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Fail this jobs bill
an independent newspaper
EDITORIALS
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A plan to avert layoffs offers too little for the economy and education reform.
N A SPEECH MONDAY on the Obama ad- ministration’s economic policy, National Eco- nomic Council Director Lawrence H. Sum- mers argued that deficit spending is still needed to boost growth — but must be de- signed to produce maximum “bang for the buck.” “There is no macroeconomic rationale for wasteful spending,” he insisted. So why are Mr. Summers and Christina D. Rom- er, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, along with the rest of the Obama admin- istration, promoting the $23 billion education jobs bill now before Congress? Its sponsors on Capitol Hill have labeled it “emergency” legislation, wor- thy of exemption from President Obama’s anti- deficit pay-as-you-go rules. But it’s certainly not a uniquely effective way to stimulate the economy. Ms. Romer suggests on the opposite page today that keeping teachers at work will enable them to maintain their spending, thus supporting eco- nomic growth — and saving on unemployment benefits and the like. The real question is whether this bill promotes more growth than other possible uses of $23 billion. Ms. Romer did not explain why retaining teachers stimulates the economy better than retaining, say, construction workers. Nor does she weigh the costs and benefits of not borrowing another $23 billion from China.
Oil spill answers
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Mr. Obama takes responsibility for the response — and points to the need for energy changes.
RESIDENT OBAMA put a welcome end Thursday to some of the unattractive fin- ger-pointing and responsibility-dodging of recent weeks with respect to the disastrous
BP oil spill. His administration until now had painted a murky picture of lines of authority and responsibility. Was BP organizing the response to the leak? If
the government was already in charge, why did In- terior Secretary Ken Salazar insist that the govern- ment might yet push BP out of the way? Did the government need the oil company’s expertise? Was the whole thing the fault of the previous ad- ministration? Mr. Obama cleared that all away: “From the mo- ment this disaster began,” he said, “the federal gov- ernment has been in charge of the response effort.” He noted that federal law prescribes the organiza- tion of the response: As the responsible party, BP is conducting operations to cap the well and paying contractors that specialize in oil-spill cleanup, but all at federal direction. “Every key decision and ac- tion they take must be approved by us in advance.” The president stepped back from the boot-on- the-neck-of-BP rage. “I take responsibility. It is my job to make sure that everything is done to shut this down.” He was honest about the scope of the challenge the government faces. “There is going to be damage that is heartbreaking to see.” And, he acknowledged, “There are going to be places where things fall short.” He repeated, accurately, that the problem of regulator-industry coziness predated his tenure and had been somewhat im- proved by Mr. Salazar, but he also admitted that his administration had not done enough before the spill to cure that problem. As oil continues to
Ms. Romer argues that the bill is less costly than it seems because it ensures a better-educated, and hence more productive, populace in the future. Fair enough — though you could say the same for construction workers, since better roads and bridges boost economic efficiency, too. She is right that school districts around the country, having run through $100 billion from the February 2009 stimulus bill, face a crunch. Officials have issued more than 100,000 layoff notices, according to data compiled by teachers unions. The unions pre- dict layoffs could go as high as 300,000. It’s hard to imagine losing that many teachers without some damage to learning. But that many teachers almost certainly are not
going to lose their jobs. For technical reasons, school districts must send notices in the spring to more teachers than they actually expect to let go in the fall. What’s more, the unions’ 300,000 estimate includes not only classroom teachers in kindergar- ten through 12th grade but also support staff and college professors. The bill would distribute money to states according to their population, not expec- ted layoffs; states where no layoffs are imminent would get checks anyway, and the majority of states would receive more than they could possibly need to avoid layoffs. The Senate version of the bill permits them to spend the excess on other things.
If the goal were to preserve the maximum num-
ber of good K-12 teachers at minimum cost, the bill would encourage states to lay off teachers accord- ing to ability, rather than seniority — as current rules, sacrosanct to unions, dictate. In Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat, has been fighting stiff union resistance to achieve such a re- form. But the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Tom Harkin (D- Iowa) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), say there’s no time to waste on that problem. Many jobs could be saved if more teachers accepted wage and ben- efits restraint, as workers in other hard-pressed in- dustries have done. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has urged teachers to take a one-year wage freeze, but the vast majority so far have refused. And the bill places no such conditions on aid. Instead of passing a bill that perpetuates the sta- tus quo, Congress should use its power of the purse to leverage reform. As Mr. Summers also said on Monday, “excessive budget deficits, when associat- ed with spending that is wasteful, erode confi- dence in government and trust in public institu- tions. Ironically, this may make it more difficult to bring about reforms that are necessary to make the public sector function better and enhance our long-term productive capacity.” That strikes us as a near-perfect description of this bill and its likely impact.
