Dear Editor,
I was pleased to read Nicholas VanKlompenberg’s response to what I had to say in regards to protesting Governor Snyder’s budget proposal. It is reassuring to know there are others who does not feel apathetic to our current political situation. However, my statement that “these attacks on our rights are not just against us, it’s against every kind of oppressed group – women, racial minorities, the LGBT community, those living in poverty,” is not a “fallacious comparison of two un-concerning topics” and is indeed an attack on nearly all groups. The governor’s proposed budget plan includes large cut of funding to public universities and public K-12 schools, which would include many of the minority groups mentioned above. Campuses that have organizations facilitating to these groups would have less funds to allocate to the organizations. Grand Valley for example, has a wonderful and strong LGBT Resource Center. However, under Governor Snyder’s proposed budget plan, GVSU would receive less funding, along with all the other public universities, and would have to cut drastically back on such a vibrant and helpful center to the LGBT community at GVSU. The budget also includes eliminating the Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit will add 25,000 people (14,000 of those people are children) to our ever-increasing communities living in poverty. I fail to recognize how Nicholas VanKlompenberg is able to call my statements “intellectually insulting and fallacious”, when they are indeed, informing, urgent to be heard and truthful. To address Nicholas’s second question, I am not implying any sort of difference between “us” and those in “oppressed groups”. In fact, I was implying quite the opposite; many students fall into those oppressed groups earlier mentioned in the March 28th article, having the “label” of “student”, “LGBT”, “women” and more. My point was, and is, that the cuts in the budget proposal are affecting all of us, not just us as mere students. My apologies however if I was not clear enough for Nicholas and any others. Addressing Nicholas’s third point, the budget cuts are attack on our rights because I believe that every human being deserves the right to receive a free higher education, and these budget cuts are making that right harder to achieve. Another brief point is the cut of 15% towards environmental funding would mean less cleanup of toxic sites, fewer inspections on businesses and corporations that spew poisonous waste and other forms of protecting our environment. Our environmental protections should be strengthened, not reduced. Exposing us (“us” meaning human beings in this context) to more air and water pollution is definitely an attack on our rights, I’d say. To address Nicholas’s final point asking where I would suggest we receive funding from? Well, how about, instead of raising taxes for the elderly, impoverished families and pretty much everybody but those making grandiose salaries, we reverse it. Let those that are not paying their fair share to our state, pay up and let those who are barely making the monthly payments, those who are slaving their lives away for barely enough to put food on the table, those that are sacrificing everything for their children, have a well deserved break for once. Governor Snyder wants to have a proposed budget plan that is a shared sacrifice? How much are you sacrificing Governor Snyder?

I was pleased to read Nicholas VanKlompenberg’s response to what I had to say in regards to protesting Governor Snyder’s budget proposal. It is reassuring to know there are others who does not feel apathetic to our current political situation. However, my statement that “these attacks on our rights are not just against us, it’s against every kind of oppressed group – women, racial minorities, the LGBT community, those living in poverty,” is not a “fallacious comparison of two un-concerning topics” and is indeed an attack on nearly all groups. The governor’s proposed budget plan includes large cut of funding to public universities and public K-12 schools, which would include many of the minority groups mentioned above. Campuses that have organizations facilitating to these groups would have less funds to allocate to the organizations. Grand Valley for example, has a wonderful and strong LGBT Resource Center. However, under Governor Snyder’s proposed budget plan, GVSU would receive less funding, along with all the other public universities, and would have to cut drastically back on such a vibrant and helpful center to the LGBT community at GVSU. The budget also includes eliminating the Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit will add 25,000 people (14,000 of those people are children) to our ever-increasing communities living in poverty. I fail to recognize how Nicholas VanKlompenberg is able to call my statements “intellectually insulting and fallacious”, when they are indeed, informing, urgent to be heard and truthful. To address Nicholas’s second question, I am not implying any sort of difference between “us” and those in “oppressed groups”. In fact, I was implying quite the opposite; many students fall into those oppressed groups earlier mentioned in the March 28th article, having the “label” of “student”, “LGBT”, “women” and more. My point was, and is, that the cuts in the budget proposal are affecting all of us, not just us as mere students. My apologies however if I was not clear enough for Nicholas and any others. Addressing Nicholas’s third point, the budget cuts are attack on our rights because I believe that every human being deserves the right to receive a free higher education, and these budget cuts are making that right harder to achieve. Another brief point is the cut of 15% towards environmental funding would mean less cleanup of toxic sites, fewer inspections on businesses and corporations that spew poisonous waste and other forms of protecting our environment. Our environmental protections should be strengthened, not reduced. Exposing us (“us” meaning human beings in this context) to more air and water pollution is definitely an attack on our rights, I’d say. To address Nicholas’s final point asking where I would suggest we receive funding from? Well, how about, instead of raising taxes for the elderly, impoverished families and pretty much everybody but those making grandiose salaries, we reverse it. Let those that are not paying their fair share to our state, pay up and let those who are barely making the monthly payments, those who are slaving their lives away for barely enough to put food on the table, those that are sacrificing everything for their children, have a well deserved break for once. Governor Snyder wants to have a proposed budget plan that is a shared sacrifice? How much are you sacrificing Governor Snyder?

Much Peace and Love,

Vince Panozzo