OP-Ed on Downsizing

Published in the Providence Journal This is no longer on their website.  Here it is:

What to do about Downsizing?

Martin G. Evans, Hugh P. Gunz, R. Michael Jalland

Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

We are entering a period during which layoffs and downsizing are dominating the business pages. Firms that just a year ago were riding high with enormous profits (and concomitant bonuses for their top managers) are now retrenching and laying off personnel by the thousands. Many firms in Massachusetts and elsewhere have announced reductions in their workforce.

During the last round of downsizings in the early 1990's, organizational researchers such as Kim Cameron of the University of Michigan found that there were good and bad ways of managing the downsizing process. Our examination of recent reports of downsizing events suggest that we have forgotten those important lessons.
          
Effective Downsizing

Downsizing is only effective if it is undertaken in the context of repositioning a firm’s strategic direction. For alll  firms that face cost control issues, it is essential that if they choose the downsizing route, they have in place a clear strategic focus about where the firm is to focus its attention after the cuts have been made.

As well as the strategic link, the second most important characteristic of a successful downsizing was the fact that top management shared the pain. That is top management took compensation reductions at the same time that they asked for sacrifice from the employees. This doesn’t seem to be the pattern in the firms that I have read about recently.

Finally effective downsizing was coupled with a high level of communication between top management and both those laid off and those who survived. It is especially important that the survivors be told about the place that layoffs play in helping develop the new strategic thrust of the organization. This gives them confidence that top management knows what it is about and that they see how they personally will be making a contribution to this new direction.


Alternatives to Downsizing

In these days of retrenchment, downsizing is not the only way to deal with the problem of reducing costs. In fact, a survey in the 1990's by the Wyatt Company (Best Practices in Corporate Downsizing, 1994) found that only 20% of the firms met their cost cutting goals. It is therefore useful to suggest some alternatives

First, firms where a high proportion of compensation is achieved through bonuses can reduce costs by omitting bonuses from the paycheck. Second, in all firms, staff at all levels throughout the organization – including those at the top – can take a pay cut and a cut in hours until conditions improve. This is far less disruptive both to the firm and to the individuals involved than wholesale layoffs. If a permanent reduction in force is required it can then be achieved through attrition. This is also an economically effective strategy as it does not involve having to make large severance payments to laid off employees. Of course, when all around you are downsizing this is a good time to pick up talented employees to help the firm grow in its new strategic direction..

One thing to do; One to avoid

One other thing: during downsizing, firms will have to invest in training. With a new strategy, staff in declining segments of the business will have to be retrained to be effective in the businesses that the firm is now emphasizing. As people leave through attrition, existing staff will need to be trained to replace them.

And one thing to avoid: buyouts. That is the worst way of downsizing. The most competent people at each level will take the buyout, leaving the less effective behind. This is the last thing a firm needs when it is experiencing business losses.

As we enter another round of reductions in force, layoffs, or downsizings, let us not forget the lessons from the early 1990's: following these best practices can help the economy, the firms involved, and above all their employees. 

Layoffs versus Pay Cuts

I think there are ways to overcome the sticky-wage theory that encourages firms to lay off employees rather than cutting wages (Finding good news in falling prices, New York Times, December 17th, 2008: B1).

If wages and working hour cuts are focused on only one part of the firm such as shop floor employees in a single factory or clerks in a single office then those employees will feel resentment and reduced motivation. However if the cut in hours and wages are shared across the whole organization from the President at the top to the new employee at the bottom then a different dynamic will be invoked: people will see that they are all in this together; that the pain is shared by management and workers; and they will be motivated to work to find ways of improving the firm's performance. That, at least, is the finding of the research on downsizing in the 1990's.

Sent to the New York Times

A Ballot Buddy System

There is much misinformation in Randall Lane's op-ed (A Ballot Buddy System, New York Times, December 15, 2008: A31).

Under current electoral college practices, the purported advantage for small states has vanished. Once large states adopted a "winner take all" system, the electoral college votes of the small states were swamped by the large states.

Mr. Lane fails to point out that his suggested solution, the buddy system, is not a new suggestion. Texas and New York explored the something very similar a few years ago.

Finally, he fails to point to an alternative that has been adopted in several states that does not require a constitutional amendment: commitment by state legislatures to give their electoral votes to the winner of the National Popular Vote. This has been passed into law by four states and is in the process of enactment in many others. This process exploits the fact that the selection of electors is delegated to the states so that when enough states to garner 270 electoral votes pass the law it will come into effect.

As your newspaper has endorsed this procedure, I am surprised that Mr. Lane did not mention it.

Sent to New York Times

Better than a Bailout

Jeff Jacoby has it wrong (Better than a Bailout, Boston Globe, December 14, 2008: K9).

The tax holiday will go they way of the $600 checks we all received in the spring: paying down debt; under the mattress; or into the bank. It will not result in the kind of stimulus the United States economy now needs. There is much wrong with the bailout; it should have gone to make the mortgages whole rather than the purchase of the derivatives. But Congressman Gohmert's plan which Jacoby extols is not the answer. The answer is massive government spending and -- alas -- massive government borrowing in the short term which will mean major tax increases in a few years to pay down the debt.

Sent to Boston Globe

Op-Ed: Pardon me..... and me and me and me

Here is my Cambridge Chronicle op-ed. A tongue in cheek prediction about the Bush forthcoming pardons.

We are all Keynesians now

President-elect Obama says there is no time to be lost to get the stimulus package underway (We are all Keynsians now, Boston Globe, November 25, 2008: A28).

Yet the current administration drags its feet at getting help where it is urgently needed -- unless the needy are the commercial banks. In every state of the union, revenues are falling and Governors are desperately trying to cut expenses and people in order to balance their budgets. In California there is an $11.2 billion shortfall; Michigan has a $2.00 billion shortfall which could skyrocket if the automobile companies collapse; here in Massachusetts we face a similar shortfall. The story is the same in every state and in every city and town which are constitutionally required to balance their budgets.

Why doesn't the Congress pass this part of the stimulus package immediately -- every congress person and every senator comes from an affected state. Why are they waiting?

Delay just exacerbates the situation as we begin to see layoffs among government and municipal workers. These people then file for unemployment benefits and the fiscal gap for the states and cities widens.

Of course, there are some creative ways of avoiding layoffs like everyone (from Governor and Mayor on down) in state and city taking a temporary wage cut until economic conditions improve. But I have not seen these mentioned in any of the suggested plans. Why not?

Sent to Boston Globe

Plimpton: Letter NYT Book Review (Scroll Down)

Here it is. Scroll Down

Paulson must go!

It is clear that the Treasury is flailing.

Mr. Paulson should go. He has let the country down badly.

In March the coming crisis was forseeable, yet when it hit in

September, Mr Paulson and his colleagues did not have a contingency

plan in place. The Treasury was dominated by Wall Street alumni so

when they did begin crisis planning, groupthink concentrated their

minds on saving Wall Street. Their blindness prevented them from

seeing that saving Wall Street led through saving Main Street.

They really need to keep the mortgages whole possibly through a widely

available shared appreciation plan, then the whole pyramid of phatom

securities would also be made whole.

Finally Secretary Paulson's recent refusal to consider taking steps to

aid homeowners in defiance of Congressional legislation renders him

unfit for office.

He must resign immediately.


Sent to the New York Times

Who is to Blame

In his recent column, Mr. Jacoby tells us that regulatory rigor increased dramatically under the administration of George W. Bush (The blame for bloated economy, Boston Globe, November 19, 2008).

Among the data that he presents in support of this view is the fact that the number of regulators almost doubled to 264,000 from 2000 to 2008. But numbers do not tell the whole story. The question is whether they were effectively deployed.

There are enough clues to suggest that they were not. For some time, senior scientists at the FDA have been complaining that their scientific recommendations were being watered down or overruled by their political superiors. We have similar complaints at the Environmental Protection Agency. At the Justice Department we have seen a politicization of the non-political jobs.

In addition an enormous regulatory regimen has been established to monitor the activities of government officials and contractors in Iraq: a group of regulators with no influence or responsibility for actions in the United States.

Yes, there many be more regulators, but are they engaged in effective regulation? I think not because there is no political will to regulate.



Sent to the Boston Globe

Fighting the Financial Crisis

Secretary Paulson answers the question about what the administration is doing for homeowners by saying that they are increasing the access to low cost mortgages (Fighting the Financial Crisis, One Challenge at a Time, New York Times, November 18, 2008: A23). It is clear from what he wrote that he just does not get it. People already have mortgages, their lenders refuse, or are unable, to renegotiate the mortgages, so that people are facing foreclosure.

What we need is a totally different approach that will enable people to pay their mortgages with government help and thus remain in their homes. This will contribute to stabilizing the housing market and, perhaps more importantly, stabilizing neighborhoods.

