The Times of Trenton Op-Ed

Personal views on local news & more

• OBAMA ECONOMICS
-NT

• To control health-care costs,
n an interesting paradox that we often see in health care, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey was attacked for fulfilling its obliga tion to provide access to affordable health care for its customers -- Steven Altschuler, president of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), wrote the attack in his opinion article "BCBS wants to limit access to care for N.J.'s sickest kids" (Sept. 30).

• Boot financial wizards, invest in America
Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson along with Federal Reserve Board Chariman Ben Bernanke offered to solve all of the current Wall Street credit problems. Their solution: Congress remits to them a blank check payable for $700 billion. That's slightly less than $2,300 from every man, woman and child in the United States. To paraphrase a member of Congress, "it's like a paying an arsonist to put out the fire."

• OBAMA ECONOMICS
-NT%>

• U.S. Afghanistan policy
Afghanistan looks to be a conflict equivalent to the financial black hole that seems inexorably to be sucking in one pillar after another of the American economy. Afghanistan's unraveling is, like the economy's, a consequence of deliberate policy choices of the conservative movement's blinkered ideologues from the very first year of the Bush administration.

• On at least one issue,
hursday's televised vice- presidential debate was watched by millions of Americans. Prior to its start, there were more than a few who sus pected that the Republican nominee, Sarah Palin, would fare poorly when she was required to match wits with her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden. As I told friends before the debate, I was not one of them.

• A capital idea:
would like to discuss the idea of a "super library" for the City of Trenton, an idea proposed by Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer during a news conference Sept. 16. To date, there has not been much talk about the idea nor has there been opposition to it. The strongest community opposition has been directed at the proposed library branch closures.

• Looking over the abyss:
There are many words in the English language that have dual meanings, but the duplicity of one word, "oversight," is at the heart of the singular most important debate of our time. Our economy is in shambles, in large part due to the lack of oversight by our government, which allowed this perfect storm to brew without tak ing any definitive action. It seems, however, that there has been plenty of oversight -- of the "Oops, I guess that one got by me" variety.

• Congress won't give up
With $700 billion on the taxpayers' table for the rescue of Wall Street, you might have expected to find no earmarks in the federal omnibus appropriations bill that awaits the president's signature. How much feeding at the taxpayers' trough can we manage, after all? But, no, not a chance: As some members of Congress deliberated in one room on the particulars of the bailout, others went on the usual pork spree -- $6.6 billion -- divided among 2,300 projects to be fi nanced out of the nation's piggy bank.

• BCBS wants to limit access
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey wants to become a for- profit insurance company. This re quires both a healthy balance sheet and approval from state government.

• Save lives, property:
Unprotected high-rise buildings in New Jersey pose serious risk of loss of life, injury and economic strain for thousands of New Jersey residents and firefighters. Citing costs to New Jersey families in the current economic climate, the Department of Community Affairs recently did not adopt proposed high-rise fire sprinkler retrofit regulations that would address a significant public- safety issue. While the department chose not to act on these regulations now, the fire service community strongly urges the state, the department and DCA Commis sioner Joseph Doria to keep his promise and address high-rise fire protection as quickly as possible before tragedy strikes. If our state acts now, it can make proper high- rise fire protection a reality and avoid the risk of high-rise fires and their attendant devastation, loss of life and financial hardships on local municipalities and fire services.

• McCain on Health Care
MAIN GOALS:

• Obama on Health Care
MAIN GOALS:

• Back to reality:
Whenever one of my friends from across the political aisle complains about the state of financial affairs in New Jersey, I ask them, "What did you expect?" We institutionalized a bi-partisan policy of "borrow and spend," for as many years as can be remembered. Moreover, our state's last two duly elected governors, under both political parties, managed to amass debt seven fold before the current one put a stop to it. In essence, Governor Corzine did not create this mess, he inherited it.

• Film abets intolerance
"Retard. Imbecile. Moron. Idiot." A top- grossing movie, "Tropic Thunder," still in some theaters after its release more than six weeks ago, is the pop culture vehicle that perpetuates cruelty, stereotypes and disrespect for persons with developmental and mental disabilities. The cruel edge of "Tropic Thunder" is the language and derogatory visual gags that educators, health-care professionals and the families of persons with disabilities have been trying for decades to purge from the national vernacular.

• Efficient electricity production
y 2030, we will need nearly 30 percent more electricity if we are to avoid economic stagnation or repeated blackouts. What can we do to provide this increased demand for electricity ex pected in the next few years and protect consumers from rapidly es calating electricity costs? Given the ramp-up in energy costs in recent months, there should be no doubt that it would be a win-win situation for New Jerseyans if utilities were able to burn less coal, oil and natural gas to generate electricity by using more nuclear energy. Yet, in these turbulent economic times, we as a state have not addressed the implications of our dependence on power plants that use high- priced fossil fuels to provide nearly half of the electricity we need. What can and should be done to protect consumers from price shocks and still meet growing demand for electricity?

• Five immediate ways to
ow that the markets have brutalized the Wall Street perpetrators of overzealous promotion of highly levered, complex and rarely liquid instru ments, such as Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers, there are steps that "the powers that be" can take to calm the markets and show concern and resolve for "the little guy." The five immediate steps are:

• Historic preservation:
have enjoyed the ultimate pleasure of awarding grants to numerous not-for-profits to help save old schools, lighthouses, canal locks, mills, farms, military fortifications, churches and even a battleship. These grants were made possible in 1999 when then- Gov. Christine Todd Whitman signed into law the Garden State Preservation Trust Act, creating stable grant funding for 10 years. The funding runs out at the end of the year and, because of the state of the economy, there is no plan yet to save it.

• Tough challenges ahead
hen Gov. Jon Corzine re cently signed the FY 2009 Appropriations Act into law, many believed that he did a good job given very difficult circumstances. But there is no good news for next year -- and it is get ting worse.

• Let's improve medical screening
he recent untimely death of two teenage football players in two days in one small area of New Jersey is considered a "statistical impossibility." I believe it raises serious questions regarding medical screening of school-age athletes.