Opinion

01/15/2009

Bailout restraint?
Giving bureaucrats hundreds of billions of dollars to spend with no clear mission is a formula for waste the national can ill-afford. Congress designed the Troubled Asset Relief Program to defuse a crisis in credit markets. The crisis has passed, and Congress should shutter the program

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Tunnel relief?
Riverside County should not abandon one potential solution to the congestion on Highway 91 without further study. Running a highway through tunnels between Riverside and Orange counties may not be feasible, but the county should not discard the idea without knowing for certain.

01/14/2009

High ethics?
Afederal banking official with tax delinquency issues is an odd choice to head the Treasury Department. And Timothy Geithner's tax troubles are just the latest revelation of ethical lapses and conflicts of interest among President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet nominees. The Senate should reject nominees who do not meet high standards of conduct.

Budget sloth
California cannot afford further legislative stalling in addressing the state's enormous financial troubles. There is simply no excuse for the Legislature avoiding that fundamental public duty, even without another warning this week from the state's legislative analyst about the risks of continued inaction.

01/13/2009

Oversight? Yes
The meltdown of the financial system demonstrated that federal oversight of markets is outdated, disorganized and fragmentary. And Congress' response to the current crisis should include a reassessment of what the government needs to do to keep markets functioning and protect investors and taxpayers.

Capitol truce?
U.S. Rep. John Conyers has tried for two years and failed to make a convincing case that President George W. Bush has run a criminal administration. Congress should not waste any more time trying to fulfill Conyers' fantasy of Bush behind bars.

Benefit bonanza?
This year's inflation adjustment in Social Security benefits is wildly out of proportion to any actual increase in retirees' cost of living. Congress needs to change the way it calculates the adjustment to protect both pensioners and the Social Security trust fund. The financially troubled retirement program cannot afford overly generous payouts.

Housing peril
A desire for speedy action does not justify throwing taxpayers' money into a housing rescue plan that lacks key details. San Bernardino County supervisors should not be making any decision on this proposal until they and the public have solid answers to the questions swirling around the plan.

01/11/2009

Schools Rx
The latest report from the state's legislative analyst offers further evidence that public education reform involves more than funding levels. No amount of additional spending will improve student achievement if the state uses the money foolishly. California needs systemic education reforms first.

Sparing patients
A state Supreme Court ruling will not settle the disputes between HMOs and emergency rooms over billing practices. But the ruling properly removes patients from the financial crossfire. People who received emergency care should not be targets in a complex battle over health-care financing.

01/10/2009

Buy the bowl?
Good intentions, tradition and nostalgia are not sufficient justification for buying a struggling outdoor venue while public revenues shrink. Before Riverside County supervisors make a decision on buying the Ramona Bowl in Hemet, they need to hold a thorough public review of the details and obligations of any deal.

Cut green tape
The Legislature and regulatory agencies should proceed cautiously on requests to exempt construction plans from environmental review. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to bypass review on a few routine Caltrans projects makes sense. The Legislature should embrace the chance to save money and create jobs by accelerating the road work.

01/09/2009

Debt madness
Americans need more than vague reassurances that the federal government will restore spending discipline at some indefinite point in the future. Even as Washington borrows and spends to stimulate the economy, President-elect Barack Obama and Congress need to attack excessive spending on all budgetary fronts, not just dabble at the margins.

Secret speech?
Depriving voters of key information is not the way to protect free speech. Overturning the state's campaign finance disclosure laws would not end bare-knuckle politics, but would deprive voters of crucial information. Obstructing public view of the money and influence behind political campaigns serves no civic interest -- and the court should reject that approach.

01/08/2009

Oversight flop?
The nation needs to know how Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion Wall Street investment fraud could escape detection by federal regulators for years. Public confidence in the integrity of the nation's financial markets requires a full explanation of the Madoff debacle -- and federal action to correct whatever flaws in oversight the investigations uncover.

Insurance duty
Two years of experience show that it takes more than a stern letter to get some California drivers to buy car insurance. The Department of Motor Vehicles in 2006 powered up a high-tech system to detect uninsured vehicles. But the Legislature needs to give the law more strength to make that system effective.

01/07/2009

Better parole?
California's $40 billion budget shortfall should make any practical idea for saving money welcome -- especially when the proposal also sets better public policy. The Legislature should embrace Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans to cut costs by making prison and parole reforms.

UC mission?
The University of California system should not recruit more out-of-state students to campus while rejecting qualified Californians. Taxpayers fund the system to provide higher education for state residents. Crowding them out for more profitable nonresident students would subvert that mission.

Airport relics?
Growth in Southern California should not mean grounding aviation. Letting development pressure squeeze out flight activity would rob the region of vital economic and transportation assets. Cities and counties should ensure that their plans do not follow that shortsighted strategy.

Bolster unions?
Workers who unionize drastically alter their relationship with an employer and diminish their employer's chance to survive in a global market. Existing law gives employees and employers the right to put union representation to a vote. Congress should reject legislation that would scrap the election.

01/05/2009

Jobs surge?
A stimulus package should give the economy a jolt, not a hangover. But a massive expansion in the size of government would be a never-ending headache for U.S. taxpayers. Congress should reject a surge in public jobs as response to rising unemployment.

Budget credit?
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week used an old standby to prop up his latest budget proposal: the same state credit card he once vowed to "throw away." Instead of ending the state's tendency to plug budget gaps on credit, the governor proposes to close about a fourth of the state's shortfall by borrowing money.

01/04/2009

Financial burn
The just-ended year provided California with another graphic reminder of the destructive power of wildfires, and the steadily rising public cost of fighting the blazes. Climate and geography make fires inevitable in California, but smarter policies can help cut the danger and the costs to taxpayers.

Union fantasy
A federal bailout alone will not save General Motors and Chrysler. The ailing car manufacturers need to cut costs to ensure long-term viability. And as part of the companies' restructuring, United Auto Workers members need to accept less in compensation than their current contracts deliver.

01/03/2009

Stimulus brake?
The federal government should be in no rush to spend yet another trillion dollars or so to revive the economy. But President-elect Barack Obama wants a spending bill ready for his signature as soon as he takes the oath of office. Congress needs to slow down long enough to consider whether more spending is really in the nation's best interest.

Banning bungling
Banning residents should be less concerned by a heated spat between council members than by the city's ham-fisted handling of the matter. Investigating a dispute between elected officials is a waste of public money. Doing so in secret only compounds the mistake, and the city needs to make the report public.