WMU beats Harvard, goes to Washington

By Daing S. Nasir
Western Herald

Venturing into issues such as retirement security and corporate pensions, a group of Western Michigan University students beat Harvard University in the national iOMe Challenge competition.

The WMU team consisted of Ashley Horvat, a senior majoring in American public policy, Lauren Hearit, a sophomore majoring in French and public policy, Sam Demorest, a junior majoring in English and political science, and Brad Kent, a senior majoring in public policy and economics.

The group was mentored by Susan Hoffmann, Ph.D., a professor from the political science department.

The team won $20,000 and had the chance to present their case to members of Congress last week. Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, was the first runner up while the team from St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis. received an honorable mention.

Other finalists included Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, Mo., and LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, N.Y.

According to Medallion scholar and team member Lauren Hearit, the team was asked to create a 30- second video and an essay explaining issues with the current retirement system and come up with potential solutions that addressed the issue.

“To me, the main thing that allowed the team from WMU to stand out in comparison with the other teams was that we tried to stress that there are misconceptions in regards to retirement policy and there are several solutions to fix social security and bolster private savings that are politically and economically feasible,” Hearit said.

“We also stressed education as a key factor to the success of our proposal as many young Americans have not begun to think about retirement, let alone understand the issues surrounding current retirement policy.”

The winning proposal was prepared in two separate parts; social security and private savings, respectively.

Hearit and Horvat researched the social security aspect of retirement policy while Demorest and Kent spearheaded the private savings aspects which included corporate pensions, 401(k)s, and private wealth.

The team then compiled solutions and formulated a formal proposal. The video aspect was also filmed and edited as a group.

According to Hearit, there are several misconceptions and ‘lies’ that revolve around the current national retirement system. Many say that Social Security is broken, while Hearit said there are several viable solutions to improve the solvency of the program.

Within the proposal, the WMU team suggested three modifications to the Social Security system – adjust the benefit formula to address changes in life expectancy, release the cap on taxable earnings, and dedicate the estate tax to cover legacy costs – that would cover over 160 percent of Social Security’s projected shortfalls.

“Thus, there are many misconceptions surrounding not only Social Security, but also surrounding the private side of retirement policy, that can be addressed in politically and economically feasible ways,” Hearit said.

The team gave a 10-minute presentation to some members of Congress last week, which included iOMe Challenge organizers and also representatives from organizations and interest groups with a strong interest in retirement policy such as the AARP, the General Accounting Office and the National Academy of Social Insurance.

“It was a rewarding experience, being able to present the proposal as a team,” Hearit said.

“I am studying in France for the semester and was initially unsure as to whether or not flying back to Washington D.C. for this event would be worth all the time and travel. However, the presentation and reception was very rewarding and an experience I am very grateful to have been a part of.”

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Posted by heraldstaff on Feb 7 2010. Filed under Breaking, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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