Common Sense Action is a bipartisan
political action group here at the University
that is part of a national movement calling
for generational fairness, fiscal responsibility
in government, investment in millennial
mobility and the renewal of prudent politics.
The State of Michigan can encourage these
qualities by reducing spending and increasing
government efficiency.
One of the ways the Michigan government
can promote fiscal responsibility is by
supporting a change from a defined benefit
to defined contribution pension system for
state employees. A defined benefit pension
program guarantees workers a pre-negotiated
set of benefits, which are funded by a withheld
portion of the employee’s salary that the
government matches. The amount of these
benefits is based on a defined percentage of the
employee’s salary, which is then apportioned
to the employee on a monthly basis for the
rest of his or her life after retirement. The
government and salary money from a defined
benefit is placed in a public investment fund
from which the pension is paid out.
The
problem
with
defined
benefit
pensions plans is that they require actuarial
accounting, which is essentially an estimate
of the total cost of each of the employee’s
pension plans based on how long they live and
an estimate of how the public fund will do in
the market. Because actuarial accounting is
often inaccurate, the discrepancy between
the estimate and the actual pension costs
can be alarmingly significant, which has led
to Michigan touting one of the highest debt
totals in the United States. Michigan has a
total state debt of more than $142 billion, or
$14,435 per capita. A large portion of this debt,
well more than half, is created by liabilities
derived from unfunded pensions.
CSA opposes the culture of spending
and passing the bills onto taxpayers in the
future. We believe that this method of fiscal
accounting is not only irresponsible but also
unsustainable. This issue is important for
millennials to understand because our current
debt will be passed on to us in the future.
We are calling for the current generation of
politicians to act more prudently and to work
together to solve our current problems rather
than leaving them for our generation to bear.
To do this, we need to increase our political
involvement to persuade politicians that we
matter and deserve to be represented.
We believe the solution to the pension
problem is the conversion of the government’s
pension system to a defined contribution
pension system, which completely eliminates
the need for actuarial accounting. In a defined
contribution system, each employee is provided
an entirely separate Investment Retirement
Account into which the government and
the employee agree to contribute a certain
amount for later access. Implementing this
debt-solvent program is important because it
eliminates the need for actuarial estimates;
thus millennials will not be responsible to pay
for the difference between today’s estimates
and the future’s realities. This means fewer
tax dollars for our generation to pay after we
enter the workforce.
Reducing excess pension costs of state
employees is not the only action we propose
the legislature should take to decrease the
burden of unsustainable debt in Michigan.
Common Sense Action supports the reduction
of prison costs by reforming and reducing
sentencing, probation and parole terms. The
idea is to reduce prison sentences and costs
while keeping offenders under the supervision
of the state to ensure a smooth reintegration
into society. While we believe the prison
system is vital to keeping crime rates down,
CSA supports reforming prison sentences to
significantly reduce the total cost of the prison
system to taxpayers. If Michigan doesn’t take
this action now, millennials will end up paying
for it in the future.
In
recent
years,
though
the
prison
population has decreased significantly, the
costs of operating Michigan’s Department
of Corrections have increased because of
outstanding debt from defined benefit pension
programs that were guaranteed by previous
generations and are born by taxpayers today.
From fiscal year 2007 to fiscal year 2015, the
number of employed full-time corrections
officers has decreased by nearly 20 percent,
yet prison costs have continued to rise because
of unfunded liabilities. CSA believes that
this mistake should not be repeated today at
Opinion
JENNIFER CALFAS
EDITOR IN CHIEF
AARICA MARSH
and DEREK WOLFE
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
LEV FACHER
MANAGING EDITOR
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
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 Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Securing a fair future for millenials
Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Ben Keller, Payton Luokkala, Aarica
Marsh, Victoria Noble, Michael Paul, Allison Raeck, Melissa
Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Linh Vu,
Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Derek Wolfe
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
JORDAN SANDMAN | VIEWPOINT
S
even steps to Spring Breaking
under $700:
It’s the most annoying time
of the year, thanks to Facebook.
Spring technically
doesn’t start until
the 20th, and yet
as we scroll down
our news feeds,
it’s clear that here
at the University,
vacation
photo
uploading
sea-
son has officially
begun.
Some
Wol-
verines can call
mom and pops and request a $3,000
transfer for the occasion. What’s
$3,000 for an all-inclusive vaca-
tion in paradise when you spend
$100,000 on the damages alone?
But for most of us living on earth,
vacationing is a luxury, not a right.
It is possible to Spring Break Big
Ten style on a reasonable budget,
and here are some tips to help you
do it.
1. Save and book early
If you want to Spring Break
savvy, it’s crucial to start saving
early and to book as soon as pos-
sible. Right now, round-trip flights
from Detroit to Miami are going for
around $500. Back in October, the
same flights were $187.
I don’t know about you, but I
don’t remember the last time I had
an expendable $700 lying around in
my bank account, especially during
the school year working part time.
