4A - Wednesday, October 28,,2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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4e Michioan l wily
Edited and managed by students at
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ROBERT SOAVE COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR
GARY GRACA
EDITOR IN CHIEF
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.
Back to school
No Worker Left Behind good for workers, economy
Though people who live outside of Michigan might not real-
ize it, the recent decline of the U.S. economy was heralded
by the gradual collapse of Michigan's economy over the last
several years. With the struggles of Michigan's automakers - the
state's primary industry - many workers have lost their jobs or are
in danger of becoming unemployed. But the state has been working
to mitigate this consequence with its No Worker Left Behind pro-
gram, which provides grants to educate and retrain workers in high-
demand and growing fields. NWLB recently released the results
from its initial 18 months, and the program's progress is promis-
ing - for workers and for the economy. The state should consider
expanding the program in the future.
It's just asking for trouble.
-Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), promising to support a filibuster of the health care
reform bill if it includes the public option, as reported yesterday by CNN.
Worldpeace, free markets
A s I walk through Ann Arbor This would obviously be a flawed onic Wars and lasting until the rise
on my way home each day, I economic approach, and that's of imperialism that accompanied
pass shops with signs hang- because wealth comes from increased the unification of Germany. During
ing in their win- capital investment, not increased this period in Europe, the constant,
dows that read "Buy employment. Capital investment dynastic wars that had plagued the
local, or bye-bye allows for fewer people to produce continent since the fall of the Roman
local." The logic of more, and because they are produc- Empire ended. This time period also
this protectionist ing more, they will be paid more. And allowed for people of any nationality
view seems simple capital accumulation creates jobs to come to the United States and seek
enough - if we buy that didn't previously exist - there a better life. It's no accident that the
only from ourselves, are, after all, very few jobs today that greatest era of free trade was accom-
we will keep our existed 100 years ago. If anything, panied by widespread peace - free
fellow Americans VINCENT labor has become scarcer relative to trade and world peace go hand in
or Michiganders capital and land than ever before. Our hand.
employed. If theyPATSY high wages are the result of, not the
are employed, they cause of, our prosperity.j
will buy stuff and, But there's a related reason to sup-
bingo, we will all be rich. But not only port free trade - one that my fellow
are protectionist sentiments eco- peace-loving college students should doesn't
nomically destructive, they are also support. The main reason to abolish Iflean
in direct opposition to another fre- all tariffs is to ensure economic inter-
quently expressed view of Ann Arbor dependence among all people of the creating wealth.
locals - the hope for world peace. earth and bring about world peace.
Of course, the simplest argument I am proud to call myself a citizen
against protectionism is this: If it of the world. I see no ethical or bio-
is really beneficial to local trade to logical distinction between myself, a In contrast, consider one of the
impose tariffs on countries to make European, an Asian or anAfrican. We most egregious warmongers in his-
international trade more expen- are all deserving of the same natural tory - Adolf Hitler, who is often
sive, why not put up tariffs between rights, including the right to benefit remembered for saying that Germany
states? Wouldn't it be better to stop from trading with each other. was in need of "breathing space" in
the people of Michigan from wasting There may be confusion among order to justify his conquests. But his
their money on those lousy, cheap some proponents of world peace as motivation for these conquests was to
Ohio goods? Why not extend tariffs to what a free market foreign policy secure enough resources for Germa-
further to each county, city block actually entails. Free trade is cer- ny to be self-sufficient. This is the end
and house? This would certainly tainly a major part of it, but to truly to which protectionist policies inevi-
create jobs, since everybody would have free trade, our foreign policy tably lead - world war over available
have to drill for their own oil to drive must be non-interventionist. In a resources.
their cars. world of minimal states, it shouldn't In a world of true capitalism and
The core of the protectionist matter which state controls which free trade, it doesn't matter where
argument is that creating jobs, it is territory. The interference of the resources are located. Any person
believed, creates wealth. But if this state in our lives should be so mini- would be able to purchase goods from
were really the case, we should all mal that it would have no reason or whomever they wanted, and warfare
return to pre-Industrial Revolution ability to restrict people from living would be incredibly limited or non-
farming - before technology made where they want or trading with who existent. Peace lovers should keep
work more efficient and less time- they want. this in mind and get rid of their signs
consuming - and "create" more jobs. The greatest era of free trade and that favor of protectionism.
We would be able to employ more classicalliberalismexisted duringthe
people using shovels or their hands first half of the 19th century, begin- - Vincent Patsy can be reached
to do the same job one tractor can do. ning around the end of the Napole- at vapatsy@umich.edu.
JEREMY LEVY|
Biased professors aren't a problem-
0
NWLB was first implemented in August
2007. The program aims to retrain work-
ers in danger of losing their jobs by arming
them with the skills needed for emerging
and high-demand fields. In order to apply,
individuals must be unemployed, have
received a termination notice or make less
than $40,000 per year. The state spends
roughly $10,000 per worker over the course
of enrollment in the program to help pay
for the workers to attain degrees or occu-
pational certificates in sectors in need of
workers. According to the first round of
results released by the state on Monday, 72
percent of those in the program during its
first 18 months have either retained their
jobs or found new positions.
The onlywayto revive Michigan's econo-
my - and to prevent similar statewide eco-
nomic failure in the future - is to increase
science- and technology-based industries.
But these industries require a workforce
that is educated in new fields. Programs
like NWLB will prepare workers to tran-
sition to growing fields likeagreen energy
production, biotechnology and the medi-
cal field. These industries are the future of
Michigan's economy, and NWLB prepares
workers for this future.
