A Fine Point

Low-key leaders: The EU chooses competency over flash

Susan Mannella — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:00:00 GMT

Representatives of the 27 countries of the European Union chose respected but low-profile leaders Thursday as president of the European Council and chief foreign minister.

Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy will become president, while the foreign affairs and security head will be Catherine Ashton, a British baroness who is currently EU trade commissioner. They begin their new duties Jan. 1. It is fair to say that neither Mr. Van Rompuy nor Ms. Ashton has a worldwide reputation or can be considered to be a heavy-hitter in the home country's political hierarchy.

So, what does this mean? From the United States' point of view, it means Washington has two new important interlocutors to deal with on the many issues involving the EU. A key question is, given the relative inexperience and lack of prestige of the two, to what degree will Washington consider them authoritative spokespersons and decision-makers for the EU's members?

The answer is "more and more," as the two begin to master the issues, learn their way around the EU and come to know the key people in the U.S. and other important governments around the world. The EU was restructured by the Lisbon Treaty, raising the efficiency of the organization, particularly in decision-making, to make it possible for leaders such as Mr. Van Rompuy and Ms. Ashton to serve as the 27 countries' point of contact with the United States and other partners.

That doesn't mean that U.S. bilateral exchanges with individual EU nations will come to an end. But it is the case that more economic and global issues are coming into the realm of the EU.

Another question is why the EU chose two relative unknowns -- as opposed to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, for instance, who was bruited about as EU president. One reason might be that the big dogs in the group, notably France and Germany, did not want a powerhouse EU president or foreign affairs chief who might put their own leaders in the shadows. The idea that the others didn't want a British person as president, given the United Kingdom's sometimes tepid enthusiasm for the EU, was finessed by the choice of Ms. Ashton.

To give the EU credit, the most likely reason for the choice of two competent but less politically lustrous figures is that the members want the leaders to carry out the wishes of the organization and not pursue any kind of independent path that might be linked to political ambitions at home.

In any case, the administration of President Barack Obama now needs to move fast to solidify relations and communications with the two, given the importance of issues between Europe and the United States.

Jobs at risk: A phony wage floor could cost Pittsburgh

Susan Mannella — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:00:00 GMT

It was a bad idea in 1997, and it's a bad idea now.

Twelve years ago then-Councilman Gene Ricciardi proposed having the city set a wage floor for employees of city contractors and recipients of grants, loans or subsidies from city taxpayers. The plan, which was not adopted, would have forced those employers to pay their nonconstruction workers $7.71 an hour or more, compared to the federal minimum wage at the time of $5.15.

City and county officials made another unsuccessful run at the idea in 2001.

Everyone wants higher wages, but should the city be in the business of dictating how much is paid? Even by companies that received public subsidies?

While the employees would benefit in the short run, there's a good chance that by setting its own wage floor or "prevailing wage," as advocates call it, the city would end up shooing development projects -- and their jobs -- to the suburbs.

This is a case in which Pittsburgh's compact geography would work against it. For example, why would a developer build a hotel in the East End, when putting it a mile or so away in Wilkinsburg would let it pay market-based wages rather than the higher rates imposed by the city? Which developer would build an office on the North Side with wage-and-benefits strings attached, when the same project in Ross would let the owner pay a standard, instead of artificial, wage?

While it makes sense to raise periodically the federal and minimum wages, a place the size of Pittsburgh takes a chance in setting its own pay floor. For a city that needs development and city residents who need employment, this bill could be a wage booster but a job loser.

Diplomatic dividend: Obama's Asian trip may produce benefits later

Susan Mannella — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:00 GMT

To read the headlines there is no reason to believe President Barack Obama achieved a lot during his trip to East Asia, with stops in Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea.

At the same time, it was a very essential get-to-know-you tour, featuring meetings with critical U.S. interlocutors in their home capitals in a part of the world that is of great importance to the United States.

One critical stop was in Japan, which has a new government headed by a new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama. That government has replaced a longtime U.S. political partner and is taking a fresh look at aspects of its political, military and economic relationship with America. Mr. Obama's visit softened any anti-American cast that the changes under consideration might have taken.