Your best bet is to put away a
little bit every week while you’re
working in the summer. If you’re a
freshman, put away $5 every week
into a savings account, and by your
senior year, you won’t regret skip-
ping that weekly drunken late-
night trip to South U Pizza.
2. Check out a cruise
Cruises are generally a good
value because they take you to dif-
ferent destinations while feeding
and entertaining you for free. Four-
day cruises are often advertised
for $230 or so, but don’t be fooled.
Before you check out online, Car-
nival is going to add taxes, fees and
gratuity totaling an extra $100 or
so. Once you board the ship, they’re
going to add an extra $50 for taxes,
or something. I’m not really sure. I
was way too excited to complain to
anyone about this.
Also, don’t forget to return those
beach towels. Lose it and pay $22.
Anyways, $380 is a pretty good
deal for four days of all-inclusive
food, a trip to Key West and Cozu-
mel. My friends and I had the time
of our lives, even though the food
was questionable.
3. Use Google Maps
If you’re staying at a hotel, loca-
tion is everything. Use Google
Maps to find something cheap and
close to the beach or your destina-
tion. If you’re doing Spring Break
right, you’re not going to be spend-
ing much time in the room other
than to sleep, shower or recover
temporarily from a sunburn.
If you’re going to Miami, do
South Beach, but don’t stay on
Ocean Drive. It will cost half as
much to stay on Washington or
Collins, literally a three-minute
walk in the sun to the beach. If you
use Expedia, Priceline or Kayak,
you could find a room to share with
your friends for $50 per person per
night. The more the merrier (and
the cheaper).
4. Bring a flask
Unfortunately for us millen-
nial ladies, chivalry at most bars
is either hanging on by a thread
or dead. Instead of “Can I buy
you a drink?” we’re lucky if we’re
asked for a “dance.” From a cost-
benefit standpoint, I’m starting to
understand why.
At bars on South Beach, tee-
ny-tiny mixed drinks are $8, not
including a tip, and as a former
waitress, I’m obligated to add that
a tip is not optional. A bottle of nice
clear liquor for you and your ladies
at the party store around the corner
is about $25. You do the math. It’s
not trashy, it’s economical.
5. Bring cash (and small bills)
When you’re on vacation, it’s
essential to bring cash with you. If
you’re splitting a cab with friends,
the driver isn’t going to split the
bill among four credit cards. Res-
taurants on South Beach are the
same way. At your hotel, you should
always bring singles to tip house-
keeping and the guys that help with
your luggage. Michigan’s reputa-
tion isn’t worth stiffing waiters
or bartenders.
Similarly, if you’re in a foreign
country, especially Mexico, and
all you have is a credit card, often-
times businesses won’t accept it. If
they do, you’re going to be charged
a 20-percent processing fee for
everything you buy. If you only
bring $50 bills, you’re going to get
ripped off.
6. Bring a Spanish-speaking
friend
If you go anywhere in southern
Florida, the Bahamas or Mexico,
many of the natives are going to
speak Spanish as their first lan-
guage. Nothing says “I’m a rich
American with $200 in my pocket”
quite like buying something at face
value in English. My roommate
Danielle, a fluent Spanish speaker,
talked a shop owner in Mexico
down to $5 from $17 for person-
alized threaded bracelets. It was
incredibly entertaining and quite
the asset. Without her, the tan on
my wrist would be generic and
unremarkable right now.
7. Turn on Airplane mode
We’re millennials, and yes, many
of us are emotionally attached to
our phones. Spring Break is the per-
fect time to cut the cord. If you’re
on vacation outside of the United
States, roaming out of country
could cost you $2.50 per minute.
No matter where you go, take
pictures for the memories, but
remember that every minute you
spend checking Instagram, Face-
book and Snapchat is a minute you
can’t spend fully enjoying the sun
and the environment. I’ll tell you
right now that the Yik Yak game is
weak in Miami and Key West any-
ways. Sit back, relax and enjoy. In a
few days, you’ll be back to parkas,
snow boots and exams.
— Lauren Richmond can be
reached at lerichmo@umich.edu.
How to Spring Break for $700 or less
LAUREN
RICHMOND
millennials’ cost in the future.
Common
Sense
Action
also
supports a change in the philosophy
of our state government’s policy
implementation
and
spending
initiatives
through
priority-based
budgeting. Priority-based budgeting
is the idea that lawmakers and
bureaucrats work together as one
entity to focus on the outcomes of
policy rather than implementing
idealistic
yet
ineffective
and
inefficient legislation. Priority-based
budgeting
can
reduce
spending
and debt while still accomplishing
the most essential and beneficial
functions of state government.
Another facet of priority-based
budgeting that CSA supports is
performance
evaluation.
Through
evaluating what works and what
doesn’t in our bureaucratic functions,
Michigan can make its governmental
programs more efficient and less
costly to Michigan taxpayers. As
millennials, we need to encourage our
government to operate in a fiscally
responsible way so we can change
our current culture of ineffective,
exorbitant spending.
While CSA values the functions
of our state government, we believe
that it is imperative that we reduce
our state debt to a more sustainable,
efficient level that will not be a
burden to our wallets in the future.
