4A - Wednesday, February 4, 2009 4A Weea FbaThe Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu GARY GRACA ROBERT SOAVE COURTNEY RATKOWIAK EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. Calling for tough cuts Granholm's efforts to balance state budget are critical L ast night, Gov. Jennifer Granholm delivered her annual State of the State address from the floor of the Michigan House of Representatives. With the federal stimulus pack- age - which could fund many state programs - facing an uncer- tain future, Granholm focused on several major suggestions to reduce the state budget. She also implored state universities to freeze tuition for the upcoming school year. These efforts to pre- vent an increase in college tuition costs are necessary to provide for the state's economic revival, which hinges upon establishing an educated workforce. With this goal in mind, Granholm's bud- get cuts should be adopted, and the state must work with univer- sities to keep the price of a Michigan education low. ROSE JAFFE E-MAIL ROSE AT ROSEJAFF@UMICH.EDU Y1- o c'Mog 15 over ii Lp ________ A stimulating solution During her address, Granholm suggested massive budget changes to counter the defi- cit predicted for the upcoming fiscal year. When the new fiscal year starts on Oct. 1, Michigan's budget is anticipated to be short a staggering $1.6 billion. In response, Gra- nholm suggested cutsto state agencies across the board, which would mean eliminating 10 of 16 state departments and funding for the state fair. She also requested that the State Officers Compensation Commission, which sets salaries for elected officials, cut salaries by 10 percent. Though these cuts will probably mean job losses for some state employees, they are nonetheless necessary so that the state can control its budget. Now, more than ever, the state needs to decide which expenditures are vital to the well-being of the state - and cut- ting education funding just isn't acceptable. The state needs higher education to be acces- sible and affordable to diversify Michigan's economy with a workforce well educated in a variety of academic fields. Cuttingstate departments is vastly prefer- able to the 7.1 percent across-the-board cut to public university funding that was suggested last month. These cuts, in conjunction with other plans to save money in the state's cor- rections system, will hopefully prevent the state from cutting education funding. And if the state is able to avoid cutting education funding, these universities will be more prepared to heed Granholm's call to freeze tuition rates. Considering that tuition here at the University has increased 34.6 percent in the last four years alone, an end to the constantly increasing rate would bewel- come to college students and their families. But this becomes an impossible goal to. live up to if the state ends up slashing education funding. Granholm said that if colleges can freeze tuition rates, the state will reward them with funding. The University should feel compelled to take her up on this offer. In her discussion of the state's finances, Granholm also mentioned the pending fed- eral stimulus package. She noted that, while there are projects that could benefit from the federal aid, the stimulus package isn't a cure-all for Michigan's problems.'And she's right - the federal stimulus package mak- ing its way through Congress is an uncertain prospect. And, no matter how much money Michigan gets, it won't solve our overarching budget problems in the longterm. If our options are between cutting funding to higher education and scaling back on non- essential spending, we would much rather sacrifice the state fair. The word "stimulus" always makes me giggle. It just sounds dirty to me. But despite the fact that I never left puberty, the stimu- lus everyone is talk- ing about today is hardly a dirty joke. In fact, it's probably the nation's great- est hope for salvag- ing the economy. Last Wednesday, M the House of Rep- ATTHEW resentatives passed GREEN President Obama's economic stimulus package. Supporters and critics alike have deemed it one of the largest social spending programs since the New Deal. Its basic tenets include vast increases in funding for education and Medicaid, more unemployment benefits and the creation of public works projects to secure employment for millions of Americans. In addition, the stimulus sets aside funding for increased broadband access, alternative energy investment, financial assistance for college stu- dents, infrastructure repair and health care for blue-collar workers. It also protects unemployed Americans from losing their health care coverage. In hopes of appealing to conserva- tives, Obama pressured Democrats to exclude a measure that would make contraceptives more accessible through Medicaid. Contraceptives help many families stay afloat and serve as a crucial element of family planning. Failing to aid families with this is an unfortunate means of com- promise. Nevertheless, close-mindedness has compelled conservatives to ignore the Democrats' concessions. Many believe the package should focus on things they view tobe more pertinent to the economy. What they fail to rer- ognize is that investing in the afore- mentioned programs is investing in the economy.. ProvidingAmericanschools withthe resources to better educate American students will lead to a more intellectu- al workforce. Maintaining affordable health care will inevitably result in more people staying healthy and