China was probably the most important stop for Mr. Obama. It appeared that he let the Chinese leadership blunt, partly through the format, some of the criticism that he might have handed out there. He didn't say much, for example, about China's abysmal human rights record, its intolerance of religious and regional opposition in the Tibetan and Uighur regions, its fiddling with the currency exchange rate or even its heavy-handed roundup of dissidents.

Mr. Obama's reticence could be attributed to the fact that China holds billions of dollars in U.S. Treasury bonds and will need to continue doing that if Mr. Obama's government is to stay afloat financially.

Or, to put forward a more generous analysis, perhaps Mr. Obama was pursuing a different kind of diplomacy from the big-hat-no-cattle approach of President George W. Bush -- making nice in public while driving home his harder points in private. If that was the case, visible results of his trip could appear down the line, quietly.

One fruitful area would be closer coordination, if not agreement, with the Chinese on climate-change strategy. That issue is of great importance not only to the United States and China, but also to the Europeans and other Asians. Prospects for the December Copenhagen summit on climate change don't look promising at this point. At the same time, the agreement announced by Mr. Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao on a series of initiatives bodes well for gradual, general progress.

In general Mr. Obama's time was well spent on his Asian tour. It is possible that the real dividends will be paid quietly, later, the results of a more private, subtle diplomacy that he is practicing.

School summit: Homeless children deserve an education, too

Susan Mannella — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:00 GMT

You might call them the invisible 600. That's the estimated number of children in Allegheny County without permanent housing, about half of whom are school-aged.

To call them "homeless" might suggest that they live under bridges or in abandoned houses. While that is not the case, their daily situation still poses challenges, even for something as basic as how to get an education. The 600 generally live in one of 17 women's shelters, where their mothers have gone for protection and support after suffering domestic abuse.

Local experts say that perhaps an equal number of children live by "couch surfing," moving from home to home of relatives and friends because their parents cannot find an affordable, permanent living arrangement. While these children face similar obstacles to getting an education, they are harder to track and identify.

The problem, of course, is not unique to Allegheny County. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that in the 2007-08 school year more than 794,000 homeless children were enrolled in public schools. You can call them the "lucky" ones. Those who are not so lucky are the ones whose lack of permanent housing conspires to keep them out of the classroom.

Fortunately, some concerned and determined people will take a major step today toward addressing the issue locally by holding a summit on the educational needs of homeless children. The idea was spearheaded by Joseph Lagana, who founded the nonprofit Homeless Children's Education Fund 10 years ago after retiring as executive director of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.

He and allies at the summit like The Pittsburgh Foundation, the county Department of Human Services, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, the state education department, Duquesne University, the Education Law Center and the intermediate unit will seek to exchange information, raise awareness and coordinate school and social services that can extend to homeless children the same educational opportunities given their peers.

This is important work and the group's success will accrue to the families and society alike. After all, every child deserves an education, even those who are still looking for a place called home.

Store vacancy: The Hill shops again for a grocery operator

Susan Mannella — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:00 GMT

Not every cancellation of a proposed store is big news. But the announcement by Kuhn's Market that it was dropping plans to build a full-service grocery in the Hill District was.

When the Hill House Association, the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority and Kuhn's Market announced a partnership to bring a quality grocery store to the neighborhood more than a year ago, it was hailed as the most serious attempt in decades to address a hole in the fabric of the community.

Residents on the Hill had even begun to count on it. A revival of sorts has been under way, sparked by the construction of the Penguins' arena in the lower Hill. Along with townhouses with great views and proximity to Downtown, there's nothing more appealing to potential urban homesteaders than being able to shop for groceries nearby.

The collapse of the Kuhn's deal is disappointing, but it doesn't mean the grocery project is dead. The Hill House Association, which secured $8.5 million for the site at Centre Avenue and Heldman Street, is already in talks with potential grocers to step into the breach.

After the initial drama from the failed deal has passed, it may be that only a few months will elapse before the Hill gets the project back on track. All the elements that would have made Kuhn's Market a successful venture, particularly community demand, are still in place for a new operator.

Like any good consumer, the Hill District will do well if it shops for its next store operator carefully.

Court strategy: Onorato's delay tactic will only hurt taxpayers

Tom Waseleski — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:42:00 GMT

Most taxpayers want the same things. They want their dollars to be spent wisely. They want to be treated fairly. They want tax bills to have predictability.

