Editorials
View: Cain Needs to Give Voters 411 on His 9-9-9 Plan
“The 9-9-9 plan that I have proposed is simple, transparent, efficient, fair and neutral.” That’s Herman Cain defending his tax overhaul plan at the Oct. 11 Bloomberg-Washington Post Republican presidential candidates’ debate in New Hampshire.
Ukraine Needs to Do More Than Just Set Free Tymoshenko: View
Ukraine’s leader took a step in the right direction Thursday by announcing that he supports scrapping the Soviet-era law that led to a seven-year prison sentence for his chief political rival, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Rajaratnam Sentence Sends the Right Message to Wall Street: View
Raj Rajaratnam, the Galleon Group LLC hedge fund executive who fought his insider-trading prosecution at every stage, today ended up with an 11-year prison sentence and an order to forfeit $53.8 million. Some are decrying the punishment as too lenient, but it is both appropriate and exemplary.
Infrastructure Bank Plus Repatriation Holiday Equals Jobs: View
Call us optimists, but it’s possible that the Senate’s decision Tuesday to block President Barack Obama’s jobs bill was a blessing in disguise.
Security Will Suffer Unless Pentagon Reduces Its Health Care Costs: View
An editorial on Monday identified specific weapons programs that could be targeted for cuts as the Pentagon faces growing pressure to help curb the federal deficit. There is, however, a huge area of potential Defense Department savings that doesn’t involve equipment and war- fighting capabilities: bringing under control the galloping -- and unsustainable -- cost of providing well-deserved benefits to those who serve our country.
Taiwan Jet Deal Aids Ally Without Provoking Rival China: View
The 100th anniversary marking the fall of China’s last imperial dynasty upped tensions in the Taiwan Strait, with Chinese President Hu Jintao calling for “reunification through peaceful means” and his Taiwanese counterpart, Ma Ying-jeou, responding that he was just fine with the status quo.
A Fresh Controversy in Stem Cell Research Is Easily Solved: View
Last week, with the announcement that scientists had created stem cells, not from embryos, but from adult cells, one controversy in biomedicine was replaced by another. No sooner had the problem of using human embryos been solved than a problem with selling human eggs sprang up. Let’s take these one at a time.
Helping Egypt’s `Caretaker’ Generals Care for Democracy: View
It’s probably not fair to hold a revolution to a strict schedule, but recent actions by Egypt’s military leaders to slow down the transition to democracy are worrisome nonetheless.
Before Republican Debate, a Dozen Questions on the Economy: View
Tonight’s Bloomberg News-Washington Post Republican presidential debate at Dartmouth College will focus on the economy. Previous debates have provided insight into the candidates’ abilities to think on their feet, and have exposed fissures within the party, but tonight’s gathering provides the first real chance to quiz the candidates at length about their economic views.
Pentagon Cuts to Strengthen America’s Defense and Economy: View
A culture of shared sacrifice is one of the greatest strengths of the U.S.’s volunteer military. It is not, however, a good basis on which to decide budget cuts.
Don’t Dump the Volcker Rule Just Because It’s Not Perfect: View
Would you have provided motorcycle insurance to Evel Knievel? That is, in essence, what U.S. taxpayers are doing for risk-loving traders in some of the world’s largest banks.
Atlas Should Shrug at Millionaires’ Surtax Proposal: View
Class warfare leads nowhere. Taxes must be a shared burden. Singling out one group or another does nothing to repair the social fabric. It’s for this reason that we question the Democrats’ latest idea of a millionaires’ surtax to pay for President Barack Obama’s jobs plan, particularly because it was presented in isolation.