TOM TOLES
FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2010
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
dletters@washpost.com
Alliances in the name of conservation
In response to the May 24 front-page article “Oil spill threatens to stain alliances,” I’d like to clarify why the Nature Conservancy works with energy and other natural resource companies. The daily operations of these companies directly affect the lands and waters we all cherish and rely upon for survival. Energy exploration and development is happening — it’s a reality we must address. We are eager to advise companies when we can, using our scientific knowledge and nearly 60 years of on-the-ground conservation expertise to engage others, from governments to individuals to corpo- rations. We try to improve their practices, strength- en regulations and provide support for conserva- tion. This includes working with energy compa- nies, farmers, ranchers and small forest land owners. Reaching out to all stakeholders who have a direct impact on the natural world is at the core of what we do and is essential to achieving our con- servation mission. We face challenges on many fronts. Forests and
coral reefs are vanishing. Water resources are stretched to the limit. We are losing plant and ani- mal species at an alarming rate. We cannot afford to write off any conservation strategy, including getting companies to improve their business prac- tices and provide support for conservation. We don’t know all the answers, but we are listen-
ing, learning and committing ourselves to getting the best results for the natural world.
MARK TERCEK, Arlington
The writer is president and chief executive of the Nature Conservancy.
I disagree with Joe Stephens’s description of the
Nature Conservancy as “the leader of a non- confrontational arm of the environmental move- ment.” While the conservancy is an environmental leader, working with business increasingly repre- sents the central corpus of the movement. The par- adigm that pits environmentalists against industry is now an extreme wing of what has become a mainstream social movement. In addition to BP’s negligence, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is a result of inadequate federal oversight and, more important, what President George W. Bush called “our addiction to oil.” Given that an en- tirely safe offshore oil project is impossible and America’s relationship with the internal combus- tion engine is unlikely to significantly change in the near term, environmentalists are left with a stark choice: Condemn all offshore drilling or work with oil companies to make drilling as safe as possible.
BRIAN SPAK, Washington
The writer worked in the Nature Conservancy’s philanthropy department from 2004 to 2006.
The May 24 front-page graphic that mentioned
lap ashore and cleanup begins in earnest, the president has made clear that Americans can hold him accountable for the effectiveness of that ef- fort, no matter how difficult the task or how fraught the politics. Perhaps most important: Mr. Obama also ar- gued that this disaster should remind Americans of the many costs of the nation’s addiction to fossil
fuels, underscoring the need for sensible, compre- hensive climate and energy legislation. He pointed out that Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) have assembled a bill that deserves a bipartisan hearing this year. That is the long view America’s leaders must see, and soon, if the country is ever to end its dependence on the sticky, black film threatening the Gulf Coast.
A budget of magical thinking
D.C.’s spending plan may be good for politicians, but is it good for the city?
reach of the sales tax and engage in some wishful thinking about taxing nonresident city government workers. All in all, it was a depressing exercise of election-year politics trumping the city’s best finan- cial interests. The council gave preliminary approval Wednes-
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day to a $5.3 billion, 2011 spending plan that leaves untouched Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s plan to draw down the city’s reserves. To restore some spending cuts made by Mr. Fenty as well as fund its healthy- school-lunch initiative, the council decided to tax sugary soft drinks and medical marijuana, borrow more money and restructure some of its debt. Ap- proval was near unanimous, with only council
OBBLING together a budget for next year, D.C. Council members largely avoided hard choices. Instead of slowing spending, they opted to borrow more money, extend the
member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) dissenting. It was the first time in his 19 years on the council
that Mr. Evans, the knowledgeable chair of the rev- enue and finance committee, voted against a budg- et. He told us that he regrets not opposing some of the fanciful budgets that sank the city in the 1990s, eventually forcing Congress to seize control of city finances; this time around he is objecting as the city again heads irresponsibly toward dangerous terri- tory. Wall Street is already worried that the city has reduced its reserves from a high of $1.58 billion in 2005 to the current $920 million, with plans to fur- ther draw them down to $607 million in fiscal 2012. But neither Mr. Fenty, who is running for reelec- tion, nor council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), who is challenging him for mayor, showed any appetite for reining in spending or discussing tax increases. Neither official has distinguished himself. Mr. Fenty
LOCAL OPINIONS
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D.C.’s wise decision to encourage safe sex
Thank you to Courtland Milloy for clarifying
the facts leading to the District’s decision to of- fer Trojan brand condoms at the request of Dis- trict youth [“D.C.’s extra-large effort in promot- ing safe sex should be applauded,” Metro, May 26]. Also, thank you to D.C. Department of Health officials, as well as D.C. Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), for their courage and pragmatism in addressing the District’s alarmingly high rates of HIV, sexually transmit- ted infections (STIs) and teen pregnancy. Chris Krisinger’s comments about “nutty so- cial, public policy” [letters, May 25] highlight the need to get the facts out and to make public health policies based on scientific evidence about what works. Mr. Krisinger argues for en- couraging abstinence, which studies have dem-
onstrated does not work. On the other hand, dis- tributing condoms that sexually active youth will use is a wise investment because condom use does prevent the spread of STIs. While some may snicker at teens expressing their preference for a particular brand of con- dom or deride teens for not remaining absti- nent, I agree with Mr. Milloy that we should sup- port their intent to use condoms when sexually active. If offering a preferred brand of condoms leads to fewer STIs and unintended preg- nancies, the decision to do so would rightly be hailed as a successful prevention strategy as well as a smart use of taxpayer dollars.
