The Daily Pennsylvanian is a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

10182011_joebiden454
Joe Biden and Michael Nutter discuss drugs in Philadelphia at Houston Hall Credit: Christina Wu , Christina Wu and Quan Nguyen

Tuesday, the White House brought the fight over the nation’s economy to Penn.

United States Vice President Joe Biden advocated the proposed American Jobs Act and its benefits to public safety in Bodek Lounge, located in Houston Hall, Tuesday afternoon.

The proposed spending bill — first presented to Congress Sept. 8 by President Barack Obama — would increase taxes for those who make more than $1 million annually to provide a tax cut for small businesses, cuts in payroll tax, unemployment benefits and jobs.

Students arrived early to find seats. About an hour before the event started, 250 attendants — Bodek Lounge’s maximum capacity — were awaiting the start of the event, and eventually 50 more students who could not find seats were standing along the sides and behind the press section.

VIDEO: Biden speaks at Houston Hall on Tuesday

Biden was joined by Philadelphia Mayor and 1976 Wharton graduate Michael Nutter, Chief of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske and Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey of the Philadelphia Police Department.

Nutter opened the event with two rows of uniformed officers behind him.

“Public safety is not a standalone issue … in order to create safer neighborhoods, we need to invest in our schools, invest in our health systems, and we need to invest in creating jobs for Americans,” Nutter said. “You put someone to work and get them a job — they don’t have time for the nonsense and foolishness that we see, the criminal activity we see on our streets each and every day.”

According to Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush, the lack of funding for Philadelphia police affects Penn as well.

“Lack of funding for municipal Philadelphia police indirectly affected our ability to protect Penn areas,” Rush said.

“Penn had to put in a lot of funding to hire police and hire security officers,” as well as installing street lamps to help reduce crime, she explained, adding that these extra measures by Penn cost the University $5 million.

Accompanied by a long round of applause, the vice president took to the podium. He started his push for the jobs bill by commending the law enforcement officers for putting social work at the top of their priorities, and for recognizing that “it’s better to have someone in rehab than commit 175 crimes a year.”

Biden then addressed the bill’s difficulties in passing through Congress. In an Oct. 11 Senate vote, the bill failed to receive enough votes to overcome a filibuster, and thus couldn’t advance to the Senate floor. Of the 49 senators opposed to advancing the bill, all but three were Republicans.

“This is not your father’s Republican party. This is a different deal,” Biden said. “If we were able to deal with just the leadership, we would have been able to deal with everything from this to the [United States budget] a long time ago … we’re not looking for a fight, we’re looking for an answer.”

Regarding the $450 billion cost of the bill, Biden emphasized the idea of choices and priorities. “The choice is restoring the police forces, the fire services and the teachers of America versus charging a 0.5 percent increase for people making over a million dollars.” He added that the millionaires were also willing to pay, saying “you don’t have to be poor to be patriotic,” which garnered applause from the audience.

The overall response of the Penn student audience was positive, though many students were quick to pick up on a mathematical error in the speech — Biden repeatedly said a 0.5 percent increase in taxes for a millionaire would be $500, instead of the actual figure of $5,000.

“[The issue] is relevant to Penn students. Security is a big presence on campus but in the city of Philadelphia and other places where cops have been laid off, we don’t realize how severe the impact is on people’s lives,” College freshman Carolyn Fante said.

Throughout the speech, Biden repudiated the idea that the ‘temporary cuts’ in police and teacher staff levels are really temporary for many — a sentiment with which Rush agreed.

“It’s not temporary when that 911 call comes in and the woman is being raped and the cop shows up in time to prevent the rape,” Biden said. “It’s not temporary to the guy whose store is being held up and there’s a gun pointed to his head, and the cop shows up and he is not killed.”

When there are enough officers, Rush said, it’s possible for them to “arrive in time to prevent them from being a victim”

College sophomore Noah Feit, who identified himself as a moderate conservative, thought that Biden “made Republicans look very frivolous” with some statements. “Many of the conservative students are fiscally conservative but they would agree that it is a fair deal to tax,” Feit said.

Assistant News Editor Grace Ortelere contributed reporting to this article.

Comments powered by Disqus

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.