Editorial voices from elsewhere
Editorial voices from newspapers around the country as compiled by the Associated Press:
The state Senate approved an important piece of legislation aimed at helping volunteer fire companies stem the flood of dwindling memberships.
The bill allows municipalities to waive local income taxes for firefighters and emergency responders.
Many fire houses report shrinking rosters – either because members had to move away, were working two jobs or had to stay home with children because of a spouse being employed.
The problem is not specific to the Greater Johnstown area. Currently, there are only about 50,000 volunteer firefighters, said state Fire Commissioner Tim Solobay. That is down drastically from about 300,000 volunteers about a generation ago, Solobay said.
As a result, many emergency dispatchers have to call out multiple fire companies, knowing the home station can’t muster enough responders.
The Volunteer Firemen’s Insurance Services Inc. reported that 70 percent of new volunteers quit within five years. That could be because new recruits, fire chiefs say, eventually become disenchanted because they envisioned rushing into burning buildings or pulling victims from mangled accidents, not standing in parking lots or in front of buildings selling sandwiches and pizzas or conducting other fundraising activities.
That is a disturbing trend.
Illinois could learn a thing or two from the Brits.
The U.K.’s monarch has the ultimate nuclear option should Parliament fail to pass a budget. Queen Elizabeth can simply oust every minister and call an election to replace them. Even the chief executive, the prime minister, is vulnerable should lawmakers undergo the ultimate dereliction of duty. Not only is a missed paycheck or two on the line for British lawmakers. Entire careers could end.
Surprise: The budget is always on time.
There’s no such punishment for incompetence in Illinois, where budget brinkmanship is the state pastime. The General Assembly and Gov. Bruce Rauner spent weeks lobbing grenades while offering only political lip service. July 1 came and went. And now, Illinois can’t fund many of its operations. But, unlike in Britain, everyone gets paid. The General Assembly even had the gall this spring to try and give itself a pay raise. Rauner rightly vetoed that bit of absurd self-indulgence.
Consequences get results.
Now that the Supreme Court has affirmed another vital aspect of the Affordable Care Act, federal officials should see the wisdom and imperative of improving this complex and important law.
The Affordable Care Act is so far from perfect that making sound improvements shouldn’t be that difficult. But that doesn’t mean the act should be scrapped; no one ever should have expected this sweeping law to address all the country’s health-related concerns perfectly.
No one law ever could.
Congressional Republicans should pay heed to this clear, unambiguous ruling. They should focus on some of the good ideas they themselves have suggested over the years, including allowing insurance companies to sell policies across state lines and providing tax incentives for people to start health-care savings accounts. For their part, President Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats must concede parts of the act aren’t working – or have been kicked down the road because they have proven too challenging to implement.
The high court has saved a potential disaster here, but making tangible improvement falls squarely on Congress and President Obama to focus less on rhetoric and more on identifiable solutions.