North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 9, Ed. 1 Tuesday, January 28, 2003 Page: 3 of 8
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North Texas Daily
Commentary
January 28, 2003 Page 3
The Commentary section is published Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
The editor is Christopher Barton and he can be reached at 565-2353 or cmbarton@unt.edu
TO OUR READERS
The North Texas Daily does not neces-
sarily endorse, back or believe the
philosophy of the writers on this page.
The content of the editorial is decided
by the staff and written by commen-
tary editor.
The content of the columns is strictly
the opinion of the writers and in no
way reflects the beliefs of the news-
paper.
LETTERS POLICY
The Daily welcomes guest columns and letters to the editor.
They should be between 200 and 250 words, typed with the
author's name classification and daytime phone number.
The Daily will not consider anonymous submissions and doesn't
guarantee publications of all submissions.
Letters and columns will be edited for grammar, style, space and
libel, but a writer's meaning will not be changed. Letters may be
mailed, e-mailed, faxed or hand-delivered.
Deliver submissions to GAB 117, fax to 565-3574, e-mail
cmbarton@unt.edu or mail to P.O. Box 311460 Denton, TX 76203.
COMING UP
Turn to the Commentary page
tomorrow for the North Texas
Daily's take on President
Bush's State of the Union
Address and the currently
status of the U.S.'s standoff
with Iraq.
WEDNESDAY
Anyone for Senate?
Appointment of SGA senators
inaccuratey represents students
At the Student Government Association meeting
Wednesday, six appointments of student repre-
sentatives were made to the Senate. The concept
of appointing student representatives to the senate is lack-
ing in democracy, to say the least.
In order for this to take place, the president appoints a
student who has met the requirements for senator and at the
next meeting, the senate body votes whether to accept the
appointee.
A flaw of democracy in the senate occurs during this pro-
cedure. Assuming senators are voting on behalf of the stu-
dents, they appoint new senators to represent the same stu-
dents without any election.
This is simply not the will of the students.
Current senators have justified having appointments as
the only means to sustain a large enough number of repre-
sentatives to accomplish an agenda efficiently and effec-
tively. Currently, of 41 senators in SGA, only six are
appointed.
Quorum, the least percentage of senators need to conduct
business, would still be met even if these senators' appoint-
ments were never confirmed. If in the case the numbers
were reversed and all but six senators were appointed,
democracy would still be best served if the small handful of
senators represented the entire university having been
elected solely by the students of the NT and not by their
peer senators.
Students have been able to successfully withhold their
name from SGA ballots and run for appointment in the next
semester, as had been the case this semester. If one felt
they did not have a chance of being elected, they should not
seek to override the students ability to vote for their repre-
sentatives by seeking appointment.
There is absolutely no just cause why the SGA should
continue to allow senator appointments. This practice is not
only ruining student representation, but is a disgrace to the
democratic process.
RAHUL PANCHAL / NT Daily
However,
there are those
senators who
choose to uphold the
intentions of the stu-
dents and democracy in the senate.
Joy Sanders, senator for the College of Arts and Sciences,
questioned at Wednesday's senate meeting whether John
Hines, a student who sought to become a senator in the Fall
Election and lost, should be appointed to the Senate. As a
result, Hines' appointment was rightfully rejected by the
senate.
This action to uphold the students' ability to vote for
their representatives is commended and should serve as an
example of exactly how the SGA should proceed with the
way senators are chosen to serve the students.
The president of SGA, under the constitution, has the
desecration whether or not to allow students to run for
appointment. Not only should President Hans Hendley
cease this procedure, but action must be taken now to add a
referendum to the upcoming ballot to remove this portion
from the constitution.
The Spring Election will be held in March to elect a new
president and it would be advisable for students to remem-
ber the candidates who support true representation in the
senate. If appointments are to continue as a means to fill in
the gaps of the Senate, the SGA will fail the students.
COLUMN
Duncanville Graduate student Joshua Sanders details why government spending to stimulate the economy doesn't
work, and that stability can best be achieved by creating a balanced budget and paying down the national debt.
Stimulus spending not the answer
The Democratic and Republican parties
both have ideas about how to stimulate the
economy. However, they are both stuck on
the paradigm that we can spend our way out
of economic trouble.
Historically, there seem to be two major
problems with the idea: spending away trou-
ble doesn't work and it is bad long-term plan-
ning.
The idea of government stimulatory spend-
ing as a response to low consumer spending
was put forward by John Maynard Keynes
during the Great Depression.
Aspects of Keynesian economics have had
recurring public favor ever since. But heavy
government spending in the Second New
Deal in 1935 didn't prevent the Roosevelt
Depression in 1936 and 1937.
Printing money to cover deficit government
spending in the period after World War II
sparked inflation rather than sustaining eco-
nomic growth.
