I’m currently visiting the campus of the University of Michigan, on my way back to California after a six month absence.

During my quick trip to the state of my birth, I’ve seen what years of economic downturn has done to Michigan.  I lived here until 2001, and after visiting for just a few days, I can tell you that the last seven years have not been kind to the Wolverine State.  Personally, it’s been hard. My family members have lost their jobs, my sister doesn’t have health insurance. And across the region, abandoned buildings dot the metro Detroit landscape, even in the cushy suburb where I grew up.

So, when I picked up a copy of the Michigan Daily newspaper, to take a closer look at the story headlined “Higher education budget passed,” I expected to see terrible news.  Instead, I found this:

“Michigan’s public [universities] will see an overall budget increase of $14 million.  The 1-percent increase will allocate an additional $3.2 million to the University [of Michigan]….

The emphasis on the word increase is mine, because I’m stunned.  Despite Michigan’s terrible economy, the University of Michigan is getting a budget boost.  That’s the right policy – because in order to turn this state around, we’re going to need more education to attract new, high-tech jobs.

Wow.  Michigan is investing in education, but California’s schools have faced drastic cuts every year since I got there: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and now even deeper cuts are planned for 2008 in California.  What’s the problem?

Unlike California, where Republican leadership since 2003 has let us down, leaders here in Michigan (other than the City of Detroit’s elected officials) have set the right priorities.  Despite the slow-motion economic collapse which has been hitting Michigan basically since I was born, in the last several years, Governor Jennifer Granholm has done a lot of good.  Some big businesses, like Google, have opened up shop in Michigan.  Michigan’s road infrastructure is much improved.  And in looking toward attracting more investment, the University of Michigan remains one of the world’s premiere centers of learning thanks to Granholm’s hard work to keep the higher education budget intact despite freefall in the state’s coffers.

California’s leaders have other priorities in mind.  In the past six months, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Republican friends have worked hard to let the wealthiest of the wealthy keep their money, while California schools and universities are cut deeply.  Specifically, Schwarzenegger and the Republicans have called for a 10% across-the-board reduction in K-12 education.  The cuts have already affected me personally, as a graduate student at the University of California.  They’ve affected teachers in K-12 schools even more – many teachers have already received pink slips.

California’s economy hasn’t exactly been booming recently, but California is still the wealthiest place in America, and the economy in the state of California alone is bigger than the economy of some wealthy nations.  California can afford to have the best education system in the world.  The only reason Schwarzenegger and his Republican friends want to destroy schools is so that their wealthy buddies can keep their tax-free yachts.

It’s time to kick out the failed Republican ideas. California, and the rest of the country, needs a change. We need robust investment in education, infrastructure, and transportation. It’s time for a new Manhattan project that invests in America’s cities, towns, and villages, instead of investing in war and tax cuts for yachts.

Michigan’s showing California a thing or two. Let’s see if we can’t meet the Michigan challenge and increase education spending despite the recession. Governor Schwarzenegger? The comment button is right over there. We’re waiting to hear why our schools don’t deserve better.