In the last 10 years, Allegheny County's property assessment system has left much of that to be desired. Because of the flare-ups over assessments, some taxpayers feel they and their properties were mishandled. Others feel that when properties are reassessed, there's no telling how high their next tax bill might be.

So it's no surprise that mere mention of reassessment makes many people cringe. We understand where County Executive Dan Onorato is coming from. He switched the county to the base-year method, freezing assessments to 2002 levels and giving taxpayers relative property-tax stability.

But some taxpayers said even that method was not fair because it locked in higher assessments on properties like theirs, which had declined in value. In effect, the base-year method forced them to pay higher taxes.

They filed suit and won their case in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. Then they won again before the state Supreme Court. As a remedy to years of assessments that had not been updated, the justices ordered a reassessment for the county. The Post-Gazette believed that order, to be truly fair, should have applied to all counties using the base-year method, but the court's ruling was not so expansive.

Now Mr. Onorato is charged with following the court's order. But instead of submitting a plan for reassessing fairly and offering protections to taxpayers fearful of a jump in their tax bill, he turned in no plan at all. As a result, Common Pleas Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr. had to design one.

Rather than work with the court to ensure fairness and protection for taxpayers, the county executive, who is now a candidate for governor, has decided to appeal. While we agree with Mr. Onorato on the need for statewide assessment reform and a legislative solution to assessment shocks, his strategy of repeatedly going to court rather than grappling head on with this issue will only hurt the taxpayers he claims to be fighting for.

It will hurt because it puts off the day of reckoning for the county's frozen assessments. The longer that day is postponed, the higher will be some property owners' new assessments and tax bills.

That doesn't sound fair to us, it blows a hole through predictability and if a delayed reassessment ends up costing far more money, it won't be the best use of public dollars.

Allegheny County taxpayers deserve better than this.

Tragic numbers: Together they pose questions for U.S. priorities

Tom Waseleski — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:41:00 GMT

Three new numbers have hit the news -- three unrelated numbers that add up to a sick feeling that America may not have its priorities straight.

The first is 49 million Americans, about one in six, went hungry last year. The second is 46 million do not have health insurance, at a time when health-care costs continue to soar. The third is $1 million, the estimated cost of sustaining each additional U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.

Each of these numbers describes a distinct reality. Taken together, they paint a disturbing picture of how American government takes care of its people, particularly the least advantaged.

The 49 million hungry is from a survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that measured the people in 2008 who lived in households that lacked consistent access to adequate food. The number was the highest in the 14 years that the department has tracked it -- with an increase of 13 million, or 36 percent, over the year before. The most shocking fact was that many of the households included children.

The second group, the 46 million without health-care coverage, may well be some of the same people who are going hungry. Their plight has to be seen against the disgusting spectacle of Congress, influenced by lobbyists for the drug and insurance companies and other anti-reform interests, dithering on efforts to improve health-care delivery. If Congress fails to change the horrible status quo, which Americans will see themselves without health care next year or the year after?

The $1 million it takes to keep each additional soldier in Afghanistan has to be measured against the figures on hunger and health care. The war has already cost about $300 billion. Every added block of 10,000 troops -- and Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal is calling for up to 40,000 more -- means another $10 billion per year for the taxpayer. When would that end? When will the government of President Hamid Karzai, fraudulently elected and breathtakingly corrupt, become sufficiently credible for President Barack Obama to decide that Afghanistan can be left to his rule?

It is clear that the nation has choices. How would we like to use our money? To feed America's hungry and assure Americans' health care, or to fund an endless, futile war in Afghanistan? That is the trade-off. It should be obvious to Mr. Obama as well.

Moon river? Water on the lunar surface is a font of hope

Tom Waseleski — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:39:00 GMT

Last month, NASA set its sights on the moon. Forty years after the historic Apollo 11 landing and 37 years after the last American shook moon dust from his boot, our lunar neighbor is looming large in the imagination.

This time, the world's scientists are excited by a mile-high dust cloud kicked up when a NASA probe slammed into the moon's surface at 5,600 miles per hour on Oct. 9.