Some version of a plan involving a Shared Appreciation Mortgage would be an appropriate response. In such a plan, the homeowner pays what he or she can, the government pays the remainder of the monthly mortgage. Over time both build up equity in the house which they share proportionally when the house is sold.

If Mr. Paulson is unwilling to consider such a plan then he should be replaced by someone more in touch with the problems facing Main Street.

Sent to New York Times

Memo to Congress: Act Now

You report that Barney Frank claims that the economic rests on three legs. He is incorrect, there is a fourth: the towns, cities, and States of America (Memo to Congress: Act Now, Boston Globe, November 18, 2008: A22). Any stimulus package must provide an infusion of funds to these lower levels of government so that they do not lay off employees and contribute to a downward spiral in employment and tax revenues. You imply this in your editorial.

The reluctance of Secretary Paulson to provide direct help to those facing foreclosure is incomprehensible. The best plan is for the government to go into partnership with the embattled home owner and help pay the mortgage. Then both homeowner and government will build up equity in the house which can be realized when the house is ultimately sold with each getting their proportionate share.

If the Secretary is unwilling to take this kind of step -- there are several similar plans around -- then he should be removed from office and replaced by a person more in touch with the urgent needs of Main Street.


Sent to Boston Globe

Two Letters on the Automobile Companies

I strongly agree with your correspondent, Michael Flaherty (Letters, Boston Globe, November 13, 2008). I would go further. As we are in a stage where government intervenes at will into the economy, it should do the right thing and compel each of the three biggest oil companies to merge with one of the big three automobile companies.

Each oil company has a division involved in the development of providing energy through renewable resources. The merger would strengthen the manufacturing arm of these divisions. Over a five year period the automobile companies could move over to building wind turbines, high efficiency batteries, and solar cell arrays, as well as fuel efficient cars.

The beauty is that no taxpayer money would be involved. We would all be winners


Sent to Boston Globe

*************

Your lead editorial and your columnist, Bob Herbert (whom I usually agree with), try to make the case for a taxpayer bailout of the automobile industry (New York Times, November 15, 2008).

Such an intervention in the market would be wrong and ultimately ineffective. The bailout of Chrysler merely postponed the inevitable for 30 years.

Mr. Herbert puts the case most strongly; " The U.S. auto industry is the cornerstone of American manufacturing. It supports millions of jobs, directly or indirectly, in a vast array of businesses.

Start with the thousands of parts in each vehicle. They are produced by suppliers across the country, from one coast to the other. Those supplies have to be manufactured, packaged and transported. Truck drivers, railway systems and shipping companies are involved.

And, of course, there are dealers everywhere. And the auto repair industry. And the insurance industry. And vast systems of advertising supporting every kind of job you can imagine, from messengers to accountants to film makers and beyond. All of that advertising funnels absolutely crucial revenues to television, magazines, newspapers ­ you name it."

The problem is that all these people are engaged in supporting the 21st. century equivalent of buggy and buggy whip makers. Imagine what could be done in the sphere of renewable energy, in the sphere of public education, and in the sphere of infrastructure development if these resources were committed there.

The problem lies in the bridge between here and there. Allowing Detroit to collapse will be enormously disruptive. The solution lies not in propping up Detroit but to provide support for the workers, suppliers, and contractors who will lose their sources of income. First unemployment benefits must be boosted; second the government should take over the health care plans of those who lose their jobs as a first step in a national health care system; third, a Public Works Administration should begin a major investment in repairing, refurbishing and adding to the national infrastructure. Meanwhile new bottom up initiatives from the entrepreneurial people who are no longer bound by their shackles to Detroit, will emerge.

Yes, I have laid out a best case scenario but we are entering the era of the "Audacity of Hope."

Sent to the New York Times

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Reforming the Turnpike: Higher Gas tax

The Governor's Plan to reconfigure the turnpike is ill conceived

(Patrick seeking turnpike shakeup, Boston Globe, November 11, 2008:

A1; Redirecting our Transport System, Boston Globe, November 13, 2008).

As an organization theorist, I find the idea of two different agencies

running different sections of the turnpike as absurd as the current

system of one road being run by the turnpike and the rest by Massachusetts

Highways department (except for the Tobin Bridge which is run by

Massachusetts Port Authority).

We need to simplify not create an equally complex infrastructure. The

problem with two agencies is that financial resources have to be

expended to coordinate their activities where the two roads meet. If

coordination is poor we will have a strip on unploughed and unrepaired

road because both agencies pass the buck saying "It is their job." At

least that's what happens with the ploughing of a section of sidewalk

near my home.

Here is the solution:

1. Give the Mass Pike to the Highways Department.

2. Give the Tobin Bridge to the Highways Department

3. Remove all the tolls.

4. Increase the gasoline tax to about $0.50.

Here is why:

All of us benefit from the turnpike every day of our lives. The food

we eat, the consumer products we buy all reach the cities and towns of

the state via the turnpike. Those of us who live closer to it may

benefit a little more through reduced congestion when other users

travel the turnpike rather than local roads. Those of us who use the

turnpike benefit most of all, but we do not benefit more than those

who use Interstate 95 and pay no tolls at all.

It is therefore clear, that the turnpike tolls are an additional tax

imposed on those who drive on the turnpike; logic -- as opposed to

politics -- tells us that, as we all benefit from the turnpike then we

should all pay for it.

Last year, the gas tax at 23.5 cents per gallon raised about $600

million. Raising the tax to 50 cents per gallon would raise about

$1.26 billion or an additional $626 million. While, if oil prices stay

constant, the price would increase to about to about $3.00 per gallon.

This would cover all the turnpike revenue from tolls (about $250

million as of December 2006) and leave over $370 million to be

allocated to the road and bridge repairs that we desperately need or

to pay down the debt.

Sent to Boston Globe

More on Bailouts

The latest mortgage bailout proposed by the Administration is lighter than the New York Times believes (Foreclosure Prevention Lite, New York Times, November 13, 2008: A28).

Nearly all of the plans so far require an adjustment to the mortgage. None of these plans solve the problem of the phantom derivatives (monetized mortgages, credit swaps, and insurance contracts) built upon the shaky foundation of bad mortgages. An adjusted mortgage will a lower face value than the original or with a lower interest rate, and longer term will not create the income stream that the initial owner of the security expected. The price of the security will decline and the banks and insurance companies will only be a little better off than they are now.

The thing to do is make the mortgages whole. To his credit, this was suggested by Senator McCain during the campaign. This will be expensive and it will, alas, benefit the people who sold these mortgages, the foolish people who took out these loans, and the even more foolish people who bought the securities. But this may be the only way to stabilize the world financial system.

They way for the government to do this is to enter a partnership with the homeowner who is at risk. The homeowners will pay what they can afford on the mortgage, the government will pick up the rest. As the mortgage is paid down, the homeowner and the government will build up equity in the home and when the home is eventually sold, the homeowner and the government will share in the proceeds proportional to their total investment. If the house is sold when the outstanding mortgage is still greater than the sale price, the mortgage will have to be rolled over to the new owner under the same terms.

Sent to the New York Times

This is the only way to get out of the mess and it is unfortunate that the government has spent several months on the unsuccessful Plan A, B, and the most recent Plan C which will meet the fate of its predecessors: too little, too late.

China's Stimulus Plan

Over the last three years, China has increased its foreign currency reserves by about $700 billion dollars of this about $400 billion is in dollar denominated assets. From 2006-2007 the increase in China's US currency assets rose $220 billion.

With its announcement that China is to invest in its infrastructure some $568 billion (China Announces Sweeping Plan to Aid Economy. New York Times, Monday, November 10, 2008:A1, A8), it seems that the US may have great difficulty borrowing from China to fund its current wars, the $700 billion bank bailout and the other necessary bailouts that will likely require an equivalent amount. And then there is the much needed stimulus package of about $300 billion.

Who and where are the lenders that will step into the gap?

Sent to the New York Times

Campaign Notebook: Palin and the Bake Sale

Governor Palin mentioned yesterday in a sarcastic tone that if the Democrats slashed defense spending by 25% we would have to hold bake sales to support our troops (Campaign 2008: We would have to hold bake sales to support our troops in Iraq, Boston Globe, October 31, 2008: A11).

Of course, that is exactly what people had to do to buy body armor for their sons and daughters in Iraq in the early stages of the war: under the Republican administration.


Sent to Boston Globe

Drivers take to the Road Again as Gas Prices Fal

So we are going back to our extravagant ways (Drivers take to the Road Again as Gas Prices Fall, New York Times, October 30, 2008:B1, 14). The fall in gasoline prices opens up a major opportunity for enhancing state government revenues -- and boy, do they need enhancing.

We mostly adjusted reasonably well to gas prices of about $3.80. States should therefore increase their gasoline taxes to about $1.00 to bring gasoline prices back to the $3.80 level. Here in Massachusetts, the gas taxes are $0.23. An extra $0.75 would enable us to abolish tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike; provide much needed funds for the repairs to our tolls and bridges; and provide some relief to the poorest among us who might be harmed financially by the gas tax increase.

