Finance makes me feel like such a jerk...

...I always leave Finance committee feeling like an asshole.

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Guest blogging begins by Lennea C.
Greetings! I write this to you from the loveliness that is the KU Student Senate Finance Committee. I absolutely adore Finance. Finance is the guardian of the coffers of the Student Senate, and thus their job is quite difficult. Whereas other committee meetings might last 20 minutes, Finance regularly lasts hours--and its students are just as busy (if not more) as their peers on other committees. Despite such personal time constraints, these devoted senators are willing to spend over 2.5 hours so far of this beautiful evening confined to a humid, slightly smelly room in order to preserve the integrity of the whole of Student Senate.

On another note, I think that the best way to fight terrorism abroad, as well as social ills at home, would be to raise the price of petroleum fuel to $10.00 per gallon or more. When the cost of fuel begins to restrict travel to the point of oil conservation, Americans will begin to live in accordance with frugality. As the oil consumption would decrease, many nations in the Middle East would be starved of the excess revenues that, in certain instances, (Hi, Jarrod's Mom!) fund groups that espouse violence against Americans, women, and ethnic and religious minorities. [Hizbollah seems a fitting example of a group that benefits from oil revenues.] Moreover, as Americans drive less, the woes of suburbia on social and familial unity will be unveiled. Suburban sprawl has enabled families to live further apart, separated by dozens, if not hundreds or thousands, of miles. Stripping the suburbs of their allure would preserve current farmland that is being encroached upon, as well as serve as the impetus for suburban dwellers to relocate to places that are closer to their places of employment. A reduction in driving would also encourage more Americans to adopt an active lifestyle by walking to more locations, thus helping to counter the epidemic of obesity in the United States. Would this drastic increase on the price of fuel be pleasant? Certainly not--it would be a difficult burden to bear. But, like the rationing of materials during World War II, it would enable the realization that petroleum is a precious resource that is not to be squandered, and that oil, while it has increased the ease of American life in certain ways, has also brought about a variety of detriments that affect short and long-term safety and social harmony.

Senate's Finance Committee is now nearing its third hour. I wish you all a fabulous evening and implore you to remember that your elected representatives in government, in addition to sometimes having grievous personal flaws, also are men and women of sacrifice that believe in the public good. I am in a room full of such individuals at present, and it is one of the most inspiring activities that I have found on campus to date.
Shalom, my friends!