NASA commanded its Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite to crash in a pre-determined spot near the south pole. It was a suicide mission for the probe, but it had a purpose. Following the same trajectory five minutes later was a second probe. It flew through the plume of moon dust and debris kicked up by the first probe and beamed the data back to Earth.

After studying the results, NASA announced what everyone had waited to hear: There's water on the moon. What was once considered just a desolate rock is now seen as a potential source of rocket fuel and thirst-quenching water for a colony. Our "dead moon" may have enough of the Right Stuff to make a leap to the stars possible.

The discovery of water is the first step to justifying humanity's return to the moon, still at least a decade away. How much can ultimately be found and refined there will determine the practicality of moon bases, too.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote: "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink." But with a little chemistry, astronauts can not only drink this water but also use it to fly to Mars and beyond.

Pacific outlook: Obama charts his approach to the Asian neighbors

Tom Waseleski — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:26:00 GMT

President Barack Obama, on his first visit to Asia as president, made an important speech in Tokyo on Saturday that can serve as a template for U.S. policy toward that region during his term.

The speech was carefully deferential to Mr. Obama's Japanese hosts, although there was every reason to make his seminal Asia speech from there. The United States and Japan are still the world's two largest economies in spite of the visible, growing importance of China.

Mr. Obama cited Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and himself as a "new generation of leadership" and underlined the importance of an enduring but revitalized U.S.-Japanese relationship.

Although Mr. Obama was not the first U.S. president to say so, he emphasized that America is "a nation of the Pacific." He spoke of his own heritage, having lived in Indonesia and having part-Asian family members, calling himself "America's first Pacific president." He called America's alliances in the region, with Japan, South Korea, Australia, Thailand and the Philippines, "the bedrock of security and stability."

Turning to China, he sought to play down any notion of rivalry. He maintained that, "in an interconnected world, power does not need to be a zero-sum game. ... " He said the United States seeks "pragmatic cooperation" with China. Seeking to avoid any appearance of naivete on China's steady expansion of military capacity, he said that aspect of relations was a matter of improving communications between the two militaries.

He stressed the importance of U.S. participation in Asian economic forums such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the East Asia Summit. He cited the need for economic recovery and growth, referring to agreements at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. Addressing Asian concerns, particularly those held by America's Chinese and Japanese creditors, he spoke of the need for reform of the U.S. financial system and the reduction of U.S. deficits. He noted Americans' concern about jobs and linked them to U.S. consumers' ability to buy Asia's exports.

Mr. Obama started the trip well with his speech, and what he said about the United States' interdependent economic relationship with Asia is true -- even alarming for those Americans who like to think of their country as capable of setting an independent course.

What remains to be seen is what he will now do to put actions behind his words.

Sour pills: Members of Congress are parrots for drug interests

Tom Waseleski — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:24:00 GMT

Health-care reform was always going to be difficult to achieve, but it may yet turn out to be the best that money can buy -- except that it may be special-interest money buying what it wants, not promoting the public interest.

If the public ever lacked for an example of this sad state of affairs, a New York Times story on Sunday provided one. It chronicled how statements submitted by lawmakers to the Congressional Record were remarkably similar -- and not by accident.

More than a dozen members used words written by lobbyists for Genentech, a large biotechnology company that is a subsidiary of Swiss drugmaker Roche. The company propagandists helpfully wrote tailored statements for Democrats and Republicans (the GOP members don't support health-care reform but do like one provision on generic drugs favored by Genentech).

Even when the politicians didn't repeat the words almost verbatim, members at least picked up some of the talking points -- according to Genentech, 42 House members echoed some of their themes (22 Republicans and 20 Democrats, a level of bipartisanship that the bigger debate has lacked).

And surprise, surprise! According to the Times story, Genentech's political action committee and lobbyists have made campaign contributions to many House members, including some of those who filed statements in the Congressional Record. A spokesman for Genentech said, "There was no connection between the contributions and the statements." If he said this with a straight face, he surely risked straining facial muscles, but the rest of us can go ahead and laugh -- or cry.

When ordinary people send form letters to newspapers, including this one, their writings are rejected as unoriginal "astroturf." If authors or journalists borrow material without proper attribution, they are scorned for plagiarism.

Yet when members of Congress do something similar, their corruption is called business as usual. It's shameful just the same.