By increasing gasoline taxes, we will also encourage the development of fuel efficient cars and trucks. Surely that's a win-win.

Sent to New York Times

"Borrow-and-Spend" Republicans

Senator McCain has been excoriating Senator Obama for being a tax-and-spend liberal. But McCain himself, if elected, will be a "borrow-and-spend" Republican like his predecessor.

I would rather not pass on the costs to my grandson. Better to tax now and not pay the costs, financial and political, of borrowing.

Sent to Boston Globe

White House Explores Aid for Auto Deal

I am disappointed to learn that the Administration is considering giving additional aid to the Automobile industry (White House Explores Aid for Auto Deal, New York Times, October 28, 2008: A1). An industry that, at least in Europe, has the technology to give us very fuel efficient cars but whose members have not seen fit to adopt this technology in the United States. As a result their sales have plummeted in the era of high gasoline prices.

The Administration, in its recent rejection of market forces, has forgotten the one thing that, in spite of its faults, the market does reasonably well: picking winners and losers.The market does this much better than politicians who are manipulated by industry lobbyists. Foot-dragging Detroit has proved to be a loser. The industry is no place for Government money to be invested.

There is a place for government money: to improve unemployment benefits for laid-off workers; to provide widely available retraining opportunities for laid-off workers; and to finance early retirement opportunities for older workers.

To encourage the development of non-fossil fuel energy, the federal gasoline tax should be raised. I can just see in ten years time the re-tooled former plants of the auto companies and their suppliers turning out wind turbines and photo-voltaic cells. This will lead to a true renaissance of Detroit.

Sent to the New York Times

Mortgage rescue plan will save your house but will cost you equity

I am surprised at the negative tone of Michelle Singletary's article on the new HOPE plan to save homeowners (Mortgage rescue plan will save your house but will cost you equity, Boston Globe, Business Section, October 19, 2008: G6).

She is correct that the homeowner will suffer some long term cost in having to share equity appreciation with the government. However the upside benefits to the homeowners and to society are enormous.

The homeowners get to keep their homes. They will have an affordable place to live for the foreseeable future. The will have the opportunity to build up some equity in their homes, a privilege that renters do not have. They will continue to be able to take mortgage interest payments from the income taxes that they owe, another privilege that owners do not have.

The continuation of residence in the same neighborhood will ensure that the neighborhood reduces the possibility of foreclosure blight that is beginning to afflict some streets in our towns and cities. For local and state governments, property taxes will continue to be paid on time. For those homeowners with children, their education will not be disrupted by a move to a new school catchment area.

All in all, I believe that the benefits of HOPE outweigh its disadvantages.

Sent to the Boston Globe

Op-Ed: A Different kind of Bailout. Cambridge Chronicle

Here it is

It is no longer on line

A Different Kind of Bailout

Martin G. Evans

Several weeks after Congress passed a $700 billion bailout bill, the world=s financial system is in chaos. Banks have stopped lending, stock markets are in free fall or fluctuating widely, and the rot is starting to infect the Areal economy@ where firms are unable to get their usual credit to carry out their operations. Layoffs and short time working seem to be inevitable.

The problem with the Administration=s original plan, buying the derivative debt of the banks to build up their balance sheets is that they are dealing with the phantom derivatives (monetized mortgages, credit swaps, and insurance contract) built upon the shaky foundation of bad mortgages. The Administration recognized this and last week moved to Plan B. They made direct investments in nine major banks. It now appears that the banks have used this money to reduce their leverage rather than to start making new loans to their customers. There is still a credit strike by the country=s bankers.

The place to intervene is with the mortgages themselves.

Senator McCain is partly right. The mortgages must be supported at their face value, not at the discounted value that many now have. Anything less and the banks would not be helped. They hold the monetized, sliced and diced mortgages at their face value and that face value has to be restored if the financial system is to be shored up effectively.

The small HOPE or H4H plan included in the bailout bill has it partly right but takes too big a share of any built up equity in the house and gives the lender only the discounted value of the mortgage rather than the full amount.

Senator McCain is wrong in his suggestion that the government buy up these mortgages. Rather like H4H plan, the government should enter into partnerships with the current mortgage holder. The current mortgage holder will pay an affordable amount each month; the government will become a co-owner of the mortgage and of the property and will pay the balance each month. Over time, both the property owner and the government will build up a proportionate share of equity in the property. Homeowners will be able to stay in their properties. This will contribute to stabilizing the housing market. The continuation of residence in the same neighborhood will reduce the possibility of foreclosure blight that is beginning to afflict some streets in our towns and cities.  For those homeowners with children, their education will not be disrupted by a move to a new school catchment area. Finally, it will maintain a flow of property tax money to the local governments who are already in dire straits as more and more foreclosures occur.

The one problem with this plan is what to do if the house is sold before the price reaches a state of profitability. There are two alternatives: the new owner should be able to take over the existing mortgage and the federal government’s partnership in paying the mortgage and ownership of the property; or the new owner can negotiate a new mortgage without the government’s involvement but the government will retain the percentage share of ownership that it has already accumulated and will benefit once the house price is “above water.”

Yes, this plan is more expensive than either Senator McCain=s or the H4H plan. But it will do the job of making the lenders whole and it is more generous to the homeowners when they have built up some equity in their homes. This will help them in their retirement years. Unfortunately, the plan will bail out the predatory lenders and the other scoundrels who have deceived us all, but that may be a small price to pay to save the world=s financial system.

OPEd: A Different kind of Bailout. Cambridge Chronicle

Here it is

The Bailout will not be Successful

The Treasury's latest plan (following the recent British action) of taking equity positions in commercial banks is yet another attempt to avoid dealing with the central problem that precipitated the crisis.

The plan is unlikely to be successful in injecting new equity into the markets and freeing up funds for lending. Like our $600 stimulus checks, the new funds will go to paying off old debts rather than resulting in new lending.

Furthermore with the government taking equity positions in the banks, the equity of current shareholders will be diluted. This will contribute to the stock market's downward spiral.

The solution to the crisis is to make the mortgages whole.

Sent to the New York Times

Op-Ed: Critique of the Treasury Decision Process to Decide the Bailout (Cambridge Chronicle)

Click Here

The fragility of the global nuclear order

I am horrified that Graham Allison, a Harvard Professor/Administrator, and Ernestino Zedilo, an IAEA Commissioner, managed to write a column about the Fragility of the Global Nuclear Order (Boston Globe, September 30, 2008: A11) without once mentioning the forthcoming treaty on nuclear cooperation between the US and India.

This horrendous treaty gives India a pass on the requirements of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. They will receive nuclear assistance from the United States without having to comply. Today, your sister newspaper, the New York Times (A bad India Deal, September 30, 2008: A30) editorialized that passage of the treaty "would make it even harder to rein in Iran's (and other's) nuclear ambitions."

Your authors did your readers a disservice by failing to point out that with this treaty, the United States is contributing to the fragility of the nuclear world order.

Sent to Boston Globe

McCain on Regulation

We need effective regulation in our financial markets (Shocked, shocked by greed. Boston Globe, September 18, 2007: A10).

John McCain is not the candidate of financial regulation. John McCain never came across a regulation that he liked, except one: the regulation restricting a woman's choice to have an abortion.

Sent to Boston Globe

Kerry's Tin Tongue

John Kerry really does have a tin tongue. He characterized thirty one percent of the Democratic voters who voted for his opponent as "mischief makers" (Kerry wins primary decisively, Boston Globe, September 17, 2008: B1, B5).

He is right that we will rally around him in the November election. There is no way we can risk losing a veto-proof majority in the Senate to support the next Democratic president. So Kerry despite his arrogance will return to the Senate.


Sent to Boston Globe

Too Big to Fail

The takeover by Bank of America of Merrill Lynch may be the best short term solution (Lehman files for bankruptcy; Merrill is sold, New York Times, September 15, 2008: A1).

In the long term it is unlikely that the cultures of two so very different organizations can be melded into a coherent whole. Even if they are successful, aren't we just building a company that, when the next financial crisis hits, will be "too large to fail."

Sent to New York Times

Break in tolls on Pike may go

It really is time that the Commonwealth bit the bullet on the turnpike issue (Break in tolls on Pike may go, Boston Globe, August 22: A1, A8. Fiddling about with toll discounts will not bring us a 21st century way of paying for the highway system.

It is very clear that the state roads should be run on an integrated basis. So that having two government departments -- or quasi-government departments -- run the Turnpike and the Highway System makes no sense at all. Once it might have for financial reasons but it does not in these days of difficult financial times. It will of course be difficult to effect a merger between these agencies but the transition might be eased if we took a first step by abolishing tolls on the turnpike.

All of us benefit from the turnpike every day of our lives. The food we eat, the consumer products we buy all reach the cities and towns of the state via the turnpike. Those of us who live closer to it may benefit a little more through reduced congestion when other users travel the turnpike rather than local roads. Those of us who use the turnpike benefit most of all, but we do not benefit more than those who use Interstate 95 and pay no tolls at all.

