4 - Tuesday, March 23, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com clI e AtIC41,6,gan 4:latlv 0 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu JACOB SMILOVITZ EDITOR IN CHIEF RACHEL VAN GILDER EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MATT AARONSON MANAGING EDITOR "I know this wasn't an easy vote for a lot of people, but it was the right vote:' -.President Barack Obama, commenting on the recent health care bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, as reported yesterday by CNN. Tax breaks for felons 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. Land bank oes bankrupt County must restart project to revitalize blighted property T he FDIC won't be involved in the failure of one Washt- enaw County bank. This bank didn't deal in cash - it dealt in acres. In July of 2009, facing a wave of foreclosures that started in 2007, the Washtenaw County commissioners created the Washtenaw County Land Bank. The county-run land bank could have helped to eliminate urban blight and put vacant property to good use for the community. Unfortunately, Washtenaw County abandoned this promising program before its benefits could be realized, citing insufficient funding and differences between offi- cials in charge. But county officials shouldn't have given up so eas- ily - they should renew their efforts to find funding for the land Since 2000, Michigan has lost more jobs than any other state. Accordingly, residents of the Great Lakes State should be fairly skeptical of any government plans - for economic recovery and job creation. But last week, the folks" over at the Michi- gan Economic Development Cor- ' poration almost - set into motionR the most glaringly ROBERT stupid job creation SOAVE plan in history._ The MEDC is a state agency that heaps tax credits onto select individuals, businesses and industries - whomever it thinks is going to rescue the state econo- my. According to a Mar. 18 report in The Detroit Free Press, a supposed businessman named Richard Short appeared with Gov. Jennifer Gran- holm on Mar. 16 to commemorate the $9.1 million in tax breaks he was set to receive from the MEDC. Short had pledged to start a renewable ener- gy business and hire 765 people in exchange for the money. By the next day, authorities had learned that Short was a convicted felon who has served six years in prison for embezzlement and loan fraud. In fact, he still owes $96,000. It turns out that this information was available ina news article that readily appeared on a simple Google search of the man's name. This means that the MEDC doesn't run even the sim- plest of background checks before it hands out generous tax credits at the expense of small businesses. By way of apology, MEDC President Greg Main promised that the agency would definitely do background checks from now on. Yeah, thanks, groan the tax- payers who fund Main's salary. Only a government agency could be incompetent enough to neglect bank and restart this valuable prc The recently-dissolved Washtenaw Coun- ty Land Bank authority was modeled after the nationally-lauded land bank in Genesee County. The Wastenaw County Land Bank was intended to acquire properties, deter- mine the best use of each property and then sell the property to a private owner. The establishment of the bank occurred just in time to qualify it for $300,000 in federal stimulus funds, which were meant to serve as start-up capital for the project. The land bank was intended to become self-sustaining. On Mar. 17, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners voted to dissolve the land bank. According to a Mar. 18 AnnArbor.com report, commissioners said that the author- ity's failure to presenta clear strategy, as well as a lack of funding, led to their decision. It's unfortunate that the land bank was dissolved before it could make any real progress. The land bank could have given Washtenaw County the face-lift it needs to restart the floundering real estate market here and to increase the prosperity of the county. Rundown homes decrease the value of surrounding properties. Sprucing up deteriorating properties would have helped increase community property values. And the foreclosed land available to the land bank could have been used for a num- ber of important projects. The properties background checks. As anyone who has applied for a real job or intern- ship knows, most competently run businesses conduct them. I spent two summers working for Com- cast, and I underwent a background check and drug test both times. As college students, we expect prospec- tive employers to be looking for us on the Internet. That's why underage students who post pictures of them- selves drinking on Facebook have to change their privacy settings. It's completely unacceptable that the MEDC wouldn't spend 30 seconds investigating the potential recipients of tax breaks. But there actually may be a surprise winner in this debacle - the car rental businesses. As the Short scandal hit, the state legislature was cooking up a $13 million tax on car rentals at air- ports. The tax was intended to fund an expansionofPure Michigan, an MEDC money-wasting project that runs advertisements in other states in hopes of attracting tourists here. But with the MEDC's actions under increased scrutiny, the state legislature will have more trouble justifying funneling tax money to it. While this scandal will hopefully lead to improvements in the MEDC's operating procedures, what won't be on the table - but definitely should be - is shuttingit down entirely. Agencies like the MEDC only move money and jobs around, dooming at least one job or business for each one they create. The Pure Michigan ads are a good example of this. Sure, maybe someone in the country will see the ads and decide to vacation in Michigan. That person will come here and consume, creating the jobs and businesses nec- essary to facilitate this increased consumption. Indeed, if the state had a magic money box that never ran out of cash, it could keep pumping money into the ads and endlessly improve the economy. Unfortunately, that magic money box is funded by Michigan taxpayers EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: and small businesses. In this case, the rental car industry, which