4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, July 11, 2005 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 STEPHANIE WRIGHT DONN M. FRESARD tothedaily@michigandaily.com Editor in Chief Editorial Page Editor ° f' ~a ~ 'e* U EDITED AND MANAGED BY PC UDSTUDENTS AT THE Unless othenvise noted, unsigned editoria reflect the opinion of UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN the majority of the Daily's editoridlboard. All other pieces do not SINCE 1890 necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. A failure to lead Why liberals should be disappointed with Granholm's term as governor The tired war on pot Marijuana use not nation's biggest drug problem Months of leading the other 49 states in the crucial contest of who has the highest unemployment rate and year after year of ballooning bud- get deficits have been enough to convince Gov. Jennifer Granholm to say all the right things regarding the state's future. But these ominous statistics have apparently not been enough to convince her to do almost any of the things necessary to reinvent Michigan's economy. Granholm has called for a shift from the state's dependence on traditional manufac- turing industries to more high-tech sec- tors, including the life sciences. She says she wants to make Michigan a place where young, highly educated people desire to come live and work. Her specific proposals, however, have been insignificant, uncontro- versial and therefore unable to stem the tide of college graduates moving elsewhere to attend college and find jobs after school. By failing to take a strong stand on issues like stem-cell research, higher-education fund- ing and gay rights, Granholm relegates her stated goals to mere pabulum. part of Granholm's vision comes from the writings of economic develop- ment Prof. Richard Florida, who defined the "creative class" as the fast-grow- ing group of educated workers who are paid for their ideas rather than their labor; the group composes about 30 percent of the country's workforce, yet earns roughly half of all wages and salaries. Florida argues that the best way for a region to attract new, high-tech industries is to draw in a large pool of young, educated, creative workers. The governor's Cool Cities initiative shows that Granholm acknowledges and covets this creative sector; the published reasoning behind the initiative cites Florida frequently. But simply throwing a few grants at small- scale, scattered projects is no way to attract and retain the educated workforce Michigan needs. In more important areas, Granholm has so far failed to take the risks necessary to turn Michigan into a progressive state capable of attracting creative young workers and fertile new industries. If Michigan's economy is to expand into the life-sciences industry, an idea Granholm regularly promotes, it is impossible to avoid the issue of stem cells. Granholm claims to support stem-cell research, but she has shied away from efforts to change Michigan's stem-cell laws, which are among the most restrictive in the country. The state's restric- tions not only directly impede development of Michigan's life-sciences industry, but they also suggest to current and would-be residents that the state is unwilling to adapt to future technological advances. Granholm may have a difficult battle against Repub- licans to pass more progressive stem-cell legislation in Michigan, but she should rec- ognize that supporting stem-cell research is necessary to developing a strong life-sci- ences industry. Similarly, Granholm has made higher education a rhetorical centerpiece in her vision for the state's economy - she claims it is her goal to double the number of college graduates in the state within a decade - but she has balked at reforming how the state's higher-education system is funded. Univer- sities receive money from the state's discre- tionary fund, leaving them an easy target for funding cuts when falling revenues force Lansing to balance the state budget. As a result, Michigan's universities are struggling at a time when the state needs them to thrive. Just as Silicon Valley could not exist with- out Stanford University, a high-tech revival in Michigan depends largely on the state's universities. Granholm must take action quickly if she wants to even preserve, let alone improve, the state's higher-education system. Budget restructuring and unpopular tax increases may be required, but if Gran- holm hopes to come close to achieving her goals, she must find a bold and creative solu- tion to the higher-education problem. If Granholm has read Florida's book, she must be familiar with his writings on social climate and development. Put simply, Florida argues that regions with progres- sive social policies - those that are seen as diverse and tolerant, especially toward gay rights - are the most successful at attract- ing young, creative workers. Unfortunately, Granholm has handled gay rights with char- acteristic hesitance: She is a supporter only when it is politically painless. In 2003, she became the first governor to attend the Tri- angle Foundation's annual dinner and later designated June as Gay Pride Month. But in the aftermath of Proposal 2, when conserva- tive groups began to argue that the amend- ment