4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, May 16, 2005
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ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 STEPHANIE WRIGHT DONN M. FRESARD
tothedaily@michigandaily.com Editor in Chief Editorial Page Editor
EDITED AND MANAGED BY
ikIi 4STUDENTS AT THE Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of
UNIVERSITY OF MIC HIG AN the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other pieces do not
SINCE 1890 necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
4
In a closed meeting held last week, the
University's Dispute Review Board
found the Coca-Cola Company guilty
of two of Coke Coalition's four allegations:
the presence of pesticides in Coke products
in India and labor violations in Columbia.
In light of the board's findings, Coke is in
direct violation of the University's Code of
Conduct for University Vendors, and the
University should immediately terminate
its contracts with Coke and only consider
renewing them after Coke can prove that it
has properly addressed both violations. It
currently appears, however, that the DRB
will unwisely recommend that the Univer-
sity maintain its contracts until September
and then renew them on a month-by-month
basis, pending Coke's efforts to improve
its human rights policy. The final decision
to renew the contracts, totaling about $1.3
million annually, rests with the University's
executive vice president and chief financial
officer, Tim Slottow. It is not too late for Slot-
tow to do what his counterpart at New York
University recently failed to do: cancel all 12
contracts with Coca-Cola immediately while
+ + + openness in such proceedings.
Whether or not the University ultimately
holds Coke accountable for its practices, the
students driving the Coke Coalition - as
University must terminate Coke contracts now well as their predecessors, whose activism
resulted in creation of the DRB and the Code
of Conduct for University Vendors -should
offering the possibility of renewal when the to reinstate its contract. The University be commended. And the efforts of student
violations are rectified. administration also played an important activists propelling the anti-Coke movement
Six colleges and universities in the United role by joining the Workers Rights Con- here and on other campuses have uncovered
States so far have dropped their contracts sortium and inserting a clause regarding violations that otherwise would have gone
with Coke in response to the allegations. This workers wages which incited Nike to tem- unnoticed and unpunished. The presence pf
leaves the University with the opportunity to porarily pull out of negotiations. By taking this institution will be a true asset at the Uni-
be the first major university to put significant decisive action against Coke, the Univer- versity for years to come, giving it a viable
pressure on Coke to promptly address its sity could again play a leading role in a mode of resolving conflicts like this one.
human rights practices. University students nationwide movement; cutting its contracts The University must act quickly to cancel
led the way in boycotting Nike in the late now would galvanize student activists on its contracts with Coca-Cola or risk losing
1990s, and the University administration's campuses across the nation and force Coke the power to change Coke's unacceptable
pressure on Nike combined with the efforts to address its practices. treatment of its workers. While compla-
of students at other schools to create the In addition to what will likely be a disap- cency with the status quo may be the path
mountain of negative publicity that ulti- pointing outcome, it is unfortunate that the of least resistance, issues like these must
mately motivated Nike to improve worker hearings regarding this matter were conduct- take precedence over the profitability and
conditions. In hopes of regaining the lucra- ed behind closed doors. While such secrecy convenience of a long-term contract. Like
tive university contracts and restoring its may not be a technical violation of the state's Nike, Coke will only remedy its practices
tarnished reputation, Nike disclosed the Open Meetings Act, it is unnecessary in a with significant pressure and the fear of a
locations of its plants and raised wages matter that affects the entire student body, tarnished image, and the University must
-- sufficient conditions for the University and the decision goes against the spirit of not delay in sending a clear signal.
1
1
Empty pockets
Detroit should avoid taxing its own residents
Ganging up
Mandatory minimums are unfair, discriminatory
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
proposed a citywide two-percent
tax on fast food last week as a part
of his plan to pay the city's $300-million
budget shortfall. This tax is inherently
regressive; it would primarily affect the
poor, who must often resort to fast food,
and it would fail to address the deeper
economic troubles besetting Detroit. A
recent study found that Detroit already
places the 10th-largest tax burden on its
residents out of the nation's largest cities.
Further taxation would only drive more
residents and businesses out of Detroit
and discourage new investment, imped-
ing economic recovery. As the city strug-
gles to fund its current deficit, it must
find alternative ways to raise money and
cut costs without increasing taxes on its
own residents.
The city of Detroit has faced serious
financial troubles throughout the past few
years, and the coming fiscal year is no
exception. City employees will see severe
pay and benefit reductions, and city ser-
vices face drastic cuts. Most of Detroit's
museums and cultural centers, including
the Detroit Zoo, have lost their city sub-
sidies, and the Belle Isle Aquarium was
closed this year.
