http://aquinas.jlcclients.com The Student Voice of the University of Scranton Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:12:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/advisories-absent-in-spring-semester/ http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/advisories-absent-in-spring-semester/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:57:29 +0000 aquinas http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/?p=780 You may have noticed something missing from both your email inbox and building doors around campus.
Community advisories have been unusually absent from University email inboxes, doors and bulletin boards for nearly two months. University Police issued the most recent community advisory Dec. 27.
According to University Police Chief Don Bergmann, sometimes the flow of advisories can be unpredictable and vary depending on the time of year.
“Sometimes we go through a period of no community advisories, and then we get a couple in a few days,” Bergmann said.
“Typically in a calendar year, you get 12 community advisories — usually one per month,” Bergmann said. “And there are certain months where we go through a period where it gets quiet.”
Bergmann said University Police distribute community advisories only when a suspect in a crime remains a threat to the University community.
“It has to be a crime that represents an ongoing threat,” Bergmann said. “There have been incidents where, because of circumstances such as the suspect had been identified, there wasn’t the issue that it was an ongoing threat. If the perpetrator was known or had been arrested, it eliminates the ongoing threat.
While community advisories are distributed to inform the community about ongoing investigations, Bergmann said they usually are not used to inform people about completed investigations.
“The purpose of the community advisory is to provide people with information so they can take the appropriate precautions,” Bergmann said.
Bergmann said that when it seems a specific crime is becoming a trend, University Police or the Dean of Student Affairs will issue a statement informing the community of the situation.
“When we think there is some hazard The University community should be aware of, we put out some kind of advisory in couple different formats,” Bergmann said.
Sophomore commuter student Chris Ritter said the lack of community advisories makes him feel a little safer while on campus.
“The fewer the community advisories, the better,” Ritter said. “It does make you feel a little safer. But I’m sure [safety] is much different for someone dorming here.”
According to Bergmann, a reason for the community advisory drought is because University Police noticed a “marked improvement” in safety on and off campus this intersession. According to Bergmann, University Police investigated only one burglary and one attempted burglary during the intersession break.
Bergmann attributes the recent quiet on campus to the University Police’s continued patrols and presence.
“We are consistent with patrols throughout intersession and the semester, and I think that’s why there were few burglaries this year off campus,” Bergmann said. “During Christmas break we made a concerted effort in Hill Section patrols.”
Bergmann said patrols in the Hill included both uniformed and plainclothes officers.
Bergmann said decreases in crime on and off campus are sometimes normal for this time of year, which he attributes to the cold winter weather. But Bergmann says he expects the number of incidents to increase as the weather gets warm.
“In the spring when the weather gets better, activity usually increases,” Bergmann said.
With the Scranton St. Patrick’s Day Parade less than a month away, University Police is planning its patrol strategy for the eventful day.
“Clearly it’s a busy day,” Bergmann said. “We’ve already been meeting and coordinating with Scranton Police and the liquor control board.”
According to Bergmann, University students can expect to see a “heavy presence” of police both on and off campus this Parade Day.
While University Police will be ready to respond this Parade Day, Bergmann said he does not anticipate any problems.
“I don’t anticipate anything much different than last year,” Bergmann said. “Nothing has been brought to our attention that we should anticipate any significant issues.”
“This year, it’s at the beginning of the break, so some students are going to leave,” Bergmann said.
According to an email sent out by Director of Residence Life Barbara King, housing closes for spring break at 12 p.m. March 11 — one day after Parade Day.
While some students plan on staying for parade day, sophomore John Niemiec said he won’t be staying around for this year’s parade.
“I’m not one for large groups of drunk people, so I’ll probably end up going home,” Niemiec said.
In addition to staying safe on parade day, Bergmann reminds students to take responsibility for their own safety every day.
“Complacency is one of our biggest problems,” Bergmann said. “Very often students feel comfortable here and become complacent and let their guard down and don’t take the appropriate precautions.”
“We encourage everyone to walk in groups and well-lighted areas and only in neighborhoods you are familiar with.”

