Editorial board out of touch with average Michiganian

Yes, Call your legislators! Demand that people paying taxes make it easier for you to attend college.

Find me where in the state/federal constitution it enumerates that the scholarship to college is granted.

President of College Democrats….. no wonder he wants someone else to foot the bill…

“Find me where in the state/federal constitution it enumerates that the scholarship to college is granted.”

Yeah, because the only laws we have in this country are contained in the federal & state constitutions…give me a break.

I tend to be sympathetic with the state govt. though. People love to b!tch about the budget deficit and too much spending, but the minute anything is cut, people complain (first the prison cut-backs, now scholarships).

Look those cuts got to come from somewhere, and like it or not, its the jobs of those on Cap Hill in Lansing to decide where to make them.

I WILL TELL YOU WHERE WE GET THE MONEY FOR STATE GOVERNMENT: Gov. Granholm should declare emergency powers and abolish the federal income withholding tax. Instead, we shall take half of the proceeds to remain within the state. If Obama’s administration is going to fund the entire federal government by selling Treasury securities to China and Japan, I say to hell with them, no more federal income taxes.

The following is necessary to secure the blessings of liberty:

1.) Secession from the United States on the grounds that they have broken contract through unconstitutional actions

2.) State-ize the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago – Detroit branch office and print constitutional, non-inflating currency in Michigan.

3.) Create a two-tier credit system, infrastructure and utilities and energy get their own system of credit with long term statutory low interest rates.

4.) Sky high tariffs on non-U.S.

I agree, its counter intuitive to cut education aid when tuition is rising at an unprecedented rate and ‘the knowledge economy’ is repeatedly said to be our future.

On the other hand, Michigan doesn’t produce nearly enough jobs to actually keep college graduates, not to mention graduate level students to stay in Michigan after they finish college, so in theory, why subsidize the education of someone who will use it in another state anyway.

Yeah, just keep cutting and milking education in Michigan. Maybe someday you’ll end up like Florida where the public education is ranked 48th out of 50 states. People need to stop looking at education as a selfish endeavour bettering individuals and more as an investment to the well-being of the country and economy as a whole.

Eddie,

That comment might hold water if the government monopoly on education were producing decent results. Know what the average ACT score in Michigan was last year? Just over 18. Barely better than 50 percent. Is that really an “investment to the well-being of the country and economy as a whole?”

I think not.

Since the State News seems to think getting rid of our scholarships isnt a big deal, we all need to go to their building and request our student State News tax back.

This isnt something i’m making up. You ARE allowed to do this and it only takes 5 minutes. While its not going to replace what we’re losing, its a start.

..that the Editorial Board is most certaintly out of touch with the average Michiganian! Shame on them!!!
I couldn’t agree more with your statement that “We cannot continue to have a “learning tax” on education that damns our children out of attending college. It is sickening to me that our children in this state continually have to put up with tuition increases, and now scholarship cuts to attend college and better themselves through education.” Your letter was perfectly written!

I didn’t know MSU offered a bachelor’s degree in “welfare queen.”

Gimme, gimme, gimme. I want, I want, I want. To hell with the taxpayers actually footing the bill who are paying this welfare entitlement, right?

Guess it wouldn’t occur to anyone to ask why the costs keep going up, just take the easy way out and stomp your feet and hold your breath as you demand to be given something that is NOT yours and you HAVE NOT earned.

If you are interested in helping with the MSU College Democrats on our campaign to hold the State News accountable, please feel free to e-mail me at president@msudems.org.

Oh brother. A cog in the partisan political machinery that wants to hold someone else “accountable.” Funniest thing I’ve read all day.

Mitchell,

Please demand the state news offers a retraction or else on behalf of students use your role as President to raise awareness of this issue AND please have the first awareness event be organizing students to get their State News taxes back. Perhaps then the State News will realize that taking away critical funding isnt “insignificant”.

Good call, Todd.
Nothing says welfare queen like a high school student with good grades looking for help paying for college.

Mitchell,

What are you going to hold the SN accountable for?? Printing their opinion? Get a grip, some one doesn’t have the same opinion as you and you fly of the handle.

This is ridiculous. This is a teachable moment; one can’t rely on the government for anything, I spent a year in Iraq, actually earning my tuition assistance, yet to see it be omitted from the budget. Get over it, the state owes you nothing, so get over it. I actually served time for my assistance, but they have eliminated it. Welcome to the Granholm adminstration, you morons.

Dave,
Thank you for your service to our country. I doubt you get much thanks around here.

El-oh-el, Tim. Those damn high-performing, high-potential high school students and their desire for a little help to alleviate the astronomical rise in college tuition that is accompanied by more than a decade of stagnant wages and the ever-increasing gap between the haves and have-nots — what a bunch of welfare queens looking for a handout! Damn hippies!

On a serious note, I was able to attend college and graduate school with some “handouts” like scholarships and grants including the Michigan Promise, working full-time or nearly full-time the entire time, and Uncle Sam’s loans.

Amen DAVE

The gov’t doesn’t “owe” anyone a darn thing. People forget that this money has to come from somewhere. Well Jenny, I’m blown away!!!

America,

Yes, the price of college is getting absurd. Why not focus on that instead of whining that we should continue to steal money from people who earn it and give it to kids for college?

“Gimme, gimme, gimme. I want, I want, I want. To hell with the taxpayers actually footing the bill who are paying this welfare entitlement, right?”