Because additional taxation would not
be fair to Detroit's residents or sufficient
to remedy its budget woes, the city and
state governments should explore alter-
native measures to fix the budget deficit.
Although Michigan itself is strapped for
money, any aid that could be earmarked
for Detroit would benefit the entire state.
A growing, successful Detroit would
improve Michigan's image as well as its
economic health. Additionally, neighbor-
ing suburbs could be important sources
of support for the ailing city. Although
voters rejected a regional arts millage
in 2000, other efforts could be made to
encourage regional cooperation. Oakland
County is one of the richest counties in
the nation, and there are other affluent
communities in nearby parts of Wayne
and Washtenaw counties. The wealthier
residents of these areas enjoy Detroit's
historical areas, athletic events and fine-
arts venues. A modest tax increase on
these urban attractions would generate
more revenue without taking more money
from the city's residents.
Another possible way to rectify Detroit's
financial woes would be a reform of its
internal institutions. Due to popula-
tion losses over the past several decades,
Detroit's city government is adequate for
a city nearly twice its current population,
and out of the country's 15 largest cit-
ies, Detroit currently ranks fourth in city
employees per thousand residents. A care-
ful "right-sizing" of the city's workforce
and a greater emphasis on efficient spend-
ing by the city government could bring
Detroit closer to an appropriately sized city
government that reflects its population, its
tax burden and its economic situation.
Such a set of solutions will require a
more fiscally responsible mayor - one
who can set an example of efficient and
responsible spending for the rest of the
city. Recent reports of Kilpatrick's reck-
less use of city funds are disheartening,
and reform of the city government will
be difficult without a leader who can
exercise the same restraint the city must
demonstrate. At a time when Detroit's
government needs to tighten its belt, the
city will need a leader who is capable of
tightening his.
The U.S. House of Representatives
approved a bill last Wednesday that
establishes mandatory sentencing
minimums for gang-related crimes, the first
step in a Republican-led movement to extend
the scope of federal mandatory minimums
since the Supreme Court ruled in January that
judges did not have to adhere to federal sen-
tencing guidelines. These minimums sidestep
the ruling, however, replacing judicial discre-
tion with generalized sentencing restrictions
for serious crimes which cannot adequately
address the nuances of individual cases.
While support for the bill has fallen along
party lines, Republicans must recognize that
the sentencing for gang violence, along with
other criminal acts, should be left to judges.
Pending Senate approval, the bill expands
the definition of gang violence to include any
group of three or more individuals commit-
ting two crimes, at least one being violent,
and mandates a 10-year prison sentence for
any such "gang crimes." Harsher penalties
are required for more severe acts, and the
bill would expand the number of instances
to which the death penalty could be applied.
For 16- and 17-year-olds accused of gang
violence, the bill authorizes that they be tried
as adults, increasing the number ofjuveniles
subject to the adult criminal justice system.
The passage of these minimums would
worsen the overrepresentation of minorities
in American prisons - according to the
American Civil Liberties Union, 70 percent
of those receiving mandatory sentences
in 1999 were black or Latino. While Con-
gress focuses on harsher sentences for gang
crimes, white-collar financial crimes for
which whites are overrepresented too often
receive lenient treatment in court. Further-
more, the threat of these harsh sentences
may motivate even innocent defendants
to negotiate plea bargains rather than risk
wrongful conviction in a jury trial.
Amidst the recent flurry of congressional
attacks on supposed judicial activism such
as congressional interference with the Terri
Schiavo case, mandatory minimums unfair-
ly restrict the power of judges to administer
guidelines according to the severity of the
crimes. Such legislation diverts the power
to sentence criminals from the judiciary to
Congress, weakening the federal separa-
tion of powers.
The United States prison population is
already the world's largest, and it has grown
an average of 3.5 percent annually over the
past 10 years despite significant drops in vio-
lent and property crimes. Mandatory mini-
mums would only exacerbate the problem,
especially if Congress approves pending
bills that would establish mandatory mini-
mums for drug offenses and violent crimes
against judicial officials. While supporters
claim the bill will act as a crime deterrent
for young people, the money that the govern-
ment will spend enforcing the longer prison
sentences would be better spent on social
programs that target poverty reduction and
crime prevention.
Gang violence is a serious and growing
problem, but it cannot be solved by sim-
plistic "tough-on-crime" legislation; its root
causes must be addressed and rehabilitation
programs should be improved to reduce
recidivism rates. Mandatory minimums are
unfair and discriminatory, and they and will
worsen overcrowding in prisons. The Senate
rejected a similar bill last year, and it should
do the same with this one. The signing of
this bill into law would overload the penal
system due to the eventual rise in inmates
and subject convicts to unfair and discrimi-
natory sentencing.