By Christopher Dolan
Staff Writer
THE AQUINAS PHOTO/Peter Portanova]]> http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/advisories-absent-in-spring-semester/feed/ 0 http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/textbook-order-process-broken-down/ http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/textbook-order-process-broken-down/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:55:56 +0000 aquinas http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/?p=779 Don Drasba, store manager at The University’s bookstore, acknowledged that this stock issue can be frustrating, but wants to remind students that there are several factors that determine the amount of time it takes to get books on the shelves.
“The bookstore only orders books once they have received an adoption, or book order, from the faculty member or department,” Drasba said. “We do our best to promote early adoption to provide ample time to search for used copies, order and stock the materials in a timely manner.”
Drasba said that when the bookstore receives orders later than others, the process is delayed and the bookstore will have to account for either more or less books than is needed.
“For these orders, we use the most recent enrollment numbers and additional sales history analytics to determine the amount of copies to order,” Drasba said. “These numbers can fluctuate with the common add/drop class scenarios, making it a bit more difficult to gauge final enrollment at the beginning of the semester.”
Daniel Townsend, Ph.D., of the biology department said he had only one student in his biostatistics class say that the book was not in stock at the bookstore. He said the student ordered the book in the first week of the semester and is still waiting for it to come in.
“The student didn’t register late,” Townsend said. “What may have happened is that another student registered late and picked up the book before this student could.”
Margarete Lieb Zalon, Ph.D., RN, CS, of the nursing department said she has occasionally had students unable to get their books on the first day of class, but does not believe it is a consistent problem.
“Usually, whenever there’s a problem, the bookstore works hard to try and resolve it as fast as possible,” Zalon said.
Patrick Daly, a junior at The University, said he has been unable to find required course materials only twice in his college career. He said he believes the bookstore “underestimated” the amount of people enrolled in the course.
Senior Matthew Smeltzer recalled an occasion where the bookstore refused to order the book. He said the class consisted of himself and one other student, adding that he could understand why the bookstore would not stock the book.
Drasba said that the time it takes for a book to reach the shelf upon ordering is also determined by a number of factors — who the publisher is, where the stock is being shipped from and whether or not it is a popular title.
“Students can reserve a copy of a textbook by filling out an order form and prepaying at the bookstore, so that when the book does arrive, the student simply receives a phone call letting them know the book is ready to be picked up,” Drasba said.

By Joseph Kohut
News Contributor]]> http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/textbook-order-process-broken-down/feed/ 0 http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/package-problems-solved/ http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/package-problems-solved/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:54:54 +0000 aquinas http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/?p=778 In a statement last week, Susan Rosenberg, UPS public relations manager, said Ray Burd chose to reject approximately 70 packages that were delivered to campus.
Burd, The University’s director of printing and mailing services, said UPS failed to provide the mail center with an itemized list containing package and recipient information.
Burd said the issue resulted from the UPS driver engaging in a practice The University was unaware of — scanning packages in his truck into a group list. The driver then refused to provide the list to the mail center.
“It was a UPS issue,” Burd said.
As of Tuesday, Feb. 7, Burd said The University and UPS had resolved their issues.
“Packages are now scanned in the presence of the mail center staff,” Burd said. “The staff sees that each package was scanned in, and the following day we get a print out of things scanned from the previous day.”
The mail center staff is currently waiting for a program from UPS that will allow the staff to download the lists from UPS directly onto their computers the same day that the packages are scanned.
The software has not yet been installed, so for now the staff will be receiving lists for packages the following day.
“This is an interim measure and it is not ideal, but it does meet our need to provide a chain of custody on valuable packages,” Burd said.
Burd said there have not been any incidences similar to what the mail center experienced last week, and hopes the problem has been solved for good.
“We have had five or six inquiries that we referred to UPS,” Burd said. “It is important to note that UPS has settled several claims by reimbursing or crediting money because the driver took the packages back.”
If students or parents have not resolved their issues satisfactorily with UPS, please contact Ray Burd at ray.burd@scranton.edu or at 570-941-4198.