It is therefore clear, that the turnpike tolls are an additional tax imposed on those who drive on the turnpike; logic -- as opposed to politics -- tells us that, as we all benefit from the turnpike then we should all pay for it.

Last year, the gas tax at 23.5 cents per gallon raised about $600 million. Raising the tax to 50 cents per gallon would raise about $1.26 billion or an additional $626 million. While, if oil prices stay constant, the price would increase to about to about $4.00 per gallon.

The increased revenue would greatly surpass the $18 million to be gained from playing with the discounts by discontinuing them and would even cover all the turnpike revenue from tolls (about $250 million as of December 2006) several times over.

This would leave $330 million to be allocated to the road and bridge repairs that we desperately need or to pay down the debt. The Governor has made some tough decisions in the past few weeks. I hope he will make the changes necessary to repair our broken highway system.

Sent to Boston Globe

The Boston Globe, The American Psychological Association, and Torture

What has happened to the Globe?

Where are your science reporters? In town this week were many thousands of Psychologists from around the world presenting their psychological findings at more than 1000 sessions. As of this morning, the Globe could only muster four stories coming out of the convention. Only one of those was about a scientific psychological finding -- one abortion does not impair a woman's mental health. You didn't even report that Barbara Meltz received an APA award. The other three articles in the Globe were about the upcoming vote on psychologists aiding torture.

I am embarrassed that we psychologists are even having the conversation. Surely the rule "do no harm applies" and it doesn't need a PhD in psychology to tell an interrogation team whether it is disobeying the lax torture rules acceptable to this administration or not. Furthermore a single psychologist is unlikely to have much influence on such a team -- he or she would soon succumb to the groupthink shared by the other team members.

So no psychologist should be involved in these interrogations -- period.

Sent to the Boston Globe

Frank on Romney

It is the height of foolishness for Barney Frank to excoriate Mitt Romney as a running mate for John McCain at this stage of the game (Frank slams Romney as a potential vice president. Boston Globe, August 16, 2008).

From my perspective, he is the ideal candidate -- think what fun we Democrats can have with him in the fall -- his chameleon like changes in posture will prove an admirable source of criticism for the months between now and the election.

Sent to the Boston Globe

Make Diplomacy, Not War

Is Nicholas Kristof correct when he says, "After all, you can't bomb global warming?" (New York Times week in Review, August, 10, 2008: 12)

I recall in the late 1960's we were all worried about something called the Nuclear Winter. After a limited nuclear war, the atmosphere would be polluted with dust stirred up by the nuclear bombs. As we now worry about global warming, I wonder if there is an intermediate stage where some limited particulate matter might be injected into the atmosphere at just the right level to offset warming.

I expect that this is probably infeasible as it would be very difficult to get the balance right.


Sent to New York Times

Seniors as Volunteers

Maggie Jackson notes (Balancing Acts: Age Discrimination, Business Section, Boston Globe, July 27, 2008: G1, G4) that seniors have three motives for seeking work: to make money, to stay active, and "giving back."

Those of us who do not need to continue working for financial reasons can easily find worthwhile occupations as volunteers.

Many places need voluntary labor. You can find information on volunteer opportunities at http://volunteerboston.org/ or http://www.volunteermatch.org/. Many kinds of volunteer placements are available: there are placements that fit the extroverted (tutoring) and others that fit the introverted (stuffing envelopes).

I do recording for the blind a couple of mornings a week. I started to do this because one of my good friends had a period of temporary blindness when his retinas had detached. After six months, laser surgery had put him partially to rights and he could see well enough with one eye. But during his months of blindness, he had to rely on talking books and recorded journals to keep up with our academic field. I thought that a good way to honor him would be to do some of that recording -- a classic case of "giving back."

Of course, in this election year, political campaigns -- from President to town council -- are looking for volunteers to go out into the community and pass on the candidate's message. But there are non-partisan political opportunities too: many good government organizations need volunteers to plan fund-raisers, send out mailings, and generally keep the office running on a shoe-string. My choice was Common Cause where I volunteer a couple of times a week.

So, if you don't need paid employment, do not despair: there is no age discrimination in the volunteer sector.


Sent to Boston Globe

John Cleese and Management Education (New York Times Book Review)

Click the link for my letter in the New York Times Book Review August 10, 2008.

The Sad Case of the Uighurs

In your listing of the current injustices approved by our Justice Department, you mention the sad case of the Uighurs (Mr Mukasey's Justice, New York Times Week in Review, July 27, 2008: 9).

Why cannot the United States allow into the US the tiny number of innocent Chinese Uighurs still held in Guantanamo after being cleared of any wrongdoing? We also deported a few of these unhappy people to rot in a refugee camp in Albania, why can't these be allowed entry as well.

As Franklin Roosevelt noted, our progress is marked by how we treat the unfortunates among us. In this case, we are making sure that the unfortunates do not have a chance of living among us. That is not a sign of progress.

This should change, these blameless people should be admitted to the United States immediately.

Martin G. Evans

A culture of Debt

David Brooks (New York Times, July 22, 2008: A19) omits one of the major actors in the consumer debt crisis: the Federal Government.

It is a given in the Republican philosophy that markets are self regulating. It is no accident that the last two major financial crises occurred during the deregulatory regimes of Reagan (the Savings and Loan collapse) and Bush (the Mortgage crisis).

I hope that we learn from these errors and ensure that a robust regulatory regime is introduced so that we no longer have to bail out these failing organizations.

By the way, I hear no chorus of offers of restitution from the executives who benefited during the good years. They should be called upon to pay back some of their excessive bonuses to help rehabilitate the firms which were brought low by their rash lending decisions.

Sent to the New York Times

Foreclosure

You state that "Patrick needs the flexibility to spread the cuts

across the board" (Sharpen the shears, just in case, Boston Globe,

July 16, 2008). Across the board cuts are a disaster. The Governor

should know this from his service on several Corporate Boards. Across

the board cuts will punish those agencies that are running

effectively, it will punish those town and cities that are running a

lean operation. Across the board cuts should not be a weapon in the

Governor's arsenal.

I also believe that cutting state transfers at this time would be a

major mistake. They are the innocent victims of the fallout from the

foreclosures. The towns, cities, school boards that rely heavily on

income from property taxes are likely to suffer.

If, as is predicted, 7% of home owners are likely to see foreclosures

on their homes, these innocent bystanders are likely to see a drop of

7% in their revenue from property taxes. The state should not impose

additional cuts on these jurisdictions.

Of course, the best solution would be for the Federal government to

provide them with a bailout, just as banks and individuals are being

helped. The Federal Government should immediately announce a program

to make good their losses by providing an infusion of 7% of property

tax revenue to these jurisdictions. This will prevent a massive

reduction in local and state government programs at a time when the

social safety net will be most needed.

Sent to Boston Globe

Mortgage help needed for cities and towns too.

Over the last few months, the Federal Government has come to the aid

of failing banks; proposals have been made to help homeowners

refinance their mortgages (Plan to rescue mortgage giants faces

resistance, New York Times, July 16, 2008: A1); one group, which did

not get involved in making stupid over-extending decisions, has been

left in the cold.

The towns, cities, school boards, and states that rely heavily on

income from property taxes are likely to suffer. They too should get

federal aid.

If, as is predicted, 7% of home owners are likely to see foreclosures

on their homes, these innocent bystanders (towns, cities, and states)

are likely to see a drop of 7% in their revenue from property taxes.

The Federal government should immediately announce a program to make

good their losses by providing an infusion of 7% of property tax

revenue to these jurisdictions.

This will prevent a massive reduction in local and state government

programs at a time when the social safety net will be most needed.

Sent to New York Times

Red Line on Longfellow Bridge

I share Mr JOHN LaRUFFA's unease at crossing the Longfellow Bridge on

the Red Line (letters, Boston Globe, July14, 2008). I would be a lot

more comfortable if there were only one train on the bridge at a time

but frequently trains pass each other on the bridge doubling the weight.

A slight adjustment to the schedule, even if it meant short delays,

would be warranted to prevent overburdening the bridge.

By the way, where was Governor Romney while the bridge quietly decayed

on his watch?

Sent to Boston Globe

Warning: Habits May Be Good For You

According to a report issued by the Centers for Disease control in 2002 (Guideline for Hand Hygiene in HealthCare Settings, October 25, 2002 / 51(RR16);144), only about 40% of health care workers wash their hands between treating patients. As a result, infections have a good chance of being transmitted between patients. Perhaps the procedures developed by Dr. Val Curtis to encourage hand-washing in Africa (Warning: Habits may be Good for You, New York Times Business Section, July 13, 2008: page 3) could be adopted by hospitals in the United States.

This, if successful, would result in a drop in the number and severity of hospital infections and reduce the costs of hospitalization.