The scholarships are actually the people of Michigan working as a collective to encourage the brightest and best students to stay in-state for college and, hopefully, produce the technologies that get Michigan running again.

Michigan needs to evolve to stay competitive in the world economy.

Correction: the sentence should read:

“Personally, I would rather pay a thousand dollars to put a kid through school than to keep a crackhead incarcerated.

Zeke,

The people of Michigan? Hmmm, I don’t remember voting on any such program. Do you?

Zeke, maybe that biomedical engineer will develope a new virus that kills you.

Geez, Todd. I don’t recall voting on a program to build roads or rebuild roads over in Grand Rapids. I don’t use them so what do I care if they aren’t built or repaired. Of course we all did get to vote for our governor, mayor, representatives etc. so in a way we did vote for these programs. The notion that anything done without a direct vote from the people is silly.
The funny thing is that you paint people as selfish for “expecting” scholarships, but appear to oppose any program that doesn’t directly benefit you.

Tim,

Yes, I know that notion is silly. That’s why I used that example to point out Zeke’s absurdity.

Just because something is “public policy” doesn’t make it OK. It is unacceptable in any circumstance to take money from one person who has earned it and give it to someone else who has not earned it.

President James Madison put it best when he vetoed one of the earliest bills seeking to do just that: “I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on the objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.”

That goes for everything from these scholarships all the way up to corporate bailouts.

How so you guys manage to get into this stuff? Characters real characters, I must say.

“The people of Michigan? Hmmm, I don’t remember voting on any such program. Do you?”

Yes, I do. It was Election Day, when I voted for a State Rep who campaigned on a college education platform and later voted to support it. You know, Election Day? When you were probably at a pub somewhere cursing the government instead of selecting it?

“It is unacceptable in any circumstance to take money from one person who has earned it and give it to someone else who has not earned it.”

Hahaha.

They should write an Editorial on being board, it would liven things up a bit.

While I agree that they might be as good at critical thinking when it comes to these editorials as a 2 by 4, I think you meant bored not board.

Once again, I learned something new! I knew it, but forgot it. Probably because I was bored. You are so cute and kind to of helped me with my grammar. How can one person be so darn smart? Much smarter than me, much smarter than alot of people. Brillant mind, and it is suprising to me, that you are also perfect with grammar, an excellent writer, funny, romantic, and you have gotten even kinder.

You belong here, your writing is you. Beautiful writer, beautiful you. I know that it is time for some new stories though.

Zeke,

Oh, so because the government does it, it must be OK. Fascinating worldview.

Is that person who posted under “Thank You” some type of spam? It sounds like English isn’t their first language. I see a similar style of writing that sounds like the same person on most of the comment sections.

Lerd knows that the answer is yes.

Doesn’t sound like they know their English,then maybe they should go back to school. Maybe they aren’t as good with words as other people who write here. Maybe they should quit getting their a** kicked, if you know what I mean. Do you know what I mean?!
How can some people be so young and so smart, I will never figure that one out. Hey an oldie but a goodie, but never good enough!

Todd- That’s pretty obviously not what Zeke’s argument was.

His point is that you did vote for these scholarships when you voted for your state representative and senator. As you are aware, we have a representative democracy, not a direct democracy. It means we elect individuals to represent us in the government and those people then vote for us. We don’t have a direct democratic vote for every bit of governmental spending or for every governmental program.

Tim,

So in that case, no one should be complaining that the legislature voted to cut the scholarships, either.

Life is too interesting to be bored here. What great blogs, what a great read. Sometimes people’s hormones’s get a little out of wack, then they return to normal..well normal is back. Cranky earlier..sorry. Lots to read and view when I get home…looking forward to a diet coke! No oops today! at least I hope not!

Todd-
I never said you can’t complain when the government implements a policy you disagree with. That would be antithetical to democracy. What I criticized was your position that governmental spending is unjust unless it is approved by a direct vote.
Any additional strawmen you want to knock down?

Tim,

That wasn’t my position. I already told you I used that absurd example to refute Zeke’s absurd defense about “the people of Michigan.”

Hope I typed that slowly enough for you this time.

Todd-
Clever, what is your position then?

Tim,

That government shouldn’t take money from people who have earned it and give it to people who have not – no matter how altruistic the reason.

Todd,
Fair enough, looks as if there was some misunderstanding, as is prone to happen, here. Do you also think that doing so is unconstitutional?
Anyway, if that is your opinion, you are better off arguing that we shouldn’t pay politicians since they do far less to earn the money than a hard working high school student. Have a good holiday.

Ahh, good to see Todd is still here whining.

“That government shouldn’t take money from people who have earned it and give it to people who have not – no matter how altruistic the reason.”

Are you an MSU student, Todd? If so, I want my money back from you. You see, my tax dollars are used to fund MSU even though I do not attend school there any more.

Correction: “disagree with your cold and unproductive notion that people are not worth supporting with their money.”

Do libertarians really not want a government at all?

Drum ROLL please……NO!!!!!!!!!! Coz they know EVERYTHING! Or at least they THINK THEY DO!?!!! BOO HOO ON YOU. Guess who my dear?
Do you always have to be right? Are you the most pig headed person on the planet? Okay you are brillant, talented, funny etc. , but you are also a real pain in the a**!

I have since found out that I am the wrong party here. I am sorry for having written the above post. When someone shows you that they have a great heart and great intentions, then that makes them right afterall!