4B - Tuesday, April 17, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4B - Tuesday, April 17, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom be *idiian&aitol Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. ~ . 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com 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. The road to recovery 4/5/2009 A t this point, the auto industry's cries for help are nothing new. Chrysler, Ford and General Motors are struggling and in desperate need of govern- ment assistance. A few months ago, the federal-government promised to help these companies if they meet certain conditions for revamping their business- es. While the companies struggle to accommodate the government's demands, the government continues to disparage the industry's progress, going so far as to force out GM CEO Rick Wagoner. If the government is going to take such an active role in the industry's management, then it must outline a clear vision to resuscitate the industry while assuming the responsibility for seeing the crisis to its end. Our American contradiction 10/12/2010 As I think about the results of last week's election, I've found myself in a sort of haze trying to piece together where we stand as a society. It's not that I'm surprised that the politi- cal pendulum swung to the right last Tues- MATTHEW day. Anyone GREEN who's picked up a newspaper in the past few months could've seen that coming. But what's troubling is that this post-election political atmosphere has left us with fewer answers - and more confusion - about our identity asa nation. There's an African American in the White House, but come Janu- ary there won't be a single person of color in the U.S. Senate. Women will constitute roughly the same proportion in Congress as they do now - slightly fewer than twenty percent. But with more Repub- lican women than before, the already tenuous legislative sup- port for reproductive rights will probably wane. And with the elec- tion of David Cicilline (D-R.I.) to the U.S. House of Representatives, there will be more openly gay con- gresspeople next January than ever before. Nevertheless, our next Congress will be even less likely than our current one to support the rights of the LGBTQ community. Contradictions have certainly been part of American politics ever since our slaveholding forefathers tried to ingrain freedom and equality as part of our political discourse. But as we enter into another chapter of democracy, the contradictions before us are particularly confounding. And it's not just in terms of civil rights. The New York Times reported last week that while the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans controlled 9 percent of all income in 1976, that same 1 percent con- trols 24 percent of income today. Times columnist Nicholas Kristof went on to say that, "From 1980 to 2005, more than four-fifths of the total increase in American incomes went to the richest 1 percent." Yet, in spite of this backdrop, our cur- rent lame-duck Congress seems poised to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. And a more conservative Congress will probably continue to neglect this extraordinary income inequal- ity, focusing instead on creating new tax breaks for the upper crust. It doesn't matter that the motives of these politicians are perfectly plain to see. The point is that as a nation, we're constantly pulled right and left and the divisions between us are wide and confusing. It's increasingly difficult to say who's right and what actions our politi- cians ought totake. If there was any question before the election, Presi- dent Barack Obama now officially has the hardest job in the country, as the head of a democracy thatcan't figure out who or what it is. As I ponder today's 92nd anni- versary of the end of World War One, I have to wonder how far we've come since that time. It was during that era - another period of confusion and gross contradiction - that President Woodrow Wilson enunciated his dream "to make the world safe for democracy." And ever since, Wilson's words have hung like a self-awarded medal on' the breast of American foreign pol- icy. But let's not forget that when Wilson uttered those words, no women and only some black men could actually participate in the democracy that the president had hoped to bring to the world. In the past century, we've fought wars - which continue today - for the stated purpose of defending free- dom and popular rule. And for this column at least, I'll give our govern- ment the benefit of the doubt that their campaign for democracy was well intentioned. Yet, it seems rather obvious by now that at least part of the reason why we've failed at pro- moting democracy abroad is that our own democratic ethos at home is so ambiguous. We act on preferences rather than principles. The result is a culture of contradiction. We musts participate in politics. In the face of such inconsistency, exemplified by this most recent election, it would be easy to grow disillusioned about politics or about our ability to bring about social change. Indeed, our politicians have largely failed us. And even if you're happy about this past elec- tion, you're probably not optimistic about political progress following anytime soon. As students at the University, we're presented with the inspiring and daunting reality that in a couple decades or sooner, we - or at least our contemporaries - will replace the current ineffectual generation of politicians. Rather