By Christina Scully
News Editor]]> http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/package-problems-solved/feed/ 0 http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/norovirus-plagues-new-jersey-campuses-university-discusses-health-safety/ http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/norovirus-plagues-new-jersey-campuses-university-discusses-health-safety/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:54:28 +0000 aquinas http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/?p=777 “Good sleep, nutrition. That’s always lacking here. Hygiene is ever important,” Marguerite Mannion, a nurse practitioner at The University’s Wellness Center said.
That is exactly what The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says. According to the CDC website, norovirus, also referred to as the stomach flu, can be prevented by simply washing your hands with soap and water. This is also something Mannion and Director of the Wellness Center Patricia Popeck suggested, especially before eating.
“They [students] have to come in contact with it somewhere and ingest it,” Popeck said.
Unfortunately for students at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J., the virus was not prevented. According to CNN.com, 40 students were sent to the hospital the night of Feb. 8 with symptoms of norovirus. According to the CDC website, symptoms include vomit, diarrhea and stomach cramping.
Both Mannion and Popeck agreed that The University has good relationships with the three hospitals that are in the area, which would come in handy if an outbreak was to happen. Popeck said that for healthy college students it is not life threatening, but for the elderly or the very young norovirus could be dangerous.
“A healthy young person who is able to swallow fluids would be okay, unless they have an underlying serious illness,” Mannion added.
Popeck said the norovirus is something they have seen from year to year, but never enough to be considered an outbreak.
“About five years ago we had a lot of it before finals in December. It was here and then it was gone,” she said.
Popeck mentioned that if Wellness Center saw five cases of norovirus a day for a week, they would be suspicious.
In 2009, when H1N1 Influenza Virus had threatened many college campuses, The University’s Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) was called into action.
According a letter posted on The University website on May 1, 2009, “Members of CIRT have been in contact with local and statewide officials to keep current with the latest information and actions being taken to combat the spread of the virus. The CIRT and University leadership will continue to monitor the situation to determine if any actions need to be taken on our campus.”
Director of News and Media Relations Stan Zygmunt explained what CIRT would do if a norovirus outbreak similar to the one at Rider happened at The University.
“The team would be called to do an analysis to see what needs to be done.”
He also mentioned that what exactly CIRT would do would depend on how critical the situation is. CIRT works with all different departments around The University, whether it is Residence Life or the Wellness Center to make sure certain situations are handled appropriately.
If you want to prevent getting sick this semester, CDC has a few suggestions:
• Wash your hands with soap and water.
• Carefully wash fruits and vegetables.
• Do not prepare food for others while you have symptoms and for 3 days after your recovery.
• Clean and disinfect all contaminated surfaces
• Wash clothing or linens that have been contaminated.

By Nicolena Basso
Staff Writer]]> http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/norovirus-plagues-new-jersey-campuses-university-discusses-health-safety/feed/ 0 http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/university-promotes-library-research/ http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/university-promotes-library-research/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:53:14 +0000 aquinas http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/?p=776 The Weinberg Memorial Library is offering a research prize of $500 to University students this semester.
According to The University website, the purpose of the prize is to attract outstanding research projects from courses taught in departments across The University campus.
Bonnie Strohl, Associate Dean of the Library, said that the library created the prize to recognize excellence in research projects that show evidence of significant knowledge in the methods of research and the information gathering process, and use of library resources, tools and services.
“Information literacy instruction gives students the skills to select the best information to match these various types of assignments. These skills include how to do research efficiently and how to cite appropriately. The library research prize gives students a chance to receive recognition for writing about their growth in these skills,” Strohl said.
According to The University website, any student who has completed a research project at The University during the Summer 2011, Fall 2011, Intersession 2012 or Spring 2012 is eligible to enter.
In the first year, the research prize was available only to undergraduates. This is the second year the library is offering this prize and there are now two prizes, one for undergraduates and one for graduate students, Strohl said.
“Rosemary Shaver, who was, at the time, a junior history/ political science major, won first prize of $500. Last year the quality of submission was so good, three additional undergraduate students received Honorable Mention: Courtney Fluehr, Benjamin Redan and William Woody. Winners were honored at a reception and awards ceremony,” Strohl said.
According to The University website, submissions will be evaluated on: sophistication, originality and exceptional ability to locate, select, evaluate and effectively use library resources in the creation of a project.
It will also be evaluated on evidence of significant personal learning in the methods or research and the information gathering process, according to The University website.
“These are marketable skills translate from college to life. Students have given us feedback that they thought knowing how to find accurate, authoritative, current information was related only to course work until they were asked to use these skills in the jobs they got after graduation,” Strohl said.
Judges include a faculty member from each college, members of the Library faculty and representatives from the CTLE and the Office of Research Services, Strohl said.
Completed application packages must be submitted by April 27 by 4 p.m. The winner will be notified May 7, according to The University website.
University students can visit: http://matrix.scranton.edu/academics/wml/infolit/research-prize/index.shtml for more information.

