Syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington spoke Tuesday at the
Anderson School on the relationship between corporate pigs, corrupt
politicians and afflicted college students.
As college students approach graduation, they are discovering
that the business practices of “corporate pigs” are
leaving many Americans jobless ““ college graduates included,
she said.
Huffington has been touring the country, promoting her new book,
“Pigs at the Trough: How Corporate Greed and Political
Corruption are Undermining America.”
In a chapter of her book titled “Pigs on Parade,”
Huffington discusses the Tyco, WorldCom and Adelphia scandals that
shocked Americans and rocked the stock market.
She indicted the Bush administration for granting impunity to
some white-collared criminals who defrauded the American public by
restating their yearly earnings.
“If you steal billions of dollars, you are protected. That
is the message we are sending,” Huffington said.
She also attacked the offshore tax havens that allow
corporations to avoid paying taxes.
“Tax havens exemplify a lot of the injustice that is going
on right now,” she said.
Huffington said the current economy, which has been greatly
impacted by corporate scandals, is a major concern for college
students ““ a group she says can implement social change.
“The fact college students are going into a depressed
economy where jobs are so hard to get should make students more
determined to clean this mess up,” she said.
Huffington emphasized the importance of college students
becoming politically aware. Though college students often feel lost
in the political process, they have the power to make reforms.
“College students need to believe again that they can make
a difference, they need to look in the mirror and see their own
leadership potential,” Huffington said. “Students have
a very huge potential to make a difference, they have the ability
to organize, and they have a fresh perspective.”
Promoting her book at schools like Harvard, Duke and Cornell has
allowed her to witness what she says is a rekindled political mood
at college campuses across America.
“There is a very different mood (on campuses) today then
there was in the ’90s. … (Students) are engaged like never
before,” she said.
Huffington said this is the foundation of social change.
“It’s going to take people at the grassroots,
organizing, speaking out. Each person who joins this movement
(against business corruption) brings us closer to critical
mass,” she said.
Huffington herself is a political activist, and will participate
in a March 15 anti-war rally downtown.
Recently, she headed the Detroit Project, a movement to inform
Americans of the relationship between the major car companies and
federal politicians.
Huffington also said the United States needs to free itself from
oil dependence and that SUVs, which the government holds to a lower
efficiency standard, are not helping this cause.
Huffington said that for most Americans, SUVs, which are
designed to handle hard-driving conditions, are completely
unnecessary.
“Offroading in California is a trip to Starbucks,”
she joked.