Sent to New York Times

Obama and FISA: Another Flip-Flop

I cannot agree with your correspondent, James Tocco (Letters, July 11, 2008), that Senator Obama's yea vote on the FISA amendment act and Senator Clinton's war vote in November 2002 are similar in their motivation: to avoid being thought soft on terrorism.

Mr. Obama may well have voted for that reason; but the case of Mrs. Clinton is quite different. The war vote in November 2002 was a magnificent piece of realpolitik. The passage of the war vote led to Saddam Hussein allowing the Weapons Inspectors back into Iraq. Our tragic error was not taking the null findings of those inspectors seriously and pulling the President back from his misguided war in February 2003. She also has a second excuse for her vote (explained by your columnist Frank Rich on November 27th. 2005): the President knew that the intelligence on WMD and on the Al-Qaeda links was very weak; he did not pass that information along to the Senators.

Unlike your other correspondent, Bryan Erickson, I still support Mr. Obama; the alternative, four more years of a Republican administration is too awful to contemplate.

New Jersey's Painful Lesson

Where on eath is the state of New Jersey doing its borrowing (New Jersey's Painful Lesson, New York Times, July 8, 2008: A22)?

If paying down $650 million in debt will only reduce interest payments by $130 million per year, then New Jersey must be borrowing from loan sharks, or Credit Card Companies at 20% per year. Can't they restructure the debt to a more reasonable figure?


Sent to New York Times

Judge Michael O'Neill

Surely Mr. O'Neill's own words confirm his unsuitability for a position in the Federal judiciary.

He claims that his poor work methods led him to confuse his own work with that of others. Such poor work methods are unacceptable in a Federal judge. The essence of the judicial temperament is the ability to keep clear what the law says, what the plaintiff's lawyer claims the law to be, and what the defendant's lawyer claims the law to be. Mr. O'Neill has amply demonstrated his inability to keep such distinctions straight.

Mr. Bush should withdraw his nomination immediately.

Sent to New York Times

Just Following Orders

Americans have never accepted the Nuremberg defense of "I was just following orders" -- until now.

If the new FISA bill passes the Senate next week, it will allow the telecommunication companies to plead, just as the Nazis did, that they were just following orders from the government. This will be sufficient for them to avoid accountability for their illegal actions.

It is shameful that an American law contains this defense. It is imperative that the clauses embodying the Nuremberg defense be removed from the bill before it passes.

Sent to the New York Times

Some one Else's Alex

Mr Kristol deliberately misinterprets the MoveOn.org advertisement (Someone Else's Alex. New York Times, June 23, 2008: A25)

The mother is saying that Mr. McCain can't have her son Alex for this war, the Iraq war. She is not talking about the general defense of the United States.

It does not seem to me selfish to refuse to participate in an unjust war. This war was foisted on the American people by a President who selfishly lied about the causi belli so he could attain an important place in history. This war has been a pig trough for many contractors who selfishly placed their employees on the payroll of overseas subsidiaries so that they would not have to pay US taxes.

This was has been, until recently, a disaster in its execution because the generals of the high command refused to speak truth to the President about the troop levels needed so they could selfishly retain their positions; none wanted to follow the example of General Shinseki, a true patriot who paid the price of a curtailed career for telling us the truth.

Finally, all of us have selfishly carried on with business as usual, refusing to pay higher taxes to cover the costs of the war. Alex, our children and our grandchildren will have to pay the price.

Sent to New York Times

Constitutional Crisis

It seems to me that we are coming up to a severe constitutional crisis.

We have a president who lied to get us into the Iraq war. A president who lied by blaming torture at Abu Ghraib on some "bad apples" in the lower ranks of the military. Most seriously of all, we have a President who, if Sabin Willet is to be believed (Doing Battle with Due Process, Boston Globe, June 23, 2008: A15) is lying about former prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. The President claims that after their release, by the administration, they have "returned to the fight." According to Willet, the most that two of these former detainees have done is write or speak about their treatment in the prison at Guantanamo. Is this President really telling us that the Pen is mightier than the Sword.

How do we deal with a President who is a habitual liar? The Democrats in this election year have no stomach for impeachment, but to allow this presidency of deceit to continue is unacceptable. The President must do something else unconstitutional: he must set up a bipartisan council of Presidential advisors who will be responsible for vetting the veracity of all his utterances -- preferably before he makes them.

In this way, we can be assured that any policy initiatives undertaken by the current administration will be based upon verified facts rather than on the lies that have, up till now, been the hallmark of this administration.

Sent to Boston Globe

Obama's Financing Flip-Flop

Most commentators seem to agree that, by rejecting Public Financing, Barack Obama will continue to drive an enormous fund-raising machine.

I would not be so sure. Many of us were attracted to Obama because he supported public financing of elections. If we decide to close our checkbooks, as I am sorely tempted to do after his defection, he may find it more difficult to raise money for his campaign.

It is a great pity that he did not stick to his original commitment to accept public funding for his general election campaign.

Sent to Boston Globe

Obama's Financing Flip-Flop

Most commentators seem to agree that, by rejecting Public Financing, Barack Obama will continue to drive an enormous fund-raising machine.

I would not be so sure. Many of us were attracted to Obama because he supported public financing of elections. If we decide to close our checkbooks, as I am sorely tempted to do after his defection, he may find it more difficult to raise money for his campaign.

It is a great pity that he did not stick to his original commitment to accept public funding for his general election campaign.

Sent to Boston Globe

Obama's Flip-Flop

How do we deal with a leader who has let us down badly -- especially when he is the only reasonable choice?

Barack Obama promised to take Public Funding for the general election. He has now reneged on that promise because he says "The system is broken." It may well be but you don't help fix it by promising to do one thing (abide by the system) and then do something quite different.

As a supporter of public financing for elections, I will still vote for him. I am ambivalent about giving him any more money. I want to punish him for reneging on his promise, but if too many of us take that route then he may not be competitive with Senator McCain. What a horrible dilemma.

Browning's words about William Wordsworth resonate with me today:

"Just for a handful of silver he left us,
Just for a riband to stick in his coat--
Found the one gift of which fortune bereft us,
Lost all the others she lets us devote;
. . .
One wrong more to man, one more insult to God!"

Sent to New York Times

Luggage Charges

Of course the airlines have got it all wrong (Accessorize Like an Ascetic, Week In Review, June 15, 2008: A2). They should be charging people who want to bring large bags into the cabin, not charging for checking them in the hold. That would make planing and deplaning much easier. But of course that might upset their business travellers who can't be bothered to wait at a slowly primed luggage carousel.

Sent to New York Times

Challenger unfairly attacking Kerry’s pro-Iraq war vote (Cambridge Chronicle)

Here is my Guest Column in the Cambridge Chronicle, July 2, 2008 entitled Challenger unfairly attacking Kerry’s pro-Iraq war vote.

Social Security (Providence Journal)

Here is my Providence Journal Op-Ed Published: June 24, 2008.

With few exceptions, the Democrats have been unwilling to offer a program for Social Security reform. The problem facing the Social Security System is that it is under-funded. The Democrats’ argument has always been that the governing party must take the initiative and we will improve on or reject their proposals. This has to change, we are in the run-up to the November elections and the Democratic Party, if it is to do more than capitalize on the peoples' disapproval of the Republicans, will have to develop sound policies of its own. What are its policies on Social Security? Does anyone know? There is nothing recent on the Democratic Party web-site about their position on Social Security. Candidate Barack Obama has an unspecific plan to “raise the cap” on Social Security earnings but that is based on the 2007 cap! Candidate Hillary Clinton offers each American a new form of 401(k) which will be partially funded by the Federal Government.

These suggestions are not good enough. That of Obama is not specific enough; that of Clinton follows President Bush in ignoring the “Security Component” of the current Social Security program: that the payout is not dependent on an individuals investment skill, nor is it dependent on the individual living long enough to build up a nest egg and not living too long that the nest egg be depleted..

We can do better: here is my very specific suggestion designed to build on the present program.

We can solve the under-funding problem with some modest changes to the current tax regime: remove the cap on individual income (not the employer portion as that might prove to be a job killer) which now stands at $100,000. Doubling the cap would solve the problem for the foreseeable future; removing the cap altogether would add additional funding to the program and would remove the regressive nature of the current Social Security tax.

This additional funding could be used in one of two ways: reduction of the tax rate or an increase of benefits for poorer persons. The payout from Social Security is, unlike the contribution, quite progressive. Right now the Social Security formula for computing one's pension depends on Average Lifetime Earnings. Now Social Security pays you 90% of the first $627.00 of monthly income, 32% of income between $628.00 and $3,779.00, and 15% of income above $3,779.00 to the cap of $7500.00 ($90,000.00 per year). It would make sense to increase the lowest bracket to about $800 which is the poverty level for a single person in the US today. It would also make sense to reduce the percentages at higher average incomes. If the cap were doubled, then two new brackets should be added so people earning between $7501.00 and $10,999.99 a month would be paid 10% of that tranche while those between $11,000.00 and the cap at $15,000.00 would be recompensed at 5% of that salary. If the cap we re to be totally removed then those earning over $15,000.01 per month would be paid at the rate of 1% of that income; or perhaps an even lower rate.

