Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:07:01 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Diana Furchtgott-Roth :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Diana+Furchtgott-Roth istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/new-hope-on-organ-donation/86471/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST This week Senator Specter introduces the Organ Donation Clarification Act of 2008, a bill that would allow states to compensate donors for offering a kidney transplant. That's good news for the 657 former patients of the Life Care Dialysis Center on West 61st Street, closed down last week by the Department of Health over unsanitary conditions and fears of hepatitis, as well as for the other 76,000 Americans waiting for a kidney donation. Arlen Specter's simple bill is just three pages, yet it... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/new-yorks-rising-sarah-palin/86036/ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST With the Dow Jones Industrial average down by more than 500 points on Monday, a New York Assembly Republican candidate, Saul Farber, is worried. Mr. Farber, 22, a reformer in the mode of Sarah Palin, is running for the 75th district seat, and many of his future potential constituents are affected. "We've lost 90,000 financial district jobs this year, and these people are responsible for a large percent of the taxes flowing to New York City and Albany," he said in a telephone conversation... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/health-care-to-tax-or-not-to-tax/85533/ Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Forget the economy, forget Russia, forget even Fannie and Freddie. If you're looking for your first full-time job, or you're between employers, or if you work now for a small company that offers no health plan, your main concern might be how to get health insurance. Would you prefer a $5,000 tax credit toward buying a family health insurance policy and more competition among insurance providers (McCain), or a national public health care plan and additional regulation of insurance markets... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/obama-and-inequality-on-women-in-the-workforce/85078/ Wed, 3 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Some of Senator Obama's first comments on the governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, were: "John McCain's new veep nominee seems like a very engaging person, a nice person. But I've got to say, she's opposed — like John McCain is — to equal pay for equal work. That doesn't make much sense to me." Does Mr. Obama, once a student president of the Harvard Law Review and later a teacher of law at the University of Chicago, not know the law? Women have had a legal guarantee of equal pay for equal work... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/obama-wife-penalty/84829/ Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST With Michelle Obama, once the quintessential working mom (full-time job, two children, working husband), taking center stage at Monday's opening session of the Democratic National Convention, it's logical to assume that her husband's tax proposals would help women. They would not. Rather than change we can believe in, Senator Obama's tax plan would take us back to the days when women stayed home and baked cookies. By raising taxes on upper income Americans, Mr. Obama would worsen our tax... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/union-label-reads-no-growth/84223/ Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Next week's Democratic National Convention will celebrate organized labor, crucial to Democratic electoral success. Then, on September 1, Americans will celebrate Labor Day, the holiday in honor of organized labor. Private sector union membership peaked in the 1950s at 36% of the workforce. Now, only 7.5% of private sector workers belong to unions. Yet the DNC will pay homage to the union agenda, including removing the right to a secret ballot for workers voting on whether or not to join... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/editorials/new-york-vs-south-carolina/83772/ Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina has no Empire State Building, no financial district, and no Metropolitan Museum of Art. Yet, for all of its handicaps, in recent years South Carolina has surpassed New York State in job creation. The Palmetto State's best years are clearly ahead; the same observation cannot be made as confidently for the Empire State. Employers and other New Yorkers who pay high taxes and who are leaving the state know why. Because its government spends and taxes less than New... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/teenagers-right-to-work/83245/ Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Teenagers, if you couldn't find a job this summer, call your senator or representative, because Congress wants to make it even harder next year. Tell Congress to stop pricing you out of a job. Next July, New York's minimum wage will rise to $7.25 from its current level of $7.15 to match the new federal rate. This will be the third in a series of increases in the federal minimum wage, following increases to $6.55 last month and $5.85 in July 2007. All this represents a significant increase from... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/battleground-for-sound-science/82851/ Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST Congress is in favor of protecting employees from dangerous working conditions, right? Yet a new draft rule to protect employees from hazardous substances by requiring more rigorous scientific analysis by the Labor Department is facing opposition from leaders of the two congressional committees with jurisdiction. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Chairman Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller of California asked the Labor Department to... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/new-rules-for-osha/82188/ Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST The Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has rules that protect workers against extremely unlikely events, but no rules to protect workers from some more likely hazards. We can do better. It's good news, then, that the Labor Department is proposing new rules for evaluating different health risks. This rationalized approach to worker on-the-job safety will reduce costs to business — which helps to preserve jobs — without spending money on needless bureaucratic... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/sec-sells-economy-short/81960/ Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST SEC Chairman Christopher Cox's emergency announcement that the Securities and Exchange Commission will limit short sales of stocks in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and brokerage firms for 30 days is yet another step in the government's interference in the workings of the economy. It's a desperate move that will have no long-term effect in stabilizing the markets. Mr. Cox's action follows on the announcement made earlier this week of the federal guarantees of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the bailout... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/holding-up-a-mirror-to-the-seiu/81472/ Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST On July 17, in New York and 50 other cities, one of America's biggest unions, the Service Employees International Union, will try to demonize prominent New York financier Henry Kravis, a founding partner of the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. The SEIU already has attempted to besmirch Mr. Kravis on its Web site for paying too few taxes, even though it does not accuse him of illegal activity. It asserts that because of tax loopholes, Mr. Kravis's taxes are too low. It wants higher... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/geoengineering/81137/ Wed, 2 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST The Fourth of July holiday weekend is a time when Americans indulge in the excesses of carbon: extra charcoal on the barbecue for family and friends, extra gas for a holiday trip in the family minivan, and extra electricity for the air conditioning at night. It's all part of the great American pastime — using carbon molecules. We love it. Yet on July 9 world leaders will meet at a Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido, Japan, to discuss halving global greenhouse gas emissions, primarily carbon, by... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/hiras-are-the-future/80618/ Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST As Americans celebrate Independence Day, doctors won't be lighting fireworks. Physicians' Medicare reimbursements will decline by 10.6% unless Congress takes drastic action by July 1. If Medicare pays doctors less, seniors will find it even harder to get appointments and their quality of treatment will deteriorate. Last year, the government's Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, following a congressional formula adopted in 1997, ordered that doctors' Medicare reimbursements be cut by 10%... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/wisdom-of-irish-voters/80203/ Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST Here's a toast to the people of Ireland who may have stopped Europe's slide into a regulatory morass — for now — by voting "no" on the Lisbon Treaty, which would enlarge the power of European Union bureaucrats and would weaken the role of member governments. Europeans and Americans should be grateful for Thursday's vote, but mindful that the Eurocrats are intent on pushing through the treaty, even if they have to change their rules to do so. Since E.U. rules require unanimous approval, the... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/2-gas-and-1-eggs/79742/ Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST The jump in the unemployment rate to 5.5% from 5% should be a wakeup call to Congress. "This is the biggest single-month surge in unemployment since 1986 and, along with the last five months of job losses, it should put the economy front and center on the White House's agenda," the chair of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, Senator Schumer, said on Friday at a hearing. The American labor force was swollen in May by an abnormally large and early influx of teenagers, which may have... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/caps-for-sale/79255/ Wed, 4 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EST Today the Senate is debating a climate change bill meant to cause the American industry to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. The bill would create a complex system of emission allowances — CO2 comes from the burning of oil, gasoline, and coal — that companies could buy and sell, a "cap-and-trade" system. Such a system would, at least in theory, put a ceiling on the amount of emissions overall. The bill is sponsored by Senators Lieberman and Warner, a Republican of Virginia. Senator Boxer, a... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/desperately-seeking-visas/78713/ Wed, 28 May 2008 00:00:00 EST The arrest of almost 400 immigrant workers in a raid earlier this month of Agriprocessors, Inc., a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, shows that something is wrong with our immigration system. To be sure, the scale of the action, with warrants for almost 700 people, arrests of almost 400, and 300 employees actually charged with immigration violations and criminal charges such as identity theft and false use of Social Security numbers, shows a blatant disregard of the law. But let's dig... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/norquists-five-point-plan/76802/ Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 EST The presidential campaign, already under way, will undoubtedly see fierce debates on the federal budget between Senator McCain, who advocates lower spending, and Senator Obama, who has laid out detailed plans to increase domestic spending for education, healthcare, energy, and the environment, among others. But even though Senator McCain may convince Americans of the theoretical merits of frugality, Republicans, while managing to cut taxes, have been unsuccessful at reducing how much Washington... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/following-unions-money-trail/76416/ Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 EST On Thursday, May 8 the Manhattan Federal Court convicted Frank "Frankie" Proscia for defrauding his union's benefit funds underscores the importance of two new Labor Department proposals to increase union financial transparency. Proscia, a shop steward of Local 157, Carpenters and Joiners of America, was found guilty of conspiring with another steward, Michael "Mickey" Annucci, to understate the number of carpenters employed to lower the contractor's fund contributions. He was sentenced to five... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/revolt-of-the-renters/76009/ Wed, 7 May 2008 00:00:00 EST New York comes in third, after California and Florida, in its share of America's outstanding subprime mortgage debt. But not all New Yorkers welcome Congress's attempts to bail out homeowners. After all, why should renters bail out homeowners when they don't even own a home? On Monday, a New York resident, Martin S., wrote on the Web site angryrenter.com, "Do not bail out greedy homeowners and builders with my money!! Let them suffer the consequences of their greed." More than 42,000 people... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/foul-play-on-fair-pay/75594/ Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST Some say the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which passed the House of Representatives last June and failed to clear the filibuster hurdle in the Senate last week, is about correcting past wrongs — unequal pay for women. Senator Obama said, "Passing this bill is an important step in closing the pay gap, something I helped to do in Illinois, and something I've fought to do since I arrived in the Senate." And Senator Clinton declared, "Nearly a century after women earned the right to vote, women... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/incentives-for-a-kidney/75183/ Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST It is National Donate Life Month, but there are no high-profile advocates for sufferers of severe or "end stage" kidney disease, unlike breast cancer and AIDS. In 2005, the latest data available, kidney failure killed 85,790 people — twice the estimated 40,000 deaths from breast cancer. It's symbolic of the disparity of effort that the National Kidney Foundation holds a "Kidney Walk" whereas breast cancer has a "Race for the Cure." The reason that kidney disease, which is often linked to... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/our-own-tax-hell/74727/ Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST Feeling down in the dumps today? If you live or work in New York, you're not alone. It's April 15, Tax Day, and New Yorkers are paying far more in federal and state taxes than most Americans, with planned increases in the works. Not only that, but New York State comes in close to the bottom, 42 out of 50 states, in federal spending per dollar of taxes paid, receiving only 79 cents for each dollar New Yorkers send to Washington. Some might say that this is only fair — after all, aren't incomes... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/colombian-imperative/74395/ Wed, 9 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST Question: What does Senator Clinton's former chief campaign strategist know that she does not want to admit? Answer: Free trