opinion
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KANSAN.COM/NEWS | THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017
Slap my a** in a Sonic parking lot so I know it's real.
College is throwing random shit at a high speed ceiling fan when we all have lots of homework to do.
I feel like life would be less stressful if I didn't give a shit.
"Uh, that's way too early," I tell myself about anything school or work related.
Enroll & Pay should really be called Failing & Broke, because that's all it ever shows me.
Me to me: Um, what am I doing?
Can I go back to bed now?
I don't think chokers are as sexual as you want them to be.
Which emoji best embodies the scene kid movement of 2007?
The parking department is worse than the IRS
MakeWatkinsPrescribeMoreDrugs2k17
Buzzfeed is finally giving me the content I asked for.
I have no motivation to write a paper due on Sunday. Send help
"Free alcohol is better than puppies" -my history prof
@KANSANNEWS
Maybe she just doesn't have a life.I mean, I don't have a life.
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It's only a breach if you get reported.
Stop making me change my password, KU.
What part of a complete a** whooping defines "We just came up short"? We lost by 14 points! *Editor's note: It was a quote. `\` (`) /`
To send in an FFA,
text 785-289-8351
My supervisor, "I provide some mentorship, but I'm mostly here for bad jokes."
I crack myself up for no particular reason.
/THEKANSAN
McCarthy: Corporations real 'welfare queens'
KANSAN NEWS
@UNIVERSITY
DAILYKANSAN
> KEVIN MCCARTHY
@kevindmccarthy
For years, conservatives and liberals have had different views about how to deal with poverty. Although both sides of the aisle have implemented policies related to welfare and poverty reduction, conservatives have stayed steadfast in their ideology concerning those of lower socio-economic status. Their view, generally, is that if you are poor it is because you do not work hard enough and if you are rich it is because you have the right work ethic.
Of course, this is ridiculous because there are numerous social, economic, and cultural factors that determine one's personal income level and potential for economic mobility.
The most recent example of this is Representative Jason Chaffetz's iPhone comment during the Republicans' short-lived Obamacare "repeal and replace" effort. His argument that people "should invest in health care" instead of "getting that new iPhone" is flawed on many levels.
First, equating buying a cellphone with buying healthcare is ludicrous because one requires smaller payments over a short period and the other requires recurring monthly payments over a long period. It is apples and oranges.
Second, Representative Chaffetz's comment insinuates that poor people do not know how to spend their money and that they are making unwise decisions in
the marketplace. Similar arguments such as people buying lobster with food stamps and Ronald Reagan's fictional welfare queen example have been used to demonize lower income individuals. Even Bill Clinton's efforts to "end welfare as we know it" have been largely successful in making it more difficult to receive welfare benefits.
The latest move by congressional Republicans is to make drug testing mandatory for receiving unemployment benefits, thus perpetuating the narrative that welfare recipients are only trying to game the system to
feed their habits.
Yet, even though the number of people receiving welfare benefits has gone down over the last two decades, the poor are still thought to be too dependent on the government. Conservatives declare that self-reliance and personal responsibility are required to be successful and that most poor people do not have these qualities.
However, this same argument is rarely, if ever, applied to the biggest "welfare queens" in the country: large corporations.
According to a 2015 report from Good Jobs First,
around $68 billion in grants and tax credits were distributed to businesses between 2000 and 2015, two thirds of which were big corporations. Some of the biggest recipients included Boeing, Ford Motor, General Electric. General Motors, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, in addition to many others.
So where is the outcry over these corporations receiving massive government handouts? If we are truly a capitalist nation that believes in free markets, then why do these titans of industry need so much help from the government?
Illustration by Erica Gonzales
I believe if we are going to hold safety net beneficiaries to account in the form of more oversight, drug testing, and welfare policy reform then we should do the same thing when it comes to corporate subsidies and tax loopholes.
It is hypocritical to be for welfare reform without also being for more corporate financial reform and regulatory oversight of Wall Street.
Kevin McCarthy is a senior from Lenexa studying political science, history and public policy.
Wingerter: Students must fight fake news
SETH WINGERTER @SethWingerter
As news organizations continue to shift from print to online publications, the line between true and fake news is blurred. The most recent presidential election has highlighted the problems these false stories have created. With these have come an unprecedented and dangerous wave of misinformation, which means that those who are well-equipped to fight fake news must take a stand.
Despite their complete falsity, these stories have managed to gain an amazing amount of traction and have had very real consequences.
There was an entirely-fabricated article that declared that the Pope had endorsed Donald Trump, another that declared that Hillary Clinton had sold weapons to ISIS, and one that said that FBI director James Comey received millions from the Clinton Foundation.
While these simply had impacts on public opinion, others had far more dire consequences. In the case of Pizzagate, a conspiracy theory that was spread by completely false news during the election cycle, a disgruntled reader even went so far as to investigate Comet Pizza for himself, thinking there was a child sex ring in its basement. He ended up firing three shots from an assault rifle during his visit.
This vicious fake news cycle is driving people to the brink of insanity, causing crazy and irrational acts to arise out of an extreme distrust for the mainstream media. Furthermore, there was an undeniable impact upon this year's election.
While fake news may not have fully decided the outcome, it still highlighted an extremely important issue that is arising within our society.
of American democracy, replacing voter education with voter misinformation, leaving many voters conspiratorial and misguided. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt realized this years ago, stating, "Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely." Instead, wisdom has been replaced by fallacy, leaving America in a position of weakness that threatens a legitimate rule of the people.
Fake news is increasingly infringing upon the health
Fake news is increasingly infringing upon the health of American democracy."
This slippery slope must be avoided in order to preserve the health of the American democratic system, and this take news must be com-
bated by those who are well-equipped to fight it.
This aptitude to refute fake news can come from a higher education, as the skills a college degree covers should include critical thinking and close reading. Both are vital in the exposure of fake news.
Those who have attained a higher education must continue to support the mainstream media, despite any bias that may be prevalent from news outlet to news outlet. Relying on honest reporting that is based in journalistic integrity will be key in the downfall of fake news.
Fake news may have had a powerful impact on the 2016 election, but it is now time to put a stop to its influences. The term "fake news" has begun to pervade the political system, allowing for serious doubt to be cast on perfectly legitimate claims.
Fake news must be defeated before the death of accountability and truth oe
curs, and this defeat must start with America's educated citizens. This includes all the college graduates who are already in the workforce, but it also includes every student at the University of Kansas.
Being a member of this University, I urge everyone to go pick up a newspaper from a different news organization after you finish this one.
Not only will it help you become an informed citizen, but it will also support the very institutions that citizens rely on for truthful information and help dispel the wildly inaccurate misinformation of fake news. Fake news must be defeated, and the easiest way to do it is by simply picking up a real newspaper.
Seth Wingterer is a freshman from Olathe studying mechanical engineering.
Edited by Sean Collins
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Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Lara Korte, Christian Hardy, Tucker Paine and Vince Munoz.
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