By Colleen Day
Staff Writer
The Aquinas Photo/Shawn Kenney]]> http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/university-promotes-library-research/feed/ 0 http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/ignite-leadership-conference-on-campus-saturday/ http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/ignite-leadership-conference-on-campus-saturday/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:51:42 +0000 aquinas http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/?p=775 The Center for Student Engagement held its first Royal Leadership Conference at The University last year. This was a conference for University students, and nearly 75 students participated in the event.
Students who attended the conference gained leadership skills and were able to interact with other leaders on campus in a fun and collaborative way. Though the conference was a success, Assistant Director for The Center of Student Engagement, Michael Baumhardt, could not help but think “Well, what next?”
So, for this year’s conference, The Center for Student Engagement is mixing things up a bit. The conference is now called the IGNITE Student Leadership Conference. The reason for the name change was to brand it, making it catchier and easier for students to remember.
In addition to the name change, the conference is now open to a larger community of people.
“This year we invited students from other colleges to join in our conference, and we did not want to make them feel excluded,” Baumhardt said. “The name and logo of IGNITE still shows our Jesuit ideals, without being noticeably dedicated to The University of Scranton alone.”
The schools that have committed to attend are Baptist Bible College, Keystone College, Lackawanna College, Luzerne Community College and Marywood College.
Anthony D’Angelo, the founder and Chief Visionary Officer for Collegiate EmPowerment, will speak at the conference. Throughout his career, he has spoken to 2,500 different colleges, and he was at the Royal Leadership Conference last year. The topics he will be discussing are different from last year, and will provide both insight and new perspectives for students in attendance.
Other topics that will be covered at the conference include teambuilding, collaboration, self-awareness/reflection, cultural competence, résumés and networking.
Students who attend will be able to choose what areas they want to focus on through various activities. This way, students can learn new skills in areas that they feel they need to improve in.
“One of the main reasons behind this is because of our programs here at The University — Scranton Emerging Leaders or SEL I and SEL II,” Baumhardt said. “These are quite a time commitment, and we realize that not all of our students can commit to it. Through this conference, students can expand their skills without the major time commitment.”
Through IGNITE, Baumhardt is hoping students are able to connect with other leaders on campus and from other colleges, develop bonds, interact, collaborate and figure out the skills they need.
Having attended the conference in the past, Emmanuel Akpan is looking forward to IGNITE this year.
“IGNITE will be an exciting, fun, and energizing experience,” Akpan said. “Ultimately, I believe students will get the opportunity to learn about others and themselves as student leaders.”
So far, more than 160 students have registered to attend the event from both The University and other schools in the area. The first 200 people get a free leather pad folio with the IGNITE logo.
The conference is free for all University students. Walk-ins the day of the event will still be able to attend, but you can register in advance at scranton.edu/leadership.

