Moral Bankruptcy of No-Growth Politics: Frank Gruber, a columnist for the excellent online newspaper, SurfSantaMonica.com, wrote an outstanding piece shortly before the March 5 election, when a small but vocal minority of local residents started a last-minute campaign against SMC's Measure U (which went on to win in a landslide). Sometimes, I believe, we need to hear from the "outside" about just how valuable SMC is. Following are excerpts from his column, which can be found on http://www.surfsantamonica.com

"Nothing shows the moral bankruptcy of no-growth politics better than the failure by self-denominated progressives to support an institution that is the gateway to a better future for so many people. . .Don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise -- opposition to Prop. U is based on opposition to development in any form -- even schools. . .

"Then there is the localism issue. Notwithstanding that a large portion of Santa Monica and Malibu students who go to college start their academic careers at SMC, the opposition focuses on the statistic that only 15 percent of SMC students are local, and 10 percent are international. Santa Monicans, they say, are being asked to subsidize these students.

"This argument ignores the fact that surrounding college districts are taxing themselves to improve their campuses as well. The Los Angeles district has already passed a $1.245 billion bond for its nine campuses. Eight districts besides Santa Monica/Malibu have bonds on next week's ballot.

"Even beyond what our neighbors are doing, Santa Monica already gets a great educational deal from the college. While 15 percent of SMC students are local, only five percent of SMC's operating revenues come from local taxes. As for international students, the reason the college recruited them is precisely because by paying higher tuition they are money-makers.

"SMC also makes a huge contribution to the local economy, which generates a lot of taxes for -- you guessed it, the City of Santa Monica. . .

"At the end of the day, the opposition to SMC's bond measure is simply ungenerous. What does Santa Monica offer the region except the College? We have the beach, but we can hardly take credit for that. The Promenade? Okay, but that's a huge money-maker. Do we have any concert halls or significant museums? Any sports venues? Any cultural institutions bigger than an art gallery?

"We Santa Monicans send our kids to UCLA, USC, Northridge, and other schools, public and private. We go to the Hollywood Bowl and the Music Center. Dodger Stadium and the Rose Bowl. The Greek and the Geffen. The Getty and LACMA, the Museum of Natural History and the zoo, the Huntington and the Central Library. Etc., etc.

"Supporting Santa Monica College's modernization and growth -- which, by the way, offers the best opportunity to ameliorate many of the local problems it, like any institution, inevitably creates -- seems like the least we can do -- and maybe the best we can do -- not only to help ourselves, but also to make a contribution to our larger community."

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