work- ing more efficiently. Focusing on alter- native energy will probably help save domestic industry and simultaneously rescue the environment in which all of us work and live. And similar realities are to be found for each individual part of the stimulus. "Well, fine," Republicans might say, "lots of fancy new programs - but there aren't enough tax breaks for 'real Americans.'" In fact, a third of the stimulus package goes back to taxpayers in need in the form. of tax breaks. But it's important to note that in spite of what conservatives might say, tax cuts alone are simply not the answer. The purpose of a tax cut is to encourage taxpayers to spend more at businesses affected by the failing economy. But at a time when credit is at a virtual standstill and people are increasingly nervous about spending, what little they have, money unspent in taxes would likely be saved rather than reinvested into struggling busi- nesses. Thatmeansmajor cutsintaxes at this point in time would decrease government revenue while doing nothing to help moribund businesses, in effect making things worse. To illustrate this point Congress enacted amoreconservativeapproach last year to an economic stimulus program by passing a $168 billion tax cuts and rebates package. That was in February 2008. Are we more eco- nomically sound in February 2009, or were Americans once again duped by the myopic social philosophy of the far right? To be fair, when discussing public policy and especially economic poli- cies, it's important to look carefully at both sides. When members of both parties have dissenting opinions in Congress, representative democracy is playing its 'A'-game and coming closer to a holistic middle ground. But when those opinions yield only bitter argument - and no results - then the process is entirely undermined. Stimulus - it may sound naughty, but it's needed. The House did manage to pass Obama's stimulus plan, so any further discussion might seem like a non- issue. But it passed without a single Republican vote, and the stubborn- ness exhibited by House Republicans scares me. It's a powerful pigheaded- ness and it must not continue into the future. There are too many important bills to pass for partisanship to get in the way of professionalism. Regardless of whether or not everyone on Capitol Hill agrees with the current terms of the stimulus package, policy gridlock will get the U.S. nowhere. That much is clear. If liberals are willing to come to the table ready to bargain, Republicans ought to do the same. Matthew Green can be reached at greenmat@umich.edu. 4 4 4 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. JIM BRUSSTAR IEWP 1NT MSAs Band-aid solution 4 If any students were still unconvinced of the ineptitude of the Michigan Student Assembly, Monday night's Town Hall Meeting has surely convinced them. Setting the tone for the night was yet another laughable tirade against the "Zionists" allegedly in control of MSA and, by extension, U.S. foreign policy. What followed was as equally detached from reality; MSA and other student government leaders took questions from a small audience of about forty people (comprised mostly of those already in student government), assuaging their concerns with nothing more than recycled and unfulfilled campaign promises. MSA has spouted a lot of rhetoric of late regard- ing "accountability," but this is not it. Over the past week, MSA's Gaza resolution debacle has brought on a deluge of coverage detailing its shortcomings, but none were as tell- ing as Monday's Letter to the Editor (Student government leaders to hold Town Hall Meeting, 02/02/2009) penned by none other than the presidents of MSA, LSA Student Government and the University of Michigan Engineering Council: Sabrina Shingwani, Leslie Zaikis and Danny Hsiao, respectively. The central thesis of their letter seems to be that better communica- tion with students will lead to more effective student governments. On the surface, this is hard to disagree with. A dialogue with constituents is essential for an efficient government, student or otherwise. The problem is that it's completely insincere. If MSA truly wanted transparency, it might con- sider updating its website. The most recently listed meeting minutes and resolutions are a full 11 months out of date. Likewise, this letter would seem to be the extent of MSA's advertising for the town hall meeting. Where was the mass email? Where were all the flyers? A meeting with the public doesn't work if the public doesn't know where or when to meet. The letter goes on to play one of the oldest (and, incidentally, least effective) cards in the political deck - blaming the media. The authors, in an attempt to shirk responsibility for their administrations' lack of transparency, compares MSA to NASA. She claims that, like NASA, only MSA's failures are publicized while their suc- cesses go unnoticed. While comparing MSA to a U.S. government agency is an interesting attempt at implying legitimacy, the comparison is ridicu- lous. If this is truly the case, then I challenge the student governments to explain.why every robot that gets shipped off to Mars is front-page news. IfMSA is hurting for some positive press, it has no one to blame but itself. Sure, not everything MSA does right will make the papers. But with a budget of hundreds of thousands of dollars, the lack of newsworthy projects or initiatives is simply a disgrace. The letter from the presidents exposes the "town hall meeting" for what it real- ly