Let’s debate all fiscal options
Published 3:25 pm Thursday, May 28, 2009
Can we talk? As a nation, that is.
The Washington Post reports that with fiscal crises closing in from multiple directions, a national sales tax is being mentioned in more than whispers on Capitol Hill.
We can think of lots of reasons to oppose such a tax — it hits poor families hardest, for example, and could stifle economic growth. But if the innovation-fueled growth that the Obama administration is hoping for falls short of balancing the federal budget, paying for a health-care overhaul and making long-term fixes to Medicare and Social Security, big changes will be required.
Options should be weighed now, which will take a lot of political courage if the public conversation that’s needed is to be an honest one.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) told the Post he thinks a national sales tax has to be on the table. Those who disagree with such a levy should be expected to offer specific alternatives. If they favor cuts in Medicare and Social Security, they should spell them out.
Given the shortfalls that lie ahead, sacrifice is all but inevitable. Americans need and deserve to know what it might look like. Only then can we, as a nation, start making rational choices.
n A line not to cross: Port of Everett officials made the right call when they stopped pointing security cameras toward a hillside neighborhood, where one or more knuckleheads were apparently launching golf balls onto busy port property below.
People get understandably uneasy about government cameras pointing toward their neighborhood, especially in the absence of compelling security reasons and clearly written guidelines. As implausible as it is to think port employees would spy on anyone’s bedroom, it’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed.
Shooting golf balls into an area where people are working is no joke. The risk of injury, or worse, is real. Port officials were right to finally conclude that it’s a public-safety matter, and best handled by Everett Police.
n Help teens make good choices: Along with the warming weather comes the end-of-school party season, and dangers that keep parents awake at night.
Parents who haven’t already done so should sit down with their teens to agree on reasonable ground rules that will keep them safe. We don’t advocate a pro-alcohol stance, but do suggest offering kids a way to feel safe calling home for a ride before climbing into a car with someone who’s been drinking.
If they know in advance that making such a call will keep them out of hot water when they get home, they’ll be more likely to arrive safe and sound.