These suggestions show that there is a relatively simple way out of the problem facing us. It is essential that these actions be taken now before the problem turns into a crisis. As for private accounts, we have them now, the 401(k). These are useful supplements to Social Security, they should not be its core.

Obama's Flip Flop

Most commentators seem to agree that, by rejecting Public Financing, Barack Obama will continue to drive an enormous fund-raising machine.

I would not be so sure. Many of us were attracted to Obama because he supported public financing of elections. If we decide to close our checkbooks, as I am sorely tempted to do after his defection, he may find it more difficult to raise money for his campaign.

It is a great pity that he did not stick to his original commitment to accept public funding for his general election campaign.
Sent to Boston Globe

Baggage Charges

Of course the airlines have got it all wrong (Accessorize Like an Ascetic, Week In Review, June 15, 2008: A2). They should be charging people who want to bring large bags into the cabin, not charging for checking them in the hold. That would make planing and deplaning much easier. But of course that might upset their business travellers who can't be bothered to wait at a slowly primed luggage carousel.

Sent to New York Times

Betrayal

How do we deal with a leader who has let us down badly -- especially when he is the only reasonable choice.

Barack Obama promised to take Public Funding for the general election. He has now reneged on that promise because he says "The system is broken." It may well be but you don't help fix it by promising to do one thing (abide by the system) and then do something quite different.

As a supporter of public financing for elections, I will still vote for him. I am ambivalent about giving him any more money. I want to punish him for reneging on his promise, but if too many of us take that route then he may not be competitive with Senator McCain. What a horrible dilemma.

Browning's words about William Wordsworth resonate with me today:

"Just for a handful of silver he left us,
Just for a riband to stick in his coat--
Found the one gift of which fortune bereft us,
Lost all the others she lets us devote;

.........

One wrong more to man, one more insult to God!"

 

How to see this mission accomplished

In their otherwise thoughtful analyses none of your writers discussed how America was going to pay for the war. To pass the cost on to our children would be terribly unfair.

We need an income tax surcharge and a forced war loan program.

This would enable all of us to partially share the terrible sacrifices
being made by our troops.

Sent to New York Times

City Offers Bank $4M Tax Break

Giving tax breaks to big business to encourage them to locate in a given area (City offers bank $4m tax break to relocate: From downtown, a move to waterfront, Boston Globe, April 30 :A1) is a beggar-thy-neighbor proposition.

Right now a bill going through the legislature is proposing an inter-state compact to bypass the electoral college to ensure that the President is elected by all the people. We urgently need an inter-state, inter-city, inter-town compact that will disallow these ridiculous handouts to the wealthy top managers of corporations. Where do you think that $4m rebate will go: right into the pockets of the CEO and top management through their profit related bonuses.

It is time to say no to the corporate welfare bums (Quote from former Canadian NDP leader, David Lewis).
Sent to Boston Globe

George Schultz on the run-up to the Iraq War

I have long been an admirer of George Shultz. He was also a very successful dean at the University of Chicago School of Business.

However there are several criticisms to be made about his comments of the run-up to the Iraq war.

While it is true that most Intelligence agencies were fooled, in part, about what Iraq was doing. They were not completely taken in.

The Germans told the Americans long before the war -- and Colin Powell's unfortunate UN speech -- that the information about Iraq's WMD capabilities was very shaky. The US administration knew this, yet still tried to make the case.

Second, after the vote to support war in November 2002, the Iraqis allowed UN inspectors into Iraq with extensive opportunities to search anywhere in the country. The US refused to give the inspectors specific information about where to look claiming that it would, endanger sources but, as we now know, because they did not have any. By mid-February, the inspectors reported that they could find no WMD's in Iraq. Yet Bush took us to war in March 2003.

I fear that it is Mr Shultz who has hijacked the truth. It is unfortunate that oft repeated falsehoods attain the patina of truth.

Sent to NPR: On Point

State Secrets

Although Mr Keefe (State Secrets, New Yorker, April 28, 2008: 28 - 34) carefully explains the flawed origins of the state-secret doctrine, he does not tell us that after the information relevant to the 1953 Reynolds case became public, the Third Circuit Court of Appeal refused to reconsider the original state secret case. It is important that this case be carefully re-examined to ensure that the privilege rests on sound grounds.

Also he does not tell your readers of the appalling uses to which the doctrine has been put by the current administration. In addition to the el-Masri case* which he cites, the state secret defense was invoked in the case of Mr. Arar, a Canadian, who was also the victim of mistaken identity. He was arrested in New York while in transit between Egypt and Toronto, and suffered rendition to Syria where he was tortured. In Canada the case was subject to a full scale judicial inquiry which reported in September 2006 that Mr Arar had no connection to al-Qaeda and that Canadian and American officials were negligent in their duties. The American Government refused to cooperate in the inquiry -- what good neighbors we are.

The Congress must refine the legislation. Legislation that sets up a court where claimants could test the validity of the state secret defense would be useful -- as it is, judges just have to accept the Government's word. And we know what that is worth these days -- as perhaps it was in 1953 when the doctrine was first promulgated.

* He was seized by the CIA in Macedonia, held by the CIA for five months in a prison cell in Afghanistan to which he had been rendered, and when it was discovered that the CIA had the wrong man he was returned to Macedonia and dumped on the side of an abandoned road. Note that: dumped on the side of a road, not taken to a decent hotel, not fed and given clothes, and not given help in re-establishing his life. Who decided on this treatment. Was it just some insensitive lower level bureaucrat or did the decision emanate from the highest levels of the CIA?

Sent to New Yorker

Cape Employers

We never learn. This year hotel owners and restaurateurs on the Cape are facing the same problem as they did in previous years.

Mandy Knutson (letters, April 19: A8) suggested matching up Cape employers with unemployed Boston teenagers. I had a similar letter in the Globe in June of 2005; almost three years ago.

I also suggested: "that we start planning now for next year's summer. Let our high schools offer evening programs in waiting, bussing, and room cleaning - perhaps Boston's hotels and restaurateurs can offer experts to staff the courses and sites for students to practice. Then next year we will have a trained labor force ready to fill those dormitories on the Cape with willing and capable workers."

One criterion of an ineffective organization or society is that the same problems recur. Let's not have that happen again. This year let us do the necessary training so that next year we can balance supply and demand on the Cape.

Sent to Boston Globe

McCain's Compassion Tour

Gail Collins is right to criticize John McCain for his opposition to the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (McCain's compassion tour, New York Times, April 26, 2008: A27).

In addition to the issue of fairness, there are two other compelling reasons for supporting the act. The first is economic, the second is legal.

On the economic front it is sad that as a former business executive, the President fails to recognize that fair and equitable pay is the way in which the commitment of employees to the organization is maintained. It is that commitment which ensures that people present innovative ideas to management in order to improve a firm's products and processes. It is these innovations in products and processes that drive our economy in the 21st century. The Republican and US Chamber of Commerce opposition to this Act is short-sighted and counterproductive to economic growth.

On the legal front, it is unfortunate that the Republicans and the Chamber do not recognize that failure to pass this act will result in what they fear most: a flurry of frivolous lawsuits. Absent this new legislation, it is very likely that a flood of litigation will occur. If a woman suspects discrimination, she had better file suit within 180 days of receiving her first paycheck. Many people will probably do just that.

In general, pay discrimination can only flourish in an organizational culture which fosters secrecy about compensation. Pay secrecy is an undesirable state of affairs in an organization, reducing employee motivation, yet it persists. It is therefore only right that an individual be allowed to sue for discrimination when he/she uncovers the fact that it has occurred.

The author has been a student of motivation in organizations for the past 40 years.


Sent to the New York Times

The Wealth Trajectory

Gregory Mankiw writes "Government policy makers do not have the tools to exert such a strong influence over pretax earnings, even if they wanted to" (The Wealth Trajectory, Rewards for the Few, New York Times, SundayBusiness, April 20, 2008: 9).

He is wrong.

The capture of the National Labor Relations Board by right wing ideologues has nearly destroyed the labor movement in this country. As a result, ordinary workers have been unable to claim any share of the increased productivity of the past decade.

It is political choice that has resulted in the increasing gap between rich and poor in this country

Sent to the New York Times

The Vatican View of Cardinal Law

On Friday's Morning Edition, one of your guests commented that the Vatican saw Cardinal Law as a "victim."

This is clear evidence that the Vatican still does not get it.

Cardinal Law was the man who called down the wrath of God on the Boston Globe for exposing the pederasty of Father Porter.

If the Cardinal believes in God, then his action was outrageous in his attempt to punish the messenger.

