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February 16, 2008 €()PINTION

PANTHER POST

Panther Post

550 University Ave. Room 218 Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3 Tel: 566-0629 Fax: 566-0979 pantherpost@ gmail.com

Editor-in-chief Lucas McInnis Production editor Sebastian Baglole — Business manager Martha MacIntyre Sports editor Kate VanGerven

Reporters Whitney Bysterveldt Andi Bulman Jarrod Yeo

Contributors Jennifer Michels Laura Yorke Taunya Murchison Nancy Beck Peter Corbett

The Panther Post is an editorially autonomous: publication of the University of Prince Edward Island Student Union Inc. and the official newspa- _ per of the University of Prince Edward Island. The Panther Post reserves the right not to publish any submission which may represent a conflict of interest for the author. This includes any subject matter for any individual group, team or depart- ment pertaining to any self-promotional activity, academic endeavour or sporting event, but not limited to these topics. The opinions expressed in columns or letters are those of the authors and not necessarily that of - The Panther Post, its staff, or the UPEI Student Union Inc. The Panther Post reserves the right to edit submis- sions for consent and/or clarity. All materials contained herein, except advertising or where indicated otherwise, are copyright 2008 by The Panther Post and protected under Canadian copy- right laws. Material submitted and print herein become the property of The Panther Post, and may be re- printed without permission. Reprint requests may be directed to the Editor-in-chiet. The Panther Post is published monthly from September to April. The Panther Post is a full member of the Cana- dian University Press (CUP). The Panther Post is represented by Campus Plus for multi-market advertising. Campus Plus can be reached at 1-800-265-5372. : Letters to the editor and submissions from con- tributors should be sent to pantherpost@gmail.com. All articles must include name and contact information. Advertisement inquiries should be directed to the business manager, who can be reached at the above information.

ere we Canadians are in the middle of a significant recession: lost jobs, little

money and general disarray. Then, | in January, hope arrived in the

form of an ambitious man by the name of Obama. Oh, glory days. Then (aghast!), just as Canadians are embracing this black knight of righteousness, Congress comes up with a scheme to help the troubled American economy: Buy-Ameri- can. Delightful.

For all those who use this worthy newspaper as your primary source of news (and I thank you for that), you may find yourself questioning what in God’s name I’m talking about, as this is the first time we’ ve spoke of the subject.

Basically, the idea is that in such economically troubled times Americans should be encouraged to. purchase American-made products. Boost the economy on the home front.

_ But their brethren to the north

have some questions. What about a little thing called NAFTA? We wish to be exempt from this little finan-

The Other Side

of the Story

y,

Lucas McInnis ©

cial excursion. We are the United States’ primary exporter, after all, and to close the door on us would certainly be troubling for us Ca- nucks.

I couldn’t help but ponder the bill. Americans aren’t quite renown for keeping their fingers in their own cookie jar.

Even in times of recession I must question the “Buy-American” con- cept. A country that, in every corner of the political realm has shown a sense of pride in global promiscu- ity, has reverted back to masturba- tion on the issue of trade.

How will Americans buying American hurt us? Some say it could cost us quite a few jobs. Oth- ers say this little manoeuvre is akin

to what led up to the Great Depres- sion. Harsh. I’ve only heard and read of the Great Depression but it doesn’t sound like something I’d want to see.

But let’s not be too melodramatic. I wouldn’t be much of a journalist if I didn’t present the other side of the story (see my editorial’s title). “Hey, here’s an idea,” some ideal- ists thought. “Let’s use this ‘Buy- American’ thing to jump-start jobs at home.” Brilliant! While in times of recession, people are losing jobs (indeed, this is probably the worst possible time for your worthy edi- tor to complete his journalism train- ing), so let’s create more at home. ““Buy-Canadian!” I can barely con- tain my glee. Oh, wait. Economists feared for this. Soon every country will be coming out with their own “Buy-Zimbabwe’” and “Purchase- Uruguay” bills. Stupid indepen- dence. C’mon, U.S., lend me some sugar, I am your neighbour.

Lucas McInnis is the editor-in-chief of the Panther Post

Education needs some stimulation too

ith the recent release of the

federal government’s bud- get and economic stimulus plan, it’s clear that student debt relief was disregarded. .

While the budget included per- sonal tax reductions and other economic measures, there remains a growing burden on current and former Canadian students — the $13 billion federal student debt.

According to the Canadian Feder- ation of Students, a national stu- dent lobby group, this federal debt increases by $1.2 million every day.

This amount doesn’t even include estimated $5 billion in additional student debt owed to provincial governments, as well as personal — debt from credit cards or bank

loans.

The combination of the current economic downturn with a genera- tion of students mired in debt ren-

_ders both the economy and gradu-

ates disadvantaged from the onset. The current graduate debt aver- age of $25,000-$28,000 could be returned directly to the Canadian economy if Prime Minister Ste- phen Harper and his band of fiscal conservatives can expand their mindsets to consider the benefits of freeing graduates from a decade or more of student loan repayments. The budget does address some educational concerns, with an al- location of $500 million for worker retraining in the Strategic Training and Transition Fund, and $75 mil-

lion for a combination of aboriginal skills and training programs. But the budget does little for a majority of young students.

The CFS says post-secondary edu- cation should be treated as a public works “mega-project” that will benefit the next generations.

With an investment in debt relief for Canada’s students, whether in° the form of fee reduction, increased grants, or additional employment opportunities, the government would not only provide urgent stimulation to education, but also invest in the country and students’ futures.

Michael Duncan writes for the Nexus (Camosun College)