Jordan Sandman is
an LSA freshman.
I
’m writing this on Sunday, March 8, and I
am cranky for a handful of reasons, some of
which are actually relevant. I’m upset that
I’m on my last day of a Spring
Break that felt far too short.
I’m also upset that I some-
how managed to sleep until
10:30 a.m. without feeling
particularly rested. When I
voiced this frustration to my
mother, she laughed. “Well
yeah,” she said, “because it
feels like 9:30.”
Ah. Daylight saving time.
Winding the clocks for-
ward is an annual source of
annoyance for me, one that does not get eas-
ier with experience. The older I get, the less
sense it makes. Why am I subjecting myself to
an hour less of sleep? Why do I want to spend
a week readjusting my sleep schedule to fit
the change? Why do I want to wake up in the
dark when it’s hard enough to wake up when
there’s light outside? (And how do I change
the time on my microwave?)
It has something to do with farmers. At least
that’s what everyone seems to think.
The “it was started by farmers” thing is a
very strange collective delusion, particularly
because farmers are the only group to have
ever organized a lobby against daylight saving
time. It gives them fewer daylight hours in the
morning to get crops to market. Cows appar-
ently don’t adjust well to earlier milking sched-
ules either.
Daylight saving time is a practice that has
nothing to do with farmers and everything
to do with war. The first country to use DST
was Germany during World War I. This was
an effort to reduce the use of artificial light
to conserve energy for the war. The United
States followed suit two years later. The prac-
tice was abandoned post-war and reinstated
during World War II, during which DST was
referred to as “War Time.”
And so daylight saving time was created
in an effort to conserve energy. As much as I
would like to accuse DST of being an immedi-
ate failure, I’m forced to admit that it actually
worked — at first. DST saved the day during
the 1973 oil embargo saving 10,000 barrels
of oil every day. But, this was before air con-
ditioning was an essential fixture in most
American homes.
Today, that extra hour of daylight in the
summer translates into a hotter hour of
increased air conditioning use. The National
Bureau of Economic Research found in 2008
that because of this increase in air condition-
ing, the energy saved by less artificial lighting
is completely canceled. We actually use more
energy because of air conditioning costs dur-
ing daylight saving time.
So who’s winning when we turn our clocks
forward an hour every year? It’s certainly
not television networks, which dislike DST
because people tend to start watching their
shows after the sun sets. When the sun sets
later, they lose viewers to outdoor activities.
It is logical that outdoor industries would be
the winners of daylight saving time, but it still
seems weird to me that the biggest champions
are — wait for it — golf courses. Yes, we are sub-
jecting ourselves to the hassles of clock chang-
ing and tiredness for golf people who have a lot
to gain from increased hours of operation. It is
a $70 billion industry in the United States, and
although this is no small sum, I can’t help but
feel angry that I’m losing an hour of my Spring
Break for such a boring sport.
Ultimately, daylight saving time doesn’t
save energy, but it might still promote eco-
nomic growth. America has a history of
instating and repealing DST, but for now it’s
here to stay. Regardless, I think I’m with the
cows on this one: I don’t like adjusting my
sleep schedule, waking up in the dark for
what feels like no reason. As irritated as I am,
however, I’m not quite ready to join the farm-
ers’ lobby against daylight saving time. Prob-
ably because I’m too tired.
— Sydney Hartle can be reached
at hartles@umich.edu.
Why I’m tired
SYDNEY
HARTLE
E-mail GabriElla at GabsmEy@umich.Edu
GABRIELLA MEYER
In support of more
Meatless Mondays
TO THE DAILY:
I am writing to express my sup-
port for East Quad Residence
Hall’s Meatless Monday event and
encourage it and other campus din-
ing facilities to make every Monday
a Meatless Monday. Oftentimes,
people’s first impression of the
vegan lifestyle is one of repulsion.
However, vegan food can be far
more decadent and delicious than
it is given credit for. What many
fail to realize is that anything —
from ribs to omelets to ice cream
— can be made vegan. In addition,
the benefits of the vegan lifestyle
for the animals, environment and
one’s health are too significant to
ignore. Despite this, the apprehen-
sion of changing their diet and leav-
ing behind their favorite foods often
hold people back.
That’s why Meatless Mondays are
a great step. This program gives meat
eaters the opportunity to discover
new vegan and vegetarian foods in
a relaxed and experimental atmo-
sphere. As a campus, we have enor-
mous potential to preserve resources
and save lives by simply eating vegan
or vegetarian meals one day per
week. I hope that by taking part in
Meatless Mondays, students can
become more open-minded to giving
the vegan lifestyle a try.
Lia Vallina
LSA freshman, Peta2 campus repre-
sentative and president of the Michi-
gan Animal Respect Society
Send letterS to: tothedaily@michigandaily.com
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
SEX.
DRUGS.
SPRING BREAK MEMORIES.
LET’S TALK.
Edit board: Every Monday and Wednesday at 6 p.m. E-mail: tothedaily@michigandaily.com