By Christine Panzitta
Staff Writer
SUBMITTED PHOTO: HOLLY PILCAVAGE FOR THE AQUINAS]]> http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/ignite-leadership-conference-on-campus-saturday/feed/ 0 http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/rwandan-artist-visits-university-campus/ http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/rwandan-artist-visits-university-campus/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:50:55 +0000 aquinas http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/?p=774 Emmanuel is now an integral part of a new generation of Rwandan artists and a member of Ivuka Arts, Kigali, a project with a mission “to use art to change lives,” such as the Rwamakondera Children’s dance troupe, a rehabilitation project for street children. As part of his contribution to Ivuka’s mission, Emmanual volunteers at a local orphanage, teaching children art and selling their paintings at his gallery; he also has begun an art therapy program for local cardiac patients.
Emmanuel’s art and charming personality is known to members of the Scranton community. In January 2011, the Women’s Studies Program, under the leadership of Dr. Sharon Meagher and Dr. Linda Ledford-Miller, offered a travel course entitled “Gender Equity in the U.S. and Rwanda.” Although the focus of that course was on formal policy and grassroots efforts to promote gender equality, the students visited the Ivuka Arts gallery as one means of gaining a fuller picture of life in contemporary Kigali, Rwanda. Previously, Meagher and Ledford-Miller had met Emmanuel and the other artists in July 2010 when they travelled to Kigali to set up their course. Another University connection is Sondra Myers, who hosted an art show featuring Emmanuel and other contemporary Rwandan artists; she facilitated a discussion on “The New Rwanda” in Kigali in July 2011.
While he is at The University as the Artist in Residence, Emmanuel will stage an art show featuring his work and the work of other Ivuka Studio artists. Visit one show with faculty and students, as well as with student groups and local Scranton artists.
If you go:

Emmanuel Nkuranga Art Show:
When: Feb 20-27/2012

Reception and Live Art Demo:
When: February 21
Time: 7:30-9:00
Where: Weinberg Library, 5th Floor

By Rosette Adera and Sharon Meagher
Director of the Office of Equity & Diversity and Doctor of Philosophy]]> http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/rwandan-artist-visits-university-campus/feed/ 0 http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/university-named-most-politically-apathetic-college/ http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/university-named-most-politically-apathetic-college/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:49:47 +0000 aquinas http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/?p=772 A recent survey from the Princeton Review named The University as the most politically apathetic school in the nation, and some students question the accuracy of this rating.
The ranking comes from the latest edition of its book, “The Best 376 Colleges.” The book was published in August 2011 and ranked colleges in 62 categories, ranging from average time spent studying to the quality of food on campus, based on responses from students.
Brian Riordan, a senior senator and political science and history major, said he was unsure if the survey had enough information to make such a conclusion about The University.
“When talking with some of my political science professors, they told me that this survey was based off of one question on whether or not students felt the school was politically active,” Riordan said. “This does not accurately show political activity on campus.”
According to the Princeton Review’s website, schools were ranked in order of political activity based off the responses to the question, “How popular are political/activist groups on your campus?”
The University has several politically-engaged clubs and events, including College Republicans, College Democrats and Student Government, which holds biweekly meetings that students are encouraged to attend.
Political Engagement week was held in November, which included a political movie festival and a panel discussion between students and members of the Scranton City Council. The University’s College Democrats chapter also received the Rising Star award at the annual College Democrats meeting in June.
Riordan said although he believes The University is not as political apathetic as described in the poll, students could do more to become more engaged.
“The political clubs should organize events that allow students to watch the primary debates, become involved in political discussions and to look into current policies that are in dire need of reform and come up with ways to advance one’s political ideas,” Riordan said. “Student Government can help facilitate this by ensuring that the political clubs are well funded to advance these initiatives.”
Sophomore commuter senator Patrick Sudol said he believes the campus as a whole is politically engaged.
“Everybody I know on campus seems really into the GOP campaigns lately, including myself, though that could be the fact I am mostly around SJLA [Special Jesuit Liberal Arts Honors Program] students and student government people,” Sudol said.
Not everyone disagrees with the ranking. Freshman Alexandra Arana said The University’s Jesuit identity may be part of the reason for this rating.
“I always thought you should keep religion and politics separate,” Arana said. “Because of the role of religion at this university, I don’t think we should be too politically active.”
Riordan said that regardless of polls and surveys, students should become more politically active to better not only themselves, but the country as a whole.
“It is inaccurate that school is totally politically apathetic,” Riordan said. “However, I do feel that more needs to be done to ensure that students are well educated on the political process to ensure that they make educated decisions when voting. After all, we are the next generation, and the future of our country’s policies is going to one day be driven by us.”

