The job crisis: Solved in 10 pages?
House Republicans, led by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), recently released their Plan for America’s Job Creators. The document, as well as a shortened summary version, can be accessed from . When I first opened the full document, I thought I had chosen the summary by mistake. As Paul Krugman notes, it “has to rely on extra-large type and lots of pointless pictures to bulk it out even to 10 pages.” Indeed, the equivalent of four pages of the document consists of images of cars at the gas station, scissors cutting red tape, and the like. Another page is a platitude-ridden introduction that could be substituted by manic repetition of the phrases “common-sense,” “pro-growth,” “job creators,” and “remove Washington” to the same effect.
Living with Alzheimer’s
“When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it happened or not, but I am getting old, and soon I shall remember only the latter.”
Picture of a real leader
Last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’75 addressed a joint session of Congress, almost a week after President Obama delivered a major policy speech on the Middle East to the U.S. State Department. Both men outlined bold and unprecedented plans for ensuring security and peace in the region and deserve commendation for their strong support of a sincere and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. However, Palestinian refusal to accept Israel as the Jewish state, Fatah’s reconciliation with Hamas, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ rejection of direct negotiations with Israel pose serious threats to the peace process.
Toss the bums out
If there is one conclusion to be drawn from half a century of studying the American educational system, it is this: throwing more money at the problem will not solve anything. According to the Department of Education, between 1960 and 2000, the pupil-teacher ratio fell from 25.8 to 16.0, the percent of teachers with masters degrees or higher went from 23.5 to 56.2, and the real amount spent per pupil went from $2,235 to $7,591 in 2000 dollars. What did we get for all that money? Reading and math achievement stayed the same, while science results actually fell. In 2003, our spending per pupil was five times that of Poland, but we actually achieved worse results on the international PISA tests.
Chipping away at fundamental rights
In the past few months, an epidemic of anti-abortion legislation has swept over our country. The recent passage of House Resolution 3, or the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Bill, is but one example among almost a thousand measures working their way through state legislatures. While the bill is vanishingly unlikely to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate, its language reflects frightening sentiments on the part of House Republicans (and the 16 Democrats who joined them). One of the most shocking effects of the bill’s becoming law would be necessary “rape audits,” conducted by the IRS, to determine if persons who receive federal funding for abortion in case of rape were lying about being raped. As Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) put it, “if you get raped, you better keep a receipt.”
Rights, not bureaucracy, are imperative
This Friday marks the sixth week of widespread political protests across Syria, where hundreds have been killed on the streets and thousands more are still missing. Shockingly, however, the United Nations Security Council was not able to release even a press statement criticizing the violence in Syria. This stands in stark contrast to the firm international stance taken against Libya, and clearly demonstrates the corruption and inefficiency of the United Nations. Nothing but hypocrisy can explain the enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya for humanitarian purposes, and yet not demand a mere utterance against the ongoing slaughter in Syria.
Mission Accomplished
In the aftermath of the U.S’s successful strike in Abbottabad, much attention has been given to what Osama bin Laden’s death means for the war on terror. Was bin Laden still an operational leader within al-Qaida, and if so, how much does his death hamper the group’s ability to conduct terrorism? Will jihadists still be able to recruit, fundraise, and coalesce under a single banner without their premier standard-bearer? How much safer is the United States with the world’s number one mass-killer moldering at the bottom of the ocean?
Keep the Bush tax cuts
Deadweight loss triangles are a tough concept to explain to laymen. They require discussions of marginal cost and benefit, of incidences and elasticities, and of Pareto optimalities. Perhaps that’s why, in the 10 years since passage, the mainstream media has altogether forgotten the reasonable motivations behind the Bush tax cuts and substituted a narrative of its own. Today the airwaves are filled with serious men touting the ridiculous notion that the Republicans passed the tax cuts in order to give money to their favorite class, the ultra-wealthy.