He really has no continuing place at the Vatican table.

Defrock him?
Sent to Morning Edition

The Vatican View of Cardinal Law

On Friday's Morning Edition, one of your guests commented that the Vatican saw Cardinal Law as a "victim."

This is clear evidence that the Vatican still does not get it.

Cardinal Law was the man who called down the wrath of God on the Boston Globe for exposing the pederasty of Father Porter.

If the Cardinal believes in God, then his action was outrageous in his attempt to punish the messenger.

He really has no continuing place at the Vatican table.

Defrock him?
Sent to Morning Edition

Bush OK'd Torture

So Bush OK'd torture (Bush OK'd torture meetings, Washington Post, April 14, 2008). He should be impeached.

Torture is vile.

Authorizing torture is even viler.

Vilest of all is failing to pardon the poor foot-soldiers who were found guilty of abuse at Abu Ghraib, abuse that was condoned or even encouraged, at the highest levels of the administration.

sent to Washington Post

The future of President Bush

I do hope that after January 2009, Mr Bush's career trajectory follows that of his protegé, Mr Gonzales, rather than that of his predecessor, Mr. Clinton.

Sent to New York Times

Borrowing for Infrastructure

Alas it is not the era of FDR but Mr. McNiff (Letters, Boston Globe, April 11, 2008: A12) is guilty of straining at a gnat while swallowing a camel (Matthew, 23:24).

At least our children will benefit from the restored bridges bought by the Massachusetts borrowing. It is not at all clear to me what benefits our children will receive from the trillion dollar borrowings from China by the Federal Government to finance the Iraq war. There was once the hope that we might bring stability to the Middle East, but those hopes have been shattered by the ineptitude of the Administration's prosecution of the war.

Our generation must start paying for the war though an income tax surcharge and a domestic borrowing program.
Sent to Boston Globe

No Answers, No Goals, No Exit

Your headline, "No answers, no goals, no exit." summed up the tragedy of the past six years. Without tough measurable goals it will be impossible to make progress in Iraq.

Both common sense and thirty years of tough minded social science research tells us that people do better when they are striving to attain clear goals and they do even better when they try to attain difficult, but reachable clear goals.

Without goals, we will continue to wander in the deserts of Iraq with no idea about what we are supposed to be doing and without knowing whether or not we have attained success.

Unless we can articulate clearly what a desired end state is, we should withdraw from Iraq now and not continue this escalating commitment to what appears to be a losing course of action.

Sent to Boston Globe

Infelicities in Tobacco Op-Ed

I strongly support the position of Representative Kaprielian and the Rev. Hamilton on increasing the tobacco tax but some of the language they used in their opinion piece puzzled me (Benefits of a Higher Cigarette Tax, Boston Globe, April 10, 2008).

They say; "Its wrath results in great personal, physical, societal, and fiscal cost." It is not at all clear what the initial "Its" refers to. The nearest noun of any substance is plural:"tobacco-related illnesses ." The nearest singular noun "Cigarette smoking " is two sentences away. And why "wrath?" Is that the correct noun in this context? Maybe, invoking the grim reaper they meant, swath; or perhaps they thought cigarette smoking should bring down the wrath of God on the hapless smoker.

Surely staffers on Beacon Hill or Editors at the Globe should have smoothed this awkward, barely comprehensible sentence.
Sent to Boston Globe

The Hillary Walz

I must protest the Obama-centered vitriol that flows from Ms. Dowd's pen in a continuing attack on Hillary Clinton (The Hillary Waltz, New York Times, April 2, 2008).

Senator Clinton is much more than just a sparring partner for Obama helping to toughen him up for the big bout. The senator is a credible candidate for the Democratic nomination. She will make a bloody good President.

Although I am a Barack Obama supporter, if Senator Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, I will be proud to support her and work for her. I certainly will not defect to Ralph Nader. If disgruntled Democrats do that, we will be handing the nomination to the very conservative John McCain.

Sent to New York Times

Guantanamo Detainees

Representative Bill Delahunt is absolutely right; we should admit the innocents of Guantanamo into the United States (At Hub hearing, lawyers press case of Guantanamo detainees, Boston Globe, March 27, 2008: A13). At the very least, they should live in the same conditions as civilians on the base rather than being confined to isolated cells.

We should have been doing this for a long time. Does anyone remember the case of the five Chinese Uighurs. They were captured in Afghanistan in 2001. They had all been cleared of terrorist connections by a military tribunal but were kept, as innocent people, at Guantanamo because they could not be returned to their native China which they were fleeing. Instead they were sent to Albania where they live in misery in a refugee camp.

Why could the United States not have generously have resettled these people here in the United States? Instead they kept them at Guantanamo until February 2006 when the courts were about to hear their appeal to be released; they were then shipped to Albania where they are living in a Refugee Center in that impoverished country. One would think that after disrupting their lives, the United States would be eager to make amends by resettling these people in safety in the United States.

Why not? What has happened to American values?


Sent to Boston Globe

Analyst takes no prisoners on budget cuts

Governor Schwartzenegger is wrong, very wrong to propose a 10% budget cut (Analyst takes no prisoners on budget cuts, LA Times, February 21, 2008). The proposed across the board cut has done its work: it has got everyone's attention. To actually implement it would be a grave mistake. Although it does, on the face of it, seem fair; it is not.

First, it is cowardly. No tough decisions have to be made.

Second, an across the board cut penalizes those units whose managers are running a tight ship. Unlike other units, they have little slack, so cuts will harm their core programs: cutting muscle instead of fat.

Third, as Elizabeth Hill has pointed out, it does not focus the legislature's attention on priorities. Successful downsizing demands prioritization.

Of course, if the Federal Government were to make good the likely decline in property tax revenue due to the foreclosure crisis, the Governor's job would be a lot easier.

Sent to Los Angeles Times

Mortgage Foreclosure

The Federal government has just bailed out one large bank, proposals are being reviewed to bailout individual home owners who are over-extended, but their is no discussion about bailing out junior jurisdictions which rely heavily on property taxes for the bulk of the revenues.

The state of New Hampshire relies heavily on the property tax. If 7% of home owners are to suffer foreclosure, New Hampshire's revenue will fall by a similar amount.

The congressional delegation should be lobbying hard to have a federal bailout for the towns, cities, and states who are innocent victims of the mortgage mess.

Sent to Manchester Union-Leader

Bailouts

Over the last month, the Federal Reserve has come to the aid of failing banks (Fed Leaders ponder an expanded mission, Washington Post, March 28, 2008: A1), proposals have been made to help homeowners refinance their mortgages, but one group, who did not make stupid over extending decisions, have been left in the cold.

The towns, cities, school boards and some states that rely heavily on income from property taxes are likely to suffer. They too should get federal aid.

If, as is predicted, 7% of home owners are likely to see foreclosures on their homes, these innocent bystanders are likely to see a drop of 7% in their revenue from property taxes. The Federal government should immediately announce a program to make good their losses by providing an infusion of 7% of property tax revenue to these jurisdictions.

This will prevent a massive reduction in local and state government programs at a time when the social safety net will be most needed.

Sent to Washington Post

Clinton Facing Narrower Path to Nomination

A good test of a person's character is to observe how a person behaves when self-interest conflicts with principle.

Hillary Clinton has failed that test. Back in 2006 all agreed that Michigan and Florida should hold their primaries after New Hampshire. Back in January, the Democratic power brokers all agreed that the votes in Florida and Michigan should not count. That is a very strong statement of principle.

Today, Hillary Clinton and campaign stalwart, Harold Ickes, are saying that those votes should count (Clinton is facing a narrower path to the nomination, New York Times, March 19, 2008: A1, A16). They should count despite the fact that Ms. Clinton's name was the only one on the Michigan ballot; they should count despite the fact that none of the candidates campaigned in Florida or Michigan. That is self-interest.

If she wins the nomination, I will support her, but with diminished respect.

Sent to New York Times

Democrats, Florida, and Michigan (NY Times Website)

New York Times, March 22, 2008.

Letter on
New York Times website; no print version.



It is the second letter on page 2.

Weakened oversight

You are being too kind to the Bush administration. Your failed to juxtapose two important stories on the same page:

President weakens espionage oversight (Boston Globe, March 14, 2008: A1, A8)
FBI improperly justified privacy abuses, inspector finds (Boston Globe, March 14, 2008:A4.

The details of the second story indicate how important it is to have effective oversight mechanisms in place.

By weakening espionage oversight, President Bush has weakened the country.

Sent to the Boston Gobe

Groupthink

The White House claim that it encouraged dissenting voices in its war councils shows once again the disconnect between words and actions (Boston Globe, March 13, 2008: A13).

Is it so long ago that we have forgotten the sidelining of General Eric Shinseki because he (correctly) predicted that the pacification of Iraq would take several hundred thousand troops on the ground? That action by the Bush administration even cowed a tough character like Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni who later regretted that he had not stood alongside General Shinseki in demanding more troops for Iraq.