By Cory Burrell
Staff Writer]]> http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/university-named-most-politically-apathetic-college/feed/ 0 http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/students-indulge-at-uspb-mexican-fiesta/ http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/students-indulge-at-uspb-mexican-fiesta/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:48:22 +0000 aquinas http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/?p=771 USPB’s Mission & Identity hosted “Holy Guacamole,“ an event celebrating
Mexican culture
Wednesday. The event featured authentic
Mexican food, stories from ISP Mexico participants and a themed photoshoot. Over 300 students attended the event. USPB’S Mission and Identity runs
programs throughout the year that seek to expose University students to
issues linked with its
Jesuit identity. Senior Grace Pfisterer and junior Timothy Plamondon chair the committee. ]]> http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/students-indulge-at-uspb-mexican-fiesta/feed/ 0 http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/another-controversial-obama-budget/ http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/another-controversial-obama-budget/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:47:27 +0000 aquinas http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/?p=770 In the midst of a divisive presidential race, a contentious battle to reclaim the Senate and an unsettling struggle to keep the House of Representatives, conservatives finally have a bit of news to rejoice over: President Obama is set to release his budget proposal for the 2013 fiscal year. This haphazard appeal to both liberal and centrist voters proves insufficient in both subduing the driving factors of government spending and tackling the obstacles our nation faces in remaining a globally competitive economic force. This budget’s failure to address any substantive reform of Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid – whose combined costs will exceed tax revenue by 2050, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office – is irresponsible not only to this generation but also to future ones. Medicare costs, according to CBO estimates, will double over the next thirty years as an aging population leaves a dwindling workforce to foot their bill.
Perhaps the best solution for this president is to explore one of his past proposals: use the findings of the bipartisan debt commission he set up in 2010, chaired by former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and former Republican Senator Alan Simpson. The Simpson-Bowles commission addresses entitlements from a data-driven perspective, choosing instead to tweak these programs so that they remain solvent in the long run. While the president chooses a misguided approach in cutting our nation’s defense budget, while failing to touch Medicare and Social Security spending, the Simpson-Bowles commission proposes defense cuts and modest adjustments to both the payroll tax and Medicare co-pays, as well as slowing the growth in benefit increases for wealthier retirees, and a small increase in the retirement age for younger workers. These solutions extend the life of both Social Security and Medicare without ushering in the heavy hand of austerity felt in Europe. In addition, they are not politically polarizing, and have a reasonable chance of passing both the Republican House and the Democrat Senate.
To ignore the growing cost of entitlement programs is a failure of leadership on the part of this White House – but not the only one. In the 2013 budget, the president has also failed to tackle substantive and comprehensive reform of our complex and outmoded tax code. It’s not as if the president doesn’t have a bit of political leeway – the majority of Americans agree with his argument about a tax code-driven inequality. In addition, House Republicans are more than willing to work with the President on this issue. House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s 2010 budget would have levied the equivalent of an 8.5 percent value-added tax in place of the corporate tax. House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp has proposed the Reaganesque approach of lowering marginal rates and broadening the base of taxpayers. The Simpson-Bowles Commission’s proposal has acted upon Camp’s suggestions, advancing three deduction-free tax rates of eight percent, 14 percent and 23 percent. Every tax reform plan, from Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 to the flat tax, from the FairTax to merely simplifying the tax code, has been on the table. In every instance, the president has resisted any attempt for further conversation on this issue.
What the president fails to realize is that approximately 49 percent of American taxpayers pay absolutely nothing in income tax – to tax the heck out of the 51 percent who do is simply illogical. In this budget, the President puts forth an idea that he first proposed during the last State of the Union: a Warren Buffett-inspired minimum tax of 30 percent on millionaires. Ironically, though, it was Buffett himself who claimed in a recent CNBC interview that the president’s reluctance to embrace the Simpson-Bowles tax reform plan was an “absolute tragedy.” To sum, this president’s most timid budget yet does nothing to simplify a tax code that most Americans don’t understand and fails to address the significant drivers of our ever-increasing debt. I suppose that its only success is the vacuum of leadership it opens in the political center – a position that Mitt Romney would be glad to occupy.

Commentary By
Christopher Ritter
Staff Writer
Wikimedia Commons Photo]]> http://aquinas.jlcclients.com/another-controversial-obama-budget/feed/ 0