than getting turned off from politics, we need to pay more attention than ever. It will be up to us to answer the complex questions that our parents' genera- tion have created or ignored. And as we form our opinions and consider different careers, more than ever, we have a responsibility to do just that. -Matthew Green is graduating with the class of 2012. Last Wednesday, GM's Wagoner resigned at the urging of President Barack Obama after a presidential task force claimed that GM had not made significant progress in its attempts to restructure. Wagoner was replaced by Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson, granting GM 60 more days of federal funding. At the conclusion of this period, GM is expected to have put forth significant plans to restructure. The federal governmentwill cut off aid if these demands are not met. The government also told Chrysler it has only 30 days to complete a merger with Fiat SpA before federal aid will be discontinued. While the possible side effects of the auto industry's collapse have been widely discussed for the state and the nation, students may not realize just how much is at stake for the Uni- versity as well. Automakers like Ford and GM contribute to the many programs and schol- arships at the University.In addition, many parents of in-state students work for the auto industry - or for businesses dependent upon the auto industry - impacting their ability to afford tuition. And University graduates often go on to work for the auto industry, meaning these car companies' troubles directly impact students' ability to find jobs after college. In light of the auto industry's importance to the University - as well as the rest of the country - it's important that the federal gov- ernment make a concerted effort to rescue the industry. And while the government did agree to support these failing automakers, it needs to do more than simply make demands and threaten to cut off aid if the companies don't restructure quickly enough. Having involved itself in the problem, the Obama administra- tion now has a responsibility to the auto indus- try and to the people dependent upon the jobs the industry sustains. Forcing out Wagoner was onlyan acceptable move ifthegovernment is prepared to offer better leadership for GM and the industry. But the government doesn't seem to have a clear plan to fix the problem, instead placing mandate after mandate on the companies that won't necessarily create positive outcomes. The auto industry needs a long-term solution to its problems, and the federal government has yet to produce such a solution. The government knows what the stakes are - it understands the dire repercussions for leaving these companies for dead. It's evident that millions of Michigan residents, including University students are dependent on these companies. But just understanding the stakes isn't enough. It's time forthe federal government to offer a coherent plan. Having fired Wagoner, Obama has implicitly agreed to do a better job than he did. OWS is socialist, so what? 10/18/2011 A ayoumayhaveheard, some greedy low- life punks inhabit Wall Street right now. No, not the execu- tives and bankers who tor- pedoed the American economy DAR-WEI and caused CHEN a global finan- cial crisis. Those people are honest hardworking folks. It's the Occupy Wall Street protesters. According to many in Republican circles, these people are lazy social- ists looking for government handouts. Fox News pun- dit and conservative media ratings giant Sean Hannity said this to an OWS pro- tester: "You don't believe in liberty, you don't believe in freedom." He also threw in a "Marxist" charge in there for good measure and probably said something about fas- cism and socialism since he and his Fox cohorts use all of those terms interchangeably. The funny thing is, Hanni- ty and other conservatives don't seem to realize that OWS is actually similar to his beloved Tea Party. Both are angry about the various bail- outs over the past few years - albeit for somewhat different reasons - and want to have their voices heard in the polit- ical process (the Tea Party has since gotten off econom- ics and decided to focus on God, guns and gays, but stick with me here). I know Tea Party supporters are read- ing this and thinking: "You liberals slammed us for our protests, so if our movements are so similar, the OWS move- ment should be slammed too!" However, no one is criticiz- ing the Tea Party movement for the fact that the party's supporters wanted to express their opinions - the main gripe people have is with its policies and actions. TeaParty folks are the ones that brought guns to see President Barack Obama and shouted racial and gay slurs at Democratic law- makers during the health care reform debate. More recently, they cheered Republican Gov. Rick Perry's executions, applauded the idea of letting an uninsured sick man die and jeered a soldier for being openly gay. So what does the OWS movement want, anyway? The message from OWS pro- testers has not been stream- lined into a few cliche talking points because no leader has emerged yet. Nevertheless, the general complaints are that corporate influence in politics is too pervasive, the financial system is rigged for the rich and Wall Street is not being held accountable for its actions in destroying the economy. Sounds popu- list (or socialist, depending on perspective) enough, but top Republican presidential hopefuls are already taking their shots. GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain said this to OWS protesters in an interview with The Wall Street Journal: "If you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame your- self." Hmmm ... maybe he's right - people need to assume more personal responsibility. Wait, what if you're a public school teacher in Wisconsin who earns a starting salary of barely more than $25,000 to do the important work of edu- cating the next generation? Or how about a private who has served in the Army for six years and still receives annual basic pay of less than $20,000 to defend our nation? Are they at fault for choosing a profes- sion that pays so poorly? Next time I see a teacher or a sol- dier, I will be sure to tell them "blame yourself." GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney has also demonized the protesters, saying they are inciting "class warfare." He is trying to say that the lower and middle classes are waging "class warfare" on the upper class, butI got confused because I thought the state- ment makes more sense the other way around. Check out these statistics: The United States has the 39th-most unequal income distribution in the world, behind almost all Western countries - incomes are actually more equal in Iran. And it's no surprise because the wealthiest 1 per- cent in the U.S. earns almost one-quarter of all income. Remember, if you don't like these numbers, you're fascist. And socialist. And whatever that last one is. OWS wants accountability from Wall St. The main point I want to make is OWS is a move- ment that almost everyone should be able to appreci- ate and that even some of the richest (like Warren Buffet and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban) are supporting. Conservatives will deride it as socialist, but if you think about it, who isn't a socialist? Unless you are against every form of government wealth redistribution (like taxes going toward roads, highways, schools, police, firefight- ing, military, environmen- tal protection, health care, food inspection, etc.), you are socialist at some level. It's just a label. The people at OWS want the government and Wall Street to be accountable to the vast majority of people in this country, not a ruling elite class. If that idea makes me socialist, sign me up. - Dar-Wei Chen is graduating with the class of 2012. Change will not come if we wait for some other person or.some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." - Senator Barack Obama on Feb. 6th, 2008, as reported by The New York Times.The day before, on Super Tuesday, Obama won 13 primaries. BELLA SHAH 4/11/2010 v at a'e °1,~taIfw). 2.,k Y $r jM *Ta SW' i , S~nrnr ? acaow';X 'is. ey1cttof- 4%Q , N dear . clv~sriof4S yr ,.areW5;s wad j ;'nL xF tstnerdlost E. ROYSTER HARPER AND LAURA BLAKE JONES I 'U' supports Chris Armstrong 9 9/30/2010 Activity over the last few months has brought into sharp focus the unwavering commitment of the Univer- sity community to social justice and human rights for all. Students, staff and faculty have rallied to supportthe elected president of the University student body, who has been viciously targeted by an individual because of his sexual orientation. The reaction by the University community has been exactly what we would expect from the "leaders-and best": overwhelmingly supportive of Chris Armstrong, president of the Michigan Student Assembly. Likewise, Armstrong and his fellow MSA members have reacted to this unwanted attention by holdingtheir heads high, ignoring the blogger's taunts and carrying on with their ambitious MSA agenda for the comingyear. We commend them for their responsible approach. An important value of this campus is the free flow of ideas and opinions. As a community of scholars we simultane- ously preserve and create knowledge. We ask difficult questions, challenge each others' best thinking, sometimes change our minds and other times agree to respectfully disagree. While living and working together we also strive to create a campus environment where civility, respect and inclusivity are of paramount importance. This is a place where individuals' rights to have their personal identities respected and understood is as sacred as other constitutionally protected ideals. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. noted in 1963, "Injus- tice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality... What- ever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." Freedom of speech and expression do not include behaviors that target, harass, threaten or defame oth- ers. As a campus community we must continue to "Stand Up, Step In and Speak Out" against the repeated vitri- olic attacks on any one of us. Hateful speech can only be effectively countered by different speech. We applaud those individuals and student organi- zations - on our campus and elsewhere - that have taken the opportunity to counter hateful speech with different speech and express support for Chris. A uni- fied show of support demonstrating that acts of bigotry cannot take root here is an important part of our com- munity response. We stand united to support all members of the Uni- versity community, in many different ways, seen and unseen. As the University's elected Board of Regents said so clearly at its Sept. 16 meeting, "When one mem- ber of our community is targeted, we are all attacked." E. Royster Harper is the vice president for student affairs. Laura Blake Jones is the associate vice president and dean of students.