LAURAMEYERS, Washington
The writer is chief executive of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington.
submitted a flawed spending plan; Mr. Gray made it marginally worse, while his gyrations on streetcar funding undermined confidence in the council’s de- cision-making. The best idea the council could come up with to build up its reserves was to impose a form of a commuter tax on D.C. government workers from outside the city. That sounds great — other cit- ies impose such a tax — but there’s no way Maryland and Virginia representatives in Congress will allow it to happen, as council members must know. Voters also are entitled to question the wisdom of starting programs, no matter how worthwhile, when there’s not enough money to sustain existing services. It’s inevitable, as Mr. Evans told his colleagues,
that they — or whichever of them are still around af- ter this year’s election — will have to confront the city’s fiscal problems. In postponing that task, they only make it more difficult.
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environmental nonprofit groups that have accept- ed donations from or joined alliances with BP could be misinterpreted as showing a financial re- lationship between BP and other environmental groups, including the Sierra Club. The end of the accompanying article correctly stated that “about 20 energy and environmental groups, including the [Nature] Conservancy, the Sierra Club and Au- dubon, joined with BP Wind Energy to form the American Wind and Wildlife Institute, which works to protect wildlife through ‘responsible’ de- velopment of wind farms.” The fact that both the Sierra Club and BP Wind are members of the same coalition should not be construed as a financial relationship or a formal partnership with BP. With dozens of environ- mental and industry groups working together, the AWWI facilitates responsible development of wind energy while protecting wildlife and wildlife habitat. In addition to our work promoting clean energy solutions, the Sierra Club is seeking a presidential moratorium on offshore drilling and supports leg- islation to ensure that those responsible for the Gulf oil disaster, including BP, pay for the full cost of cleanup and recovery. We continue to strongly condemn BP’s irresponsible practices that led to this disaster as well as the inadequate way in which BP has attempted to handle this tragedy.
MICHAEL BRUNE, San Francisco
The writer is the executive director of the Sierra Club.
Faulty intelligence
In the May 22 editorial “Intelligence failure,” on Adm. Dennis C. Blair’s resignation as intelligence director, The Post said the admiral’s first misstep was to nominate former ambassador Charles W. Freeman Jr. to a top intelligence post, citing Mr. Freeman’s “crackpot views about the Israel ‘lobby.’ ” It’s true that Mr. Freeman doesn’t mince words.
In the March issue of the Foreign Service Journal, he wrote that Israeli President Benjamin Netanya- hu “is confident that his American lobby will ar- range for Congress to punish the president if he tries to punish Israel for its intransigence” on set- tlements. Far from being “crackpot,” however, these views are widely shared by senior retired American diplomats, many of whom, like Mr. Freeman, be- lieve that the United States needs to hold Israel far more tightly to account for its policies and actions. Alas, no president has yet had the intestinal for- titude to do this, fearing that the congressional “punishment” will cost too much in terms of other political goals.
THEODOREWILKINSON,Washington
The writer is chairman of the Foreign Service Journal editorial board.
Lawyer helped fight McCarthyism
The Post’s excellent obituary for David Gins- burg [“Led panel on race relations,” May 24, Met- ro] did not mention how, in the McCarthy era, Dave, like many other Washington lawyers, helped, pro bono, many federal employees like me whose “loyalty” was being questioned for ridicu- lous reasons. We are eternally grateful.
JOANKARASIK, Silver Spring
Letters can be sent to
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