made it unconstitutional for public employees in Michigan to be offered same- sex partner benefits, Granholm swiftly cut off the debate by revoking same-sex benefits for state employees - even though the legal question had not yet been addressed by any court. Failing to protect gay rights, except when it involves celebrations and dinners, will not only marginalize an important sec- tor of the population, but it will also prevent Michigan from attaining the progressive, tolerant image it needs to attract and keep a young, educated workforce. These are difficult issues for a governor to push against the Republican-dominated state Legislature, but they are necessary if Granholm wants to stem the brain drain in Michigan and make the state attractive to the "creative class." The Cool Cities initia- tive and Granholm's other attempts at pro- gressive policies are good ideas, but they are trivial compared to the progressive reforms needed to bring in the young people that would carry out her vision of a thriving, high-tech state. Granholm will continue to fail the state until she stops trying to please everyone and instead becomes the progres- sive, proactive leader that Michigan needs. ethamphetamine use has been gaining popularity nationwide in recent years. According to a sur- vey of 500 sheriff's offices in 45 states released last week, nearly three-fifths of counties viewed meth as their most press- ing drug problem. Despite evidence of a growing epidemic, the Bush administration still unwisely prioritizes marijuana as the focus of its fight against drug use. Every year, the federal government wastes bil- lions of dollars fighting this fairly harm- less drug, and the recent report is another telling sign of the continued misallocation of resources in America's poorly managed war against drugs. Just prior to the survey's release, the Office of National Drug Control Policy reaffirmed its commitment to fighting marijuana use as the nation's most seri- ous drug problem. The office's argument hinges on the overwhelming number of pot users - 15 million, versus a mere one million for meth. This assessment fails to consider, however, that the effects of meth are often deadly while marijuana is essen- tially harmless. As a synthetic stimulant with effects sim- ilar to cocaine, meth is highly addictive, and long-term use may cause psychologi- cal problems, immune system impairment and even death. It can cause aggressive behavior, and its use has been linked to unprotected and promiscuous sex, result- ing in a disproportionate number of users infected with sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. Additionally, meth labs are dangerous, produce toxic waste and have been known to catch fire or explode. Meth-related crimes are overwhelming law enforcement officials, and meth abuse and addiction are greatly contributing the over- flow of patients that many drug-focused health centers are now facing. In contrast, marijuana presents fex health risks and has legitimate therapeuti value. The only threat a typical marijuaq user poses to society is an insatiable hung% for Doritos. Because of its value as a pain killer and anti-nausea medication, medici nal marijuana has been legalized in man states and cities like Ann Arbor. After tw years of hearings on medicinal marijuan Drug Enforcement Administrative Las Judge Francis Young found in 1988 th marijuana was one of the safest therapeu drugs available and said, "In strict med cal terms marijuana is far safer than man foods we commonly consume." Considering that the federal governmer spends over $12 billion fighting drugs eac year, it is surprising that the administratio remains so out of touch with the realit of drug enforcement. The war on drug unwisely targets the supply side of dru trafficking and has been ineffective in curb ing drug use - while usage has fallen sine the late 1970s, recent years have shown lex eling off and even increases in use amon all age groups. The money spent fightin drugs has been generally misallocatec unless fueling violence abroad and crowd ing prisons with nonviolent drug offender can be considered worthy ends. Providing funds to prevent the abuse dangerous drugs and to offer treatment recovering addicts could be worthy use of federal funds, but the administration stance on marijuana is instead reminiscet of the misguided prohibition era, with lav enforcement frantically trying to stop th production and sale of a drug that pose comparatively little danger to individu or society as a whole. Like a stubborn chiY the federal government foolishly sticks t its commitment to combating marijuana demonstrating yet again its failure to prop erly assess and handle drug abuse. The thumbs have it Plymouth- Canton Schools Most schools raise money with pizza and cookie dough sales, but they chose to sell naming rights. Will school T-shirts mark spirited students or corporate whores? Gov. Jennifer o Workshops to teach parents how to talk with their kil about sex are a nice thought, but an awkward one. Granholm Keep sex in the schools, where it belongs. Micro- cinema Michigan's latest Cool Cities grant went to Ann Arbor's own Michigan Theater. It's a good thin too: Four out of five yuppies agree that they would move to a city with micro-cinema.