North Korea’s people are starving, and they need our help
Former President Jimmy Carter recently made a three-day visit to assess North Korea’s continuing food shortage. He returned charging the U.S. with worsening the shortage by withholding food aid to millions in North Korea. Carter sees this situation as a human rights violation. Understandably, the former president would not want any person to starve. Unfortunately, many critics want to keep economic sanctions in place and food shipments minimal. They believe that repressive governments such as North Korea’s should not be given aid. But peanutman Jimmy Carter sees it in a different light; millions should not have to suffer for the North Korean government’s actions.
EDITORIAL Resignations warrant UA reform
Leaders of the Undergraduate Association must respond to the resignation of vice president-elect Alec C. Lai ’13 on Wednesday by redoubling their efforts for organizational restructuring. Lai’s letter of criticism (reprinted on p. 5) amplifies previously noted frustrations about undergraduate governance and its leaders, but it does not substantially alter our interpretation of the problems in the UA. It should not derail the new committee on restructuring, which is currently the UA’s best bet for moving beyond their current challenges.
It’s good to be king
In 1999, the Committee on Women Faculty at MIT released a report claiming that there was significant gender bias at MIT. Women made up a minority of the Institute’s professorship, and on average were paid less and allotted less lab space; the report alleged this was due to a “subtle but pervasive bias” against women at the Institute. In response, the administration began a concerted effort to recruit more women and increase the pay of female professors. They succeeded, though at the cost of convincing many that women were being given an unfair advantage.
Intelligence variability is not gender-dependent
It is certainly understandable that many men feel that they must go on the defensive in the ostensible intellectual battle of the sexes. After all, we have been hearing for years about women surpassing men in college graduation rates, mean GPA, and income. Wait, one of those doesn’t belong, does it?
GUEST COLUMN Why I’m resigning
The Undergraduate Association (UA) is currently in a state of turmoil and change. Internal conflicts have hindered the UA from performing at its full capacity. Recently, the UA decided to focus on governmental restructuring, convinced that the current structure is the root of the problem. That, however, is not the main issue that the UA faces. The following casts light on the psychosocial situation.
GUEST COLUMN Eating animals is indefensible … but try me
As the vice president of policy for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), I’ve spent much of the last year visiting college campuses across the country and being inspired, challenged, and motivated by top debate teams as we sparred over the ethical implications of eating meat. After dozens of such debates, one thing is clear: a vegan lifestyle is more mainstream than ever on college campuses.
Restructuring is too important to rush
While we agree that the UA Senate is a broken, inefficient system and we would certainly like to see it reformed, we do not believe that compiling and implementing a hastily constructed proposal in the last few weeks of term is the way to fix it.
Time to put government hands on Medicare
Two weeks ago, Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the chairman of the House Budget Committee, issued a CBO-scored budget proposal that is being called the “Path to Prosperity.” The budget, a first of its kind — a unique, comprehensive fix to our debt problem — has caught many in the political establishment flat-footed. This includes President Obama (whose own budget plan looks prodigal in comparison) as well as many Republican leaders who have thought it politically wise to advocate for spending cuts without enumerating what, specifically, should be cut.
GUEST COLUMN MIT is good for doctors — not premeds
As a premed senior who will be headed to medical school this fall, I agree with many of the points in last Friday’s article by Rachel Bandler entitled “MIT — the premed’s choice?” However, I must caution that the article is overly optimistic on a few levels.
The Day of Silence is worth it, even at MIT
Today you may see a few students in Lobby 7 and in your classes with duct tape inscribed with the phrase “No H8” over their mouths in support of an event called the Day of Silence. I suspect their numbers will be few in light of the fact that MIT’s atmosphere of masochistic pursuit of work leaves little drive for campus activism, but I digress. The Day of Silence is a country-wide effort to spread awareness of the bullying and name-calling of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth as well as the effects of the casual use and tacit acceptance of using phrases like, “That’s so gay.”