was - not an opportunity for real feedback, but rather a public relations band-aid to stem the recent bleeding only long enough for inevitable student apathy to kick back in. So how do we fix MSA and finally restore accountability to student government? The solution is quite simple - we must rid our- selves of the single-party system. That means we need an alternative to the Michigan Action Party. Despite years of stagnation and scandal (remember Zack Yost and Anton Vuljaj?), and the same unfulfilled campaign "promises" each semester, MAP continues its single-party reign over student government. Without another party in serious contention, voters cannot oust the ineffectual party from office. Consequently, our elections have become just about as mean- ingless as North Korea's. If there is any real leadership left in student government, your mandate is clear. Break off from your party bosses and forge into the future under a new banner. The voters will reward you. Until you do, your "town hall meetings" will remain nothing more than "Tammany Hall Meetings." Jim Brusstar is an Engineering sophomore. SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU Argument against LSA foreign language requirement is faulty Patsy recycles ti right. He argues th ed to build his way construction of th been encouraging TO THE DAILY: seven years prior t I just read a viewpoint in the Daily in which an out- Patsy's other ma of-state freshman complains to everyone about having ment in 1938 rems to fulfill the foreign language requirement (Foreign lan- New Deal progran guage frustration, 02/02/2009). The author says he does course of 1936 and not want to take any more Italian, because he does not the fastest rate in1 like it and will never use it. He also informs us that no one 14 percent. In 1938 should be required to study languages, alluding generi- starting another re cally and inanely to a globalized world in which everyone reason? Roosevelt, speaks English. attempted to balan How nice. First of all, people should take a language works projects. that interests them and that they could someday use. That With a bit of hon way, they can take a more serious interest in studying it. tics he cites prove t If you don't want to take Italian, you shouldn't. Second, if you don't believe you should have to fulfill this University Zachary Martin requirement, keep in mind that you knew what you were LSA sophomore getting yourself into when you came here. And no stu- dentis entitled to skip the foreign language requirement, Daschlesc because the University has good reasons for enforcing it. Obviously, only a minority of the world's population can forpolitic speak English. But beyond that fact, not everyone wants to, nor should they have to. The aim of this requirement is to prepare you to be a world citizen, willing and able to TO THE DAILY: work respectfully and cooperatively with other people of In the wake of the world. Assuming everyone will speak English to you director of the Del is arrogant and incorrect, and this attitude perpetuates es nomination, ant an embarrassing stereotype of Americans abroad. such as Bill Rich: he standard dishonest claims of the far hat President Herbert Hoover attempt- out of the Great Depression, citing the e Hoover Dam. In reality, Hoover had construction of the dam since 1922, o the stock market crash. , jor piece of evidence is that unemploy- ained at 19 percent after five years of ms. He leaves out the fact that over the 1937, Gross National Product grew at US history. Unemployment dropped to , the GNP fell and unemployment grew, cession after five years of recovery. The after a half-decade of deficit spending, ce the budget by cutting back on public esty, Patsy would realize that the statis- he necessity of government spending. ,ndalprompts the need al accountability Tom Daschle's withdrawal from his partment of Health and Human Servic- d as other high-profile political officials ardson and Nancy Killefer have been 4 4 forced to drop Adam Ajlouni isn't it time w LSA senior under review fi People faile. Patsy should have considered all before the pet While Bill Ric statistics in New Deal evaluation officialskneed t ing back contr was the Senate TO THE DAILY: more than $80, In.order to justify his opposition to the proposed eco- is called tax ev nomic stimulus package, Vincent Patsy marshaled a host This is beyond1 of statistics to suggest that both the New Deal and World don't find amoi War II failed to pull the United States out of the Great Depression and, instead, made it worse (Recession and Asa Smith depression myths, 2/3/2009). LSA freshman out of the limelight due to similar scrutiny, e examine our officials before they come or high-profile jobs? d to realize these things were happening ople in question were up for nomination. hardson was preaching about how public o do what is best for the people, he was kick- acts to political supporters. Tom Daschle e majority leader while he failed to declare ,000 in income in 2007. For anyone else, this asion. For politicians, it's an, "Oops, sorry." unacceptable. Just imagine the skeletons we ng our other 535+ public servants. 4 EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Nina Amilineni, Emad Ansari, Emily Barton, Elise Baun, Harun Buljina, Ben Caleca, Satyajeet Deshmukh, Brian Flaherty, Emmarie Huetteman, Emma Jeszke, Sutha K Kanagasingam, Shannon Kellman, Edward McPhee, Matthew Shutler, Neil Tambe, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder &