4A - Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
4A - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
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Four years is not enough
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TIMOTHY RABB
JOSEPH LICHTERMAN and ADRIENNE ROBERTS ANDREW WEINER
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS 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.
F ROM T HE DA ILY
RateMyHousing
Creative solutions for off-campus housing
espite the pressure of midterms weighing on the minds of
students, the word "housing" is what truly strikes fear in
the hearts of many unassuming students. For upperclass-
men, it's that dreaded time of year when Friday afternoons are filled
with begrudged house hunting. For freshmen, this concept may be
unwelcome news. Adding to the hassle, Ann Arbor's housing market
is dominated by a few realty companies, which dictate not only prices,
but also living conditions. In order to improve off-campus housing in
Ann Arbor, it's up to students to create a community where off-campus
properties are peer-reviewed and tenant rights are well-known. The
city of Ann Arbor needs to do more to ensure that landlords have less
opportunity to take advantage of students.
There have been a lot of dis-
tractions during this elec-
tion cycle. But with less
than two weeks
until Election
Day on Nov. 6,
let's take a step
back and think
about what this
race is really
about. I
A lot of people MICHAEL
aren't feeling the SPAETH
effects ofthe eco-
nomic recovery
yet. They're still unemployed and
can't find a job. They're fatigued and
impatient. They want jobs immedi-
ately, and that's completely under-
standable. As a result, they blame
President Barack Obama for their
economic miseries.
It's important to understand that
no matter which economic policies
are implemented, recoveries from
financial crises simply take a long
time - particularly the recovery
from the most severe financial crisis
since the Great Depression. "This
is what normally happens after a
severe financial crisis," Nobel Prize
winning economist Paul Krugman
explained in his latest column in The
New York Times.
On the night of Obama's inaugu-
ration, before he had done anything,
Republicans plotted to obstruct his
agenda, according to Robert Draper,
author of "Do Not Ask What Good
We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Rep-
resentatives" - and they have done
so relentlessly ever since.
Today, they gleefully castigate
the president for not turning this
economy around. Despite the fact
that financial recoveries take a long
time and Obama's dealt with con-
stant Republican opposition, he has
still managed to create approxi-
mately 3.6-million private-sector
jobs since the start of the recovery in
June 2009, according to PolitiFact.
com, the Pulitzer Prize-winning
fact-checkingunit of The Tampa Bay
Times. We definitely need more jobs
than that, but it's still an impressive
feat, under the circumstances.
Can a conservative economic
approach improve the economy more
than Obama's approach?
Republican presidents have cre-
ated far fewer jobs than Democratic
presidents in recent decades. At the
Democratic National Convention in
September, former President Bill
Clinton said - and FactCheck.org
verified - that since 1961, Repub-
licans have occupied the White
House for 28 years and created
24-million private-sector jobs. In
contrast, Democrats have occupied
the White House for only 24 years
since 1961 but created 42-million
private-sector jobs.
Republicans forcefully advo-
tate for slashing the budget using
austerity policies, but these poli-
cies can devastate fragile, recover-
ing economies. An article in The
Guardian describes how in 1937,
during the recovery after the Great
Depression, President Franklin
Roosevelt also decided to enact
austerity measures. As a result, the
United States was thrown back into
a recession and it took a world war
to enable us to fully recover.
In the past few years, auster-
ity policies have caused or wors-
ened recessions across Europe in
countries including Britain, Spain,
Greece, Italy, Portugal and possibly
Germany in the near future.
"Germany's insistence on cut-
ting public budgets has led Europe
into a recession swamp," Robert
Reich, former secretary of labor,
stated in April.
Republican policies have made the
deficit skyrocket. Today's Republican
Party doesn't mention the fact that
conservative president Ronald Rea-
gan nearly tripled the deficit during
his eight years as president. Repub-
lican presidential nominee Mitt
Romney claims that unlike former
President George W. Bush - who
replaced Bill Clinton's surplus with
large deficits every year since 2002
- he will balance the budget. Yet, as
Ezra Klein wrote in the Washington
Post last week, Bush also "endorsed
amending the Constitution to require
a balanced budget. But, like Romney,
he wasspecific about his tax cuts and
increases in military spending, but
vague about his spending cuts. The
result was much higher deficits."
Why will this time be any different?
If we give
Romney a
chance, who are
we electing?
It's hard to say, because Romney
has repeatedly refused to reveal the
details of his economic plan. David
Leonhardt wrote in The New York
Times in September that Romney
"will not say which tax breaks he
would reduce, andthe large ones,like
the mortgage-interest deduction,
are all popular." Leonhardt cited a
detailed analysis by the Tax Policy
Center that, in his words, "showed
that achieving all of Mr. Romney's
top-line goals - a revenue-neutral
overhaul that does not increase the
tax burden of the middle class - is
not arithmetically possible."
Even if Americans decide to give
Romney a chance, it's difficult to
know which Romney they're elect-
ing, since he has changed his posi-
tions on issues so frequently. But
chances are, to ensure his politi-
cal survival as president, Romney
would have to support conserva-
tive economic policies that satisfy a
Republican base that's influencedby
the uncompromising Tea Party. His-
tory isn't kind to these policies.
The President certainly hasn't
had perfect economic policies.
Some economists like Krugman
believe the 2009 stimulus should
have been bigger. But Obama's plan
for increasing the number of manu-
facturing jobs, investing in clean
energy, focusing on innovation and
investing in education are steps in
the right direction. Let's give the
president enough time to finish the
job he started.
- Michael Spaeth can be
reached micspa@umich.edu.
4
Many searching for off-campus proper-
ties are doing so with little house or apart-
ment hunting experience. Usually, students
hear about living conditions and landlords
from their friends or by word of mouth. This
is only slightly effective - the information
students receive is limited by who they know
and what properties their friends are familiar
with. Most students, therefore, aren't fully
informed about what to expect upon signing
a lease. To counteract this problem and edu-
cate students about landlords and properties,
a universal housing database should be creat-
ed, where current tenants can rate properties
and landlords - the RateMyProfessors.com of
housing.
This won't just give students more infor-
mation to make better decisions, but it will
also keep monopolizing landlords in check.
Bad reviews would deter students from sign-
ing leases at those properties, detracting
poorly rated landlords' business. This will
provide incentive for rental companies and
landlords to better accommodate students's
needs and keep properties desirable and
prices competitive - capitalism that actually
works for students.
Major complaints regarding rental proper-
ties in Ann Arbor include condition and main-
tenance of the properties. Some landlords
ignore maintenance requests and allow prob-
lems to develop until conditions are practi-
cally unlivable. City ordinances state that
rental houses in Ann Arbor must be inspected
every 30 months. This time period allows for
about two 12 month leases to expire before
another inspection. The time allotment needs
to be shortened by the city to ensure safe liv-
ing conditions for students.
When houses are not properly maintained,
students need to be informed about avail-
able legal actions to be levied against their
landlords and realty companies. Lawyers are
available to students in serious incidences that
require court cases filings. Ann Arbor must
also take initiative and help students fight
unfair housing practices. Students, the city
and landlords, with the University's help, must
collaborate to reach an agreement to improve
off-campus housing conditions. The first steps
can include creating a housing review website
to inform potential tenants aboutthe pros and
cons of each property, insisting on more fre-
quent and thorough housing inspections and
pressuring landlords to stop taking advantage.
of students. Plausible solutions exist for the
housing problems in Ann Arbor and must be
implemented immediately.
6
U
6
INTERESTED IN CAMPUS ISSUES? POLITICS? SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK'N'ROLL?
Check out The Michigan Daily's editorial board meetings. Every Monday and Thursday at
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EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Eli Cahan, Nirbhay Jain, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis,
Patrick Maillet, Harsha Nahata, Timothy Rabb, Adrienne Roberts,
Vanessa Rychlinski, Sarah Skaluba, Michael Spaeth, Gus Turner
Benefits beyond clean energy
LE T TE R TO T HE EDITOR SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@MICHIGANDAILY.COM
Engage in political science,
licans raises a larger issue, claiming that the
not political silence panel was fallacious. We might ask, "Does the
Republican party wish to reduce a woman's
TO THE DAILY: control over her own body?" Indeed, we can
The University's chapter of the College answer this factually: yes. The GOP platform,
Republicans would have you believe that approved at the Republican National Conven-
Monday's panel titled, "Republican War on tion in Tampa, explicitly opposes all acts of
Women," was "blatantly fallacious," parti- abortion and silent on exceptions.
san and offensive. I wholeheartedly disagree. The question that follows, then, is "why?"
First, a disclaimer: I identify as liberal, as a Answering this question may, for some, be
male and as a feminist. If my political affili- informed by moral or religious beliefs. Attempt-
ation, sexual identity or intellectual position ingtorespondtothisquestion fromanormative
offends you, perhaps you aren't prepared for position is, necessarily, partisan. But answering
my opinion. the firstquestion requires only observation.
First, the panel sought to discuss the media's As a student, I am grateful that the Univer-
portrayal of the political treatment of women's sity hosted the panel and others like it. If, as a
bodies, not debate the legality of abortion. campus, we only discuss issues that are apo-
One might claim that the panel was partisan litical, little else remains to be discussed. Our
for lack of a Republican journalist, but none professors and invited lecturers should be paid
seem to be writing about this issue. It's also to discuss such issues from the perspective of
offensive to group the panelists as "feminist scientific observation. In this sense, we might
journalists" occupying the same perspective. engage in political science, not political silence.
While each may be a feminist, this doesn't
guarantee a shared partisan stance. William Rogers
But RachelJankowski of the College Repub- LSA Junior
LETTER TO THE EDITOR SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@MICHIGANDAILY.COM
'U'should utilize sustainable the UM Sustainable Food Program unites all
student groups interested in, you guessed it,
opportunities on campus sustainable food. This includes a wide range
of possible ways to get involved, you can sell
TO THE DAILY: food (Brassica), farm food (Friends of the
In 2010, President Mary Sue Coleman Campus Farm; Cultivating Community) and
created the Environmental Sustainability celebrate food (Harvest Festival). Cultivating
Executive Council and the Office of Campus Community educates students about leader-
Sustainability. This was a huge step for the ship in community food systems. The garden
University, however, Michigan has a long way is located near the Gingsberg Center right on
to go. The way to get there is with us, the stu- campus. You can get your hands dirty and
dents. We are the movers and shakers of this learn about what it takes to farm and grow
university. This school exists to serve the stu- your own organic produce.
dent body. Without us, it would cease to exist. With such a wide range of opportuni-
It's up to us to determine what programs ties, there's a place for any student looking
Michigan will support and the next steps we to get involved in making the campus more
will take towards toward sustainability. sustainable, all it takes is passion. Without
Ample opportunities exist that allow stu- students acting as drivers and triggers of
dents to get more educated or involved in change, actions and plans will not be able to
sustainable practices: EarthFest, Graham take shape. We need to lead the university
Environmental Sustainability Institute, to action.
Planet Blue, Student Sustainability Initiative
and the University of Michigan Sustainable Michelle Busch
Food Program are just a few. For example, LSA Junior
Presidential elections tend to
draw a higher percentage
of the population to the bal-
lot box, which
makes this an
important year
for other issues
that Michigan
residents will
vote on.
Proposal 3
might be the
most important MARY
of this year's six GALLAGHER
ballot propos-
als. It would
increase the renewable energy
standard in Michigan to 25 per-
cent by 2025. This would raise our
state's current goal of 10 percent
renewable energy by 2015, a stan-
dard approved by the state legisla-
ture in 2008.'
I spent last semester interning
for one of the groups advocating for
this ballot initiative - the Michi-
gan League of Conservation Voters
- so I have a strong bias toward the
approval of Proposal 3. MLCV is an
Ann Arbor-based organization that
describes itself as "the leading non-
partisan political voice for protect-
ing Michigan's land, air, and water,"
and has offered its support for Prop
3 because "in-state renewable ener-
gy production means thousands of
new in-state jobs."
Whenever I bring up Proposal 3
- yeah, I'm a lot of fun at parties -
the most common concern is if the
cost of expanding renewable energy
would go straightto our energy bills.
Fortunately, the proposal specifies
that companies can't increase their
electric utility rate any more than
1 percent per year solely to comply
with the standard. If it's truly impos-
sible to achieve compliance with-
out increasing rates, the proposal
allows for deadline extensions. How-
ever, that shouldn't be too much of a
problem, considering that a total of
20 states have already passed simi-
lar initiatives "without significant
increases in utility costs for consum-
ers," including three other Great
Lakes states - Illinois, Minnesota
and Ohio.
After they find the cost isn't going
toward consumers, people are gen-
erally concerned that the increased
requirement will lead to job cuts
within energy companies. Howev-
er, the proposal mandates that the
legislature "enact additional laws
to encourage the use of Michigan-
made equipment and employment
of Michigan residents," which
would actually lead to the creation
of more jobs in Michigan rather
than relying on outside labor and
resources to supply our energy.
Currently, 60 percent of Michi-
gan's energy is provided by out-of-
state coal supply. Out of the $31.3
billion Michigan spent on energy
in 2009, $22.6 billion was sent to
other states and countries for their
energy resources.
This is an unacceptable waste of
Michigan's incredible manufactur-
ing capacity. The manufacturing
capacity is what built our state in
the first place. That's why Proposal
3 was endorsed by the United Auto
Workers, whose president, Bob
King said, "Proposal 3 will help
put our state's manufacturing tal-
ent to work, will help to preserve
a healthy environment for Michi-
gan citizens while reining in rising
energy costs for businesses."
Many people perceive renewable
energy as a highly partisan concept,
a pet project of the hippie tree-hug-
gers on the left. However, even con-
servative business leaders like Steve
Linder, president of the Republican
consulting firm Sterling Corpora-
tion, support the initiative. As Linder
pointed out in a May 2012 inter-
view, "While we don't like govern-
ment mandates, this allows us to use
manufacturing capacity in Michigan
rather than bringing in $1.6 billion
worth of coal from West Virginiaand
Pennsylvania."
0
Renewable
energy is wrongly
perceived as
partisan.
Since the bill was passed in 2008
to mandate 10 percent renewable
energy by 2015 in the state legisla-
ture, there has been some confu-
sion. Why is this new initiative, so
similar to the last one, being voted
on by the general population rath-
er than by state representatives?
This is because the political envi-
ronment in Lansing has changed
drastically since that time. In the
past few years, the legislature has
become increasingly partisan,
making it harder and harder to get
any bill passed, no matter how ben-
eficial it is to Michigan's economy,
environment or public health.
That's why we're lucky that the
reform is being brought up as a bal-
lot proposal. Instead of relying on
our legislators to listen to their con-
stituents and come together to serve
the commongood,we're ableto show
up at the voting booth and make that
change happen for ourselves.
- Mary Gallagher can be
reached at mkgall@umich.edu.