essentially pays for the ads, would take a hit pro- portional to the amount that the Pure Michigan ads were helping. The car rental industry would have to respond to new taxes by increasing rates, firing employees, closing locations, etc. The tourist would return to his state and tell his friends that, you know, Michi- gan is nice and everything, but next time, he's picking a place where the rental cars are less expensive or more easily available. So for every dollar that was spent helping the tourism indus- try, the industries that paid for the ads suffered, less consuming occurred, jobs were lost and businesses shrunk. Saving small businesses iskeyto saving Michigan. But it gets even worse. Since the government doesn't have to worry about running out of money - it could alwaysgenerate more funding through taxes - it can't spend as wisely as private entities. The MEDC is more likely than the taxpayers toput money toward frivolous endeavors, waste it, give it away to convicted felons, etc. Every dollar that the MEDC spends would have been put to better use if left in the hands of the business from which it was taken. No state agency can fix Michigan's economy by handicapping certain industries in order to help others. The government should replace selective tax credits with an across-the-board tax cut for small businesses, which would give more power to the people who actually know what they're doing. - Robert Soave was the Daily's editorial page editor in 2009. He can be reached at rsoave@umich.edu. would have been sold specifically to benefit the community as a whole, like low-income housing, environmentally-friendly offices and other beneficial projects. Without the land bank, there is no way to ensure that developments will benefitthe city as a whole - if they happen at all. Admittedly, the authority didn't receive a $5 million Neighborhood Stabilization grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - that's a legiti- mate stumbling block. But it's upsetting that county officials simply gave up after encountering this obstacle. They should have redoubled their efforts to find alterna- tive funding for the project. And it's even more upsetting that county officials couldn't work together to create a solid plan for the bank. With an effec- tive example like the Genesee County Land Bank to follow, it's unacceptable that county officials are unable to come to an agreement about the details of the bank. They dropped the ball. And now Washtenaw County resi- dents will pay the price. The land bank could have been a valu- able resource for the county, and it shouldn't have been abandoned so quickly. County officials should work together to find a mid- dle ground and the funding needed to resur- rect the land bank. Nina Amilineni, Jordan Birnholtz, William Butler, Nicholas Clift, Michelle DeWitt, Brian Flaherty, Jeremy Levy, Erika Mayer, Edward McPhee, Emily Orley, Harsha Panduranga, Alex Schiff, Asa Smith, Brittany Smith, Robert Soave, Radhika Upadhyaya, Laura Veith 0 CAMPUS DEBATES MSA ELECTIONS 2010 MICHIGAN VISION PARTY I Your Michigan You pay $7.19 a semester for University-wide student government. The Michigan Vision Party believes that your student government should listen to your ideas and your vision and deliver for you. MVP believes that MSA should deliver real, tangible results rather than lofty, unrealistic rhetoric. That's why we have worked to make MSA a body where student visions are realized. After beingelected into office last year, MVP repre- sentatives delivered on many of the visions we heard from you. MVP representatives led Go Blue, Beat OSU Week, the "Block M" at Michigan Stadium, MSA Mondays (with free bagels and coffee), this month's all-campus concert (featuring Wale, Big Sean and the Clipse) and the Campus Leadership Colloquium for student organization leaders. We increased student organization funding by 17 percent, helped to draft the new all-campus constitution (which will make student government more effective and efficient), encouraged professors to post course syllabi early in registration and reformed MSA meetings to ensure that only student issues are addressed. We know how to move MSA forward. We're proud of our record and the progress we've made in MSA. While we've made progress, there have been set- backs. The website fiasco clearly stands out as a major failure. Though setbacks occur when we try to make progress, they present new opportunities to improve. We see this as an opportunity to make MSA more transparent and accountable through reevaluating how money is disbursed from the executive board. But we're not here to dwell on the past. Rather than looking backwards, we're ready to present a vision to move MSA forward. We want MSA to continue to put on events for the student body. Students have told us that they want more pep rallies and concerts. Our vision is to have pep rallies before major football games, before December's Big Chill at the Big House, and even to have pep rallies for smaller sports that don't usually get much attention. Building off what we've learned in planning this month's MSA and Big Ticket Produc- tions Concert, we'd like MSA to continue collaborat- ing with other student organizations to put on big events. We'd love to try to bring in a big name artist who appeals to a wide range of the campus commu- nity. We also want to continue to provide the popular Airbus airport service, which is currently at risk due to staffing changes. We want to increase communication between MSA and students. Very few people know what MSA does, and students deserve to know what their government is doing and where their money is beingspent. By tak- ing action like installing bulletin boards in residence Vision for MSA halls and academic buildings, we can bridge the gap between students and MSA. We'd also like to make executives and representatives more accessible. Building off the success of MSA Mondays, we want to bring better Office Hours to students. We'd also like to create an MSA Live Online Help Desk, an' instant messaging/Gchat account managed by execs and reps to answer questions from students. We have a large, decentralized campus that presents problems to students trying to find resources. MSA should be the medium