Student leaders from across Michigan are preparing to join a battle against a November ballot initiative. And although their goal is to save the Michigan Merit Scholarship program, the student governments are misguided in their mission.
A coalition of health care and anti-tobacco groups is pushing for the Healthy Michigan Amendment, which would direct 90 percent of the state’s $8.5 billion tobacco settlement toward health care programs. A large portion of that money now is used to pay for the scholarship program.
Former Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley didn’t sue the tobacco companies because the state needed money for scholarships - although that is a worthy cause.
The lawsuit was filed to ease the strain the state’s medical infrastructure has felt in dealing with tobacco-related diseases. Hospitals, health-care programs and anti-tobacco education efforts have been - and continue to be - seriously underfunded to appropriately deal with these problems. Although $8.5 billion is a lot of money, it is a finite amount of cash - once it’s gone, it’s gone.
There will not be another multibillion-dollar tobacco lawsuit in the future. This is Michigan’s chance to use an infusion of money to truly combat the problems associated with tobacco use. Unfortunately, it’s easy to lose sight of this higher goal when a program such as college scholarships is proposed or when, as is the case now, lawmakers see the settlement as a way out of some of the budgetary problems Michigan faces. No one wants to vote against a program that helps thousands of students attend college, or make cuts elsewhere in the budget when it appears there is a temporary source of revenue.
But the money should not be used to patch the holes in this election year’s shoddy budget or for any other pet project. Legislators must find other funding for these issues.
Yet, the coalition forming under the guise of protecting the scholarship program seems to be missing this important concept.
Student governments are letting themselves get sucked into the rhetoric claiming that the passage of the Healthy Michigan Amendment means the death of the Merit Scholarship program. The scholarship program, while worthwhile, only helps a limited number of students through two years of college.
What students need to understand is the passage of this amendment helps protect the health-care services we’ll use throughout our lives. This funding promotes a lifetime of good health, and will benefit Michigan residents for years to come. MSU’s student leaders should recognize how important an adequate funding for health initiatives is to the university. The Life Sciences Corridor, which aims to provide funding for research at MSU, Wayne State University, the University of Michigan and the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, also is supported by the settlement.
Tobacco settlement money should be used for development of other similar programs.
Every dollar that Michigan spends on preventive health-care programs, such as anti-smoking education efforts aimed at teenagers, right now means less money the state will have to spend when the tobacco settlement money runs out.
