessions cannot be cured or fought, but are just the result of an earlier phase of malinvestments that need to be liquidated. So now we are left with the unfor- tunate situation where the federal government is determined to stop the Second Great Depression by repeat- ing the same interventionist mistakes that they committed in the 1930s. But perhaps this time we can convince them to allow the market to heal itself, and not begin a decade long economic slump. Vincent Patsy can be reached at vapatsy@umich.edu. 4 4 4 CHRIS KOSLOWSKI Drawing complaints 4 This viewpoint was submitted as a rebuttal to last week's Letter to the Editor by Alexander Vilagosh (Daily acted irresponsibly by running cartoon, 01/29/09). In response to Elaine Morton's recent cartoon (Nature Calls, 12/08/2008), it was irresponsible and dangerous for the Daily to publish a cartoon that anthropomorphized Christmas trees; this gives a false representation of the issues behind protecting the environment. Christmas trees still lingering in the homes of Ann Arbor's environmentally unconscious were purchased from a tree lot or cut from the pristine wilderness. Thus, these trees had no potential of ever being "human" - no more so than any tree you might stumble upon while taking your dog or significant other for a walk through our beloved Arboretum. By anthro- pomorphizing the trees, the cartoon implied that they have the feelings and emotions of a human. After one to five years of growth (the point at which many pine trees are cut to become Christmas trees), this is simply not the case. While many would try to draw links between this debate and the global warming debate, they are two completely separate issues. It is unknown whether pine trees, or any type of tree for that matter, develop emotions to a level at which they can be considered human and have a right to life. But that point certain- ly does not occur within the one to five years before they are cut for the Christmas season. Of course there is also the fact that a tree could never "be human" anyway, though I do not believe the cartoonist was going for scientific accuracy. Using artificial trees and turning off Christ- mas lights after the celebration of the Epiphany on Jan. 6 might quell the onslaught of climate change. But research on these issues requires the support of the general population so that appropriate funding can be allocated to these environmental programs. The good that can come from this research far outweighs the bad. Making Christmas trees have human charac- teristics - even in a cartoon - could influence understanding of the issue without factual basis. While I do not believe this was the inten- tion of Elaine Morton, the cartoon's potential effect on public perception should have been considered. Chris Koslowski is a Daily cartoonist. E-MAIL JASON AT MAHAKIAJ@UMICH.EDU LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be less than 300 words and must include the writer's full name and University affiliation. Letters are edited for style, length, clarity and accuracy. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@umich.edu. 4 SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU Foreign languages an essential part of college education simply do not nece English. But it is and reputation of to instill in its stu cultures and in wa essitate fluency ina language other than obvious that a school with the merit the University of Michigan should try dents an interest in the world, in other ays of thinking that are foreign and pos- fortable. It is frightening to think of a ll-educated" people who are frustrated e thought of committing themselves to n something as benign and beneficial as ;e. { JASON MAHAKIAN § (vi ,I ~ j OR ER? -d TO THE DAILY: sibly even uncom The viewpoint expressed by Edward McPhee (For- nation full of "we eign Language Frustration, 02/02/2009) was one of the and angered at th most sophomoric and stereotypically "American" I have a course of study i ever heard. While I understand that the foreign language a foreign language requirement at the University is intense and time-con- suming, its value in both academia and the world cannot Caitlin Clarke be overemphasized. Learning a foreign language teaches LSA senior the brain to think differently about the world and express thoughts through new avenues. Foreign language study not only expands one's ability to communicate cross-cul- Daily com turally and understand global processes, it also increases one's understanding of the structure and syntax of one's publishing native language. The United States is one of the very few nations that does not automatically produce bilingual or multilingual TO THE DAILY: citizens as a natural fact of culture and adulthood. This I find a lot at reflects poorly on us in international relations and global distance relations communications. The author naively suggests that "it break to a climax, seems as if everyone speaks English already." However, es vulgarity for c expanding globalization suggests that more people need reputable paper t to speak more languages - not that McPhee can function sex and relationsh on the world stage with only the English language, a pass- tion on an airplan ing grade in Italian 232 and American ways of thinking. clearly slapstick h I have been to many places in which English is not only ism. The line in w not a primary language - it is not understood at all. If the like something an United States has laws against English-only workplaces, first found out abs which it does, then it follows that the United States should for making me los have laws against producing English-only citizens. I take reporting and you into account that some students have genuine learning differences that make learning a foreign language exceed- Andrew Heffler ingly difficult. I also understand that some fields of study LSA freshman promised standards by Spring Break article fault with the article regarding long hips over Spring Break (Bringing your 02/02/2009). The article clearly utiliz- heap laughs. I thought the Daily was a hat could tackle serious issues such As hips with some integrity. But masturba- e? Lube in three-ounce bottles? That is umor with no intention for real journal- hich "come" is changed to "cum" seems n eighth-grade girl would do when she out the word. Good job, Michigan Daily, se a lot of respect for the quality of your r paper. 11 Y 1 f :,!Zft i