For me actions speak louder than words. The Bush White House practices Groupthink. The country is the worse off for it.
Sent to Boston Globe

Admiral Fallon leaves

It seems as though a thin line separating us from war with Iran has been removed by the retirement of Admiral Fallon (Top Mid-East Commander Retires, New York Times, Wednesday, March 12, 2008: A1, A10). It is to be hoped that his successor in the position will continue his practice of speaking truth to power.

First General Shinseki, now Admiral Fallon, two respected military experts have been devalued and ignored by the civilians manager in the Pentagon and the White House. It is particularly distressing hat the second ouster took place under Secretary Gates whom I always thought had a firmer grasp of reality than his predecessors and whom I expected to be able to stand up to pressure from the White House.

How can we stop this Administration leading into what would be an impossible war with Iran? I worry because there seem to be enough enablers in the House and Senate to allow the President to do anything, even another disastrous war.


Sent to New York Times

Geek Love

So girls don't play Dungeons and Dragons (Week In Review, New York Times, Sunday, March 9th 2008: 14).

No one told my two daughters.

I remember vividly my younger daughter complaining bitterly that her elder sister had said: "No you can't be Dungeon master until you learn to read!"


Sent to New York Times

Contractors off-shore

I supposed I shouldn't be surprised at anything that our contractors in Iraq do. But I was flabbergasted to read that these upstanding corporate citizens, Kellogg, Brown & Root, were abetted and encouraged in their tax evasion practices by the Department of Defense -- 'officials said the move allowed KBR to perform the work more cheaply, saving Defense dollars (Top Iraq contractor skirts US taxes offshore, Boston Globe, March 6, 2008: A1).

What next?
Sent to Boston Globe

Heparin Recall

I am disturbed at the spectacle of senior managers of the companies at every stage in the tainted Heparin supply chain blaming the company further toward the source as being responsible (A Blood Thinner May Be Linked To More Deaths, New York Times, February 29th., 2008: A1, A10).

One company and one company alone, is responsible for these tainted products entering the medical supply market: Baxter. Clearly Baxter failed to adequately inspect its incoming supplies. Clearly Baxter failed to inspect the products that it put up for sale -- and this after the Tainted Toy scandal.

The lesson is clear if companies are going to save money by carrying out their production activities off shore, they are going to have to spend money in the United States to ensure that the products meet the high standards of purity and safety that Americans expect.

In a regime of weakening regulation, companies must increase their own inspection activities. And if inspectors fail to do the job properly then the companies must pay the cost in legally imposed severe financial penalties. Companies that are crying out to put a cap on tort claims and for further deregulation cannot have it both ways. Absent strong regulation, they must suffer the costs of their failures in court.

Sent to New York Times

Retroactive Immunity

The President's intransigence on the issue of immunity for the phone companies is endangering the security of our country (Bush Says Us Not Headed into A Recession, Washington Post).

In my view all retroactive legislation is odious so that providing immunity from prosecution or legal jeopardy to the phone companies is wrong. It is especially damaging to those phone companies that refused to comply with the requests of the administration.

Those that did comply have legal protection in that the administration asked for their cooperation under the procedures outlined in the FISA act. If these procedures were not followed, it is not the companies that are at fault but the administration, and by extension, the people of the United States. In such a case, it would be reasonable for the US Treasury to make good any financial damages that they had to pay and for the President to pardon them, or their officials, for any criminal violations they committed.

The court procedures resulting from the absence of immunity would bring some needed transparency to the actions of the administration and would not set the awful precedent of requiring retroactive legislation.

Sent to Washington Post

Senator Clinton's war vote

I agree with every word that Mr. Fountain wrote.

I would just add this.

It is hard to remember at this late date the sequence of events from 2001 up to the present day. We need to be reminded that until November 2002 (that is until the President had the support of the Senate and the House) the Iraqis refused to allow UN inspectors to undertake inspections for WMD on Iraqi territory. By the end of November, inspections under the direction of Hans Blix were under way. The vote to grant the President war powers had achieved its purpose, the Iraq regime was being called to account for its actions.The vote was a magnificent piece of realpolitik

We have forgotten too that Hans Blix called on the US and Britain to give his inspectors the "hard intelligence" that they claimed to possess so that his inspectors could go to check out that information on the ground. The failure of the US and Britain to do so should have roused our suspicions that all was not well with the intelligence -- its invalidity has since been amply demonstrated.

Where we went wrong -- the Senate, and the House, and the country, and all of us -- was the failure to recognize the importance of the inspector's reports in mid February 2003 that there was no evidence of immanent danger from Iraq. That should have led to a re-evaluation of the war power resolution and its potential repeal based on the changed situation. We failed to do so and we are reaping the tragic consequences today.

So Senator Clinton can be blamed for not insisting on revisiting the vote in the light of the new information from the inspectors; she cannot be blamed, indeed she should be praised, for the original vote that put the inspectors back in Iraq.

Sent to Boston Globe

Iraqi Refugees

The US government really cannot get its act together. For years we have been complaining that there are not enough Arabic speakers in government.

With the refugees now in America we now have a small but growing contingent of refugees who are left to rot in unemployment.

Let us count the ways they could be put to good use:
1. To provide intensive cultural and practical advice for troops before they are deployed to Iraq. They could even be assigned to populate a sham Iraqi town or village to train troops for search operations.

2. To work with NSA, other intelligence agencies, and the State and Defense Departments to translate intercepted messages. I realize that deeper security clearances would have to be given.

Sent to New York Yimes

Tax Surcharge Needed to Pay for the Iraq War (Providence Journal)

The Providence Journal Op-Ed is no longer on their website.
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Contributors

01:00 AM EST on Monday, March 3, 2008

MARTIN G. EVANS CAMBRIDGE, Mass.
IT IS MARCH 2008, and the Iraq war continues. I made a New Year’s resolution to fight to ensure that this generation of Americans pays for the war rather than passing the full cost to our children and grandchildren. They are, after all, members of the generation actually fighting the war. We owe them this.
It seems unlikely that the war can be ended during the rest of the Bush administration. Nevertheless, the administration can be persuaded to start paying for it. The Republicans used to be renowned for their fiscal discipline, so they can probably be shamed into passing legislation to begin to pay the horrifying financial cost of the conflict.
So far, the Iraq war has cost this country over $482 billion. None of this is being paid out of current revenue. Even worse, little of this is being paid for by domestic borrowing. The bulk of the funds used to pay for this war are generated by foreign borrowing. We are placing the viability of this country into the hands of foreign lenders.
It is imperative that this mounting debt be stopped and that the war be financed by a combination of increased revenue and forced domestic borrowing. Yes, we the people have to start making sacrifices alongside our troops.
A surcharge of 5 percent on each person’s taxes would raise revenue of about $41 billion (based on the IRS 2004 income figures, the latest available). This would add about $8 a year in income tax to those with under $10,000 in income; it would add about $150 a year to the taxes of a median income earner; and the precious millionaire whom Bush wants to spare from being taxed would have to pay another $37,000 in taxes. This tax increase would pay for about half the war’s ongoing cost. The rest would still have to be financed by borrowing.
Rather than borrowing from abroad, which, as we have seen with the decline in the dollar, places our whole economy in the hands of foreigners, the country must start borrowing from its own citizens. We could start by trying a voluntary approach through a celebrity supported “War Bond Campaign.” However, trying to raise another $40 billion may not be successful on a voluntary basis.
Therefore conscription of the country’s savings may become necessary. A good model for this is the Post War Credit scheme, based on the ideas of John Maynard Keynes, which was introduced by the British government during World War II to help pay for the war.
Forced saving would again be made as a surcharge on the income tax. The surcharge would begin at 2 percent for taxpayers earning $50,000 to $100,000 and would cost the average taxpayer in this range $130; for the next $100,000 the surcharge would be 4 percent and the additional tax burden would be $300; everything between $200,000 and $500,000 would be subject to a surcharge of 6 percent, with a $3,000 additional tax; for $500,000 to $1 million, the surcharge would be 8 percent and the additional tax would be $12,000; finally over $1 million, the surcharge would be 10 percent, with an additional tax of about $70,000.
The total savings extracted by this scheme would be about $38 billion. This would reduce America’s need to borrow for the war in the financial markets. Each individual’s savings would be credited to him or her and would be paid back once the war was over and borrowing requirements were reduced. Or we could do as the British did, hold the money until the person reached retirement age and pay it back as an annuity (perhaps even a small amount of interest could be credited each year to the account).
These two steps, increased taxes and a major saving effort (voluntary or forced) would benefit America. First, it would bring the costs of war home to each and every one of us. Second, it would prevent our imposing the costs of the war onto the next generation. We should be proud to do this. This indeed would be to support the troops. Both Democrats and Republicans should be willing to endorse this proposal.
Martin G. Evans is a professor emeritus at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto ( martingevans@gmail.com).