Expanding public debt also has some
uncomfortable long-term problems. In coun-
tries like Brazil, Argentina, and Russia, heavy
debt burdens have led to uncontrollable infla-
tion, and low standards of living.
The instability caused by collapsed eco-
nomic conditions in turn lead to a host of
social problems that have more lasting effects.
In the United States, interest payments on
public debt weigh heavily on the budget,
accounting for 10 percent of the federal budg-
Joshua Sanders
Graduate Student
et in the 2001.
Then what should the federal government
be doing about the economy?
I think a comparison between the Great
Depression and the current situation will clar-
ify the situation.
The economic situations before both down-
turn were quite similar. Both followed a very
long period of unsustainable economic
growth and increasing private debt. Both
downturn began with historic stock market
drops to correct for unrealistic prices.
However, in the Great Depression unem-
ployment reached 25 percent.
Unemployment in the current downturn has
only reached about 6 percent (up from about
4 percent at the peak of growth in 2001).
The Great Depression saw many bank fail-
ures and "bank runs." No major bank has
gone bankrupt during the current American
downturn. What is different this time?
In the Great Depression, the Federal
Reserve Bank didn't provide needed interest
cuts to stabilize the economic condition; the
current Federal Reserve responded quickly
with interest rate cuts.
Better risk distribution, appropriate govern-
ment regulation and government account
backing have stabilized banks in the current
situation.
The current federal government also
encouraged investment by appropriately
addressing corporate fraud. What did the
government do right? It provided stability.
The President and Congress should leave
controlling the speed of the economy to Alan
Greenspan and the Federal Reserve, who can
and are doing that job more effectively.
The President and Congress can best con-
tinue to support stability through carefully
working towards a balanced budget and, in
the long run, a surplus to pay down the debt.
They can address the long-term economic
issues of social security, rising medical costs
and excessive litigation.
The "real economy," consisting of the peo-
ple's hard work and productivity, is still grow-
ing solidly.
When the government maintains stability,
economic indicators are sure to eventually
reflect this solid growth in the "real econo-
my."
Joshua Sanders is a Duncanville Music
Education Graduate student. He can be reached
at GJoshuaSanders@aol.com.
CALLING ALL COLUMNISTS...
THE NORTH TEXAS
DAILY is currently seeking
motivated students, faculty,
staff and citizens who want to write
about matters that affect NT.
If selected, columnists would have
the opportunity for a weekly venue to
convey their thoughts on material of
their choice; you may write about poli-
tics, you may write about art.
It can be about almost anything you
want that is relevant to people at NT.
Furthermore, these writers would
have the knowledge that their voice is
being heard throughout not only the
campus, but also the Internet through
our Web site, www.ntdaily.com.
Through this readership, the colum-
nist has the ability to effect change, not
only throughout the university, but
throughout the world.
Change is a powerful vehicle. Do you
really want to throw away your opportu-
nity to have your views heard? Of
course not. Sign up to be a columnist
today.
Individuals who are interested inter-
ested should contact the Commentary
Editor Christopher Barton at 565-3574
or e-mail him at cmbarton@unt.edu.
NEWS IN PERSPECTIVE
Campus beautification. Steps taken
to improve the aesthetics of campus life
will make walking between classes a lit-
tle bit more pleasant. A comfortable
college environment involves a campus
that is not only academically attractive,
but also visually pleasing.
Tougher admissions. Challenging
students here at NT begins with
accepting students who are willing to
work hard and are dedicated.
Heightening requirements for admis-
sions will produce the quality, motivat-
ed students this university deserves.
Kathryn McCauley. Towing compa-
nies beware; NT's student legal advisor
is on the prowl. Kathryn McCauley's
initiative to pursue local towing compa-
nies who have routinely overcharged
students is a welcomed effort to protect
the rights of students. This should be
an eye-opening experience on how the
university can work for the students .
Weapons report. Hans Blix's report
on the lack of support from the Iraqis
in the U.N.'s weapons inspectors is dis-
turbing. If Saddam Hussein is
attempting to avoid a confrontation,
he's not making it obvious.
Assistance please? If you plan on
eating at Chick-fil-A during rush hour
for lunch, emphasize the "hour." A
lack of employees at the popular fast
food restaurant in the Campus Chat
has damaged its ability to serve stu-
dents in a timely fashion.
R-Bar assault. The assault on a stu-
dent by a group of unidentified men
after sharing a drink with a girl at R-
Bar in early January is one of the most
incredible displays people seriously
lacking in brains. If those responsible
show any signs of being intelligent,
they'll admit their guilt to the authori-
ties.
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North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 9, Ed. 1 Tuesday, January 28, 2003, newspaper, January 28, 2003; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145070/m1/3/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.