that connects students with each other and the resources they need on campus. We want to continue to assist student organiza- tions. Student organi- zations enhance the student experience here at Michigan, and it's important that they have agovernment that supports and assists On Wednesd them. Going along with our effort to improve students have th( MSA communication, leadership we'd like to increase new communication with face off here student organizations by requiring executives and representatives to provide updates at student organization meetings. One of MSA's main functions is to serve as a fund- ingbody. We plan to cut the waste in MSA's budget to ensure that there is even more money available to stu- dent organizations than there is now. We'd also like to streamline the funding process by creating a common application that can be used by all University funding bodies. This will create uniform standards and make the funding process much easierffor student organiza- tions.We also want to increase collaboration between MSA and student organizations. This month's concert is a great example of MSA and a student organization coming together to plan a major event. MSA can and should do more collaborative events to enhance the Michigan experience. We didn't just reach into different communities to get our ideas, we've gone around campus ask- ing, "What's your vision?" We've shaped our vision around your vision for MSA. This isn't justour party's vision, this is the Michigan Vision. Ian Margolis and Tom Stuckey are the MVP presidential and vice presidential candidates for MSA. John Lin is the MVP Message Chairman, MFORWARD I Forwarding MSA advocacy ay ai e opp n M to ea Students at the University have come here from across the country - and the world - to excel in every realm of study from science and engineering to athletics and student activism. University stu- dents choose this school because they know they will be challenged. They know they will be pushed to perform their best. Given the atmosphere of excellence on this campus, students deserve a stu- dent government that will advocate for them in a way that lives up to the high standards that the Uni- versity embodies. Currently, the Michigan Student Assembly falls far short of this standard. We know that MSA is capable of return- ing to a point at which it can advocate on behalf of students and effectively push stu- nid Thursday, dent issues forward. In fact, MSA has a rich )ortunity to elect history of advocating .pfor students and their SA. Two parties issues. MSA has been rn your vote. credited with institut- ing fall break, pushing academic minors and establishing an afford- able system to bus stu- dents to the airport for holidays. Students on this campus are advocates for a wide variety of issues and perspectives. They deserve a student government that serves as an accessible, engaged resource for them. That is why we are run- ning for MSA president and vice president: to bring our student government back to innovative ideas and active engagement on campus. We started MForward because we know that MSA has the potential to fight for students, and we want you to help us make MSA relevant to the student body again. We are looking to immediately address issues like Saturday night dining, gender- neutral housing, MIP Medical Amnesty and rising tuition costs. These issues, along with the dozens of ideas we have collected during our 37 student orga- nization listening tour stops, drive us to fight for a better student assembly. We will work tirelessly to advocate for you in front of the administration, city council and state legislature. Concerts and events, while exciting in the short run, won't lower tuition costs or increase the diversity of our campus. We are convinced that students will not see results at the University unless they finally have student leaders on MSA who are willing to stand up for their issues and bring their ideas to the table. We also understand that MSA can't achieve these goals without a connected and aware student body. As a student government, we must encour- age a stronger sense of community on campus. MForward's candidates are active members of diverse student organizations and campus com- munities. They are passionate about the organiza- tions they are a part of, and they are committed to bringing that passion to MSA. The Michigan Stu- dent Assembly must facilitate communication and build a strong network of student leaders who will be able to accomplish goals on behalf of students. For too long, MSA has been disconnected from the students who make up this university. MForward is committed to making MSA a body that is account- able to the students that it represents, and it has already begun to do so. Ideas, action and community: this is what we have built our campaign on. Over the past three weeks, the candidates and individuals in MFor- ward have built relationships with student orga- nizations and diverse communities across campus. We have spoken to students in the Diag, in class- es, in the Union and even on the sidewalk outside Stockwell Hall to hear the issues that you all want to see your student government tackle. We have heard your frustrations with the student organization funding process, your concerns with ris- ing tuition costs and your worries about the decline in minority enrollment. We have heard these issues and with the vital relationships we are building, we are ready and excited to take action if elected. Not only will we continue to talk to students up to the election date, but we also will ensure that students are being heard throughout the year. These relationships are only the beginning and we look forward to maintaining and building these bonds in the future. This week, MForward will continue to be out on the Diag, in classrooms and residence halls and in meetings with student organizations. If you haven't spoken to one of us about what we are hoping to do for the assembly, don't hesitate to approach anyone in an MForward T-shirt or check out our website (mforward.org) to get started. We are here to talk, we are happy to listen and we're ready to move MSA forward. Chris Armstrong and Jason Raymond are the MForward presidential and vice presidential candidates for MSA.