But NWLB is making a difference on
an individual level, too. Michigan's unem-
ployment is at a dizzying 15.3 percent as
of September, according to the Michigan
Department of Energy, Labor and Eco-
nomic Growth. Programs that give work-
ers the skills to stay employed are one way
to keep that rate from growing.
After all, the state has a responsibility
to support education - not just for K-12
and college kids, but for workers, too.
People of all age.s should have the oppor-
tunity to broaden their knowledge base
and apply this knowledge to a successful
and desirable career. With the economy so
distressed, the state must shoulder more
of the responsibility in making sure this
happens and offer more programs like
NWLB that support education and help
the economy.
It's impossible to determine if NWLB
is the sole reason for the 72 percent suc-
cess:rate because of all the variables in
the turbulent economy. But any program
that helps Michigan workers tokeep their
jobs while preparing the state economy for
a brighter future is clearly a success. The
legislature should look at expanding it to
include more struggling workers.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS:
Nina Amilineni, Emad Ansari, Emily Barton, Ben Caleca,
Michelle DeWitt, Brian Flaherty, Emma Jeszke, Raghu Kainkaryam,
Sutha K Kanagasingam, Erika Mayer, Edward McPhee, Harsha Panduranga,
Alex Schiff, Asa Smith, Brittany Smith, Radhika Upadhyaya,
Rachel Van Gilder, Laura Veith
SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU
When I tell members of my family that I'm takinga class
on the Arab-Israeli conflict this semester, the first ques-
tion they usually ask is, "Is your professor Jewish?" This
conversation occurred with my mom and aunt the day
before I left for school this fall. I didn't know anything
about my professor at the time, but in spite of the fears of
my predominantly Jewish family that a non-Jewish pro-
fessor would skew the facts of the issue, I hoped that he
would turn out tobe of Arab descent.
While professors' ethnic, cultural and political back-
grounds are relevant to classes that are political in nature,
these backgrounds shouldn't be a source of alarm. Of
course, it's impossible to be completely unbiased, but a
professor should be able to be fairly objective. A profes-
sor's role is to inform students about the various argu-
ments that surround political issues and discuss the
possible merits and nuances of those arguments. It's never
a professor's job to take a political stance on a particular
issue. But there is a lingering fear among students and
families that professors may support the wrong political
party or faction. These fears are insulting to the purpose
of the University and should be discarded.
Part of a professor's job is to be as objective as possible.
Even for a dispute as bitter as the Arab-Israeli conflict,
it's possible for a professor to convey the material with-
out casting judgment on the groups involved. On the first
day of my class, the professor gave thorough overviews
of the main Arab arguments and Israeli arguments. The
goal of the class isn't to determine which side is right or
wrong, but rather to understand why members of each
group made the decisions they did at various points in
history. The professor often explains decisions in terms
of political strategy and takes into account the influence
of external factors..
To illustrate my point, I'll summarize the way in which
the professor framed early Jewish immigration to Pales-
tine. Zionism, the movement to establish a Jewish home-
land, arose in response to Jewish persecution in Eastern
Europe in the late nineteenth century. After World War
I, Great Britain and the United States, neither of which
wanted its own massive inflow of Jewish immigrants, sup-
ported Jewish immigration into Palestine. Palestinians,
who feared they would become a minority in their own
land, were openly hostile to this idea. Obviously, there are
many more complicated details to be discussed. But the
goal of the discussion is to understand how the conflict
arose, without ascribing the sense that one side is right
and the other is wrong.
So what happens if a professor is extremely biased?
Believe it or not, I think students are capable of determin-
ing when this happens. In other words, there's no reason
to fear that biased professors are brainwashing clueless
students. There was a history teacher at my high school
that was notorious for his liberal slant on American his-
tory. His students - most of whom considered themselves
liberals - complained about it all the time. Our ability to
identify the biases of sources and our teachers is one of the
most important skills that we develop in our education,
both in high school and college.
While I used the Arab-Israeli conflict as an example in
this article, the students' fear of biased professors applies
to many political topics. For example, when giving exam-
ples of political concepts, political science professors often
feel obligated to mentionDemocrats and Republicanswith
the same frequency, simply to prove to students that they
are not slanting toward one side. And in sociology classes,
I have heard students' remark that the discipline is inher-
ently Marxist, even though that is a ridiculous conclusion
to draw about an entire group of professors. Sociologists
may teach about Marx, but that doesn't mean they are
necessarily promoting his views. It's easy for students to
make these generalizations, but in reality, most professors
manage to keep their personal opinions to themselves.
Students should realize that professors aren't usually
trying to jam a political agenda down our throats. Bias
may be inevitable, but the notion that a professor's politi-
cal background will automatically hinder his or her teach-
ing ability needs to go.
Jeremy Levy is an LSA sophomore.
0
Michigan should update its
sentencingfor drug offenses
TO THE DAILY:
Drug policy and control are becoming
increasingly important to the federal govern-
ment. The Obama administration has requested
a 1.5-percent increase in government spending
for the 2010 fiscal year tobe used for the Office
of National Drug Control Policy, but the state
of Michigan is lagging on this issue. Although
addiction touches millions - if not billions - of
lives in the United States, there aren't enough
resources provided through the state govern-
ment, such as treatment services and diversion
programs in prisons.
In 2000, California passed Proposition 36,
which allowed non-violent drug offenders to
choose drug rehabilitation or prison. A cost-ben-
efit analysis conducted in 2006 by the Univer-
sity of California-Los Angeles estimated this act
could save the state millions of dollars that would
have otherwise been used for prison costs.
Now, in Michigan, we need to unite as a
community to spur change for the good of
the whole, in terms of finance and the overall
health of the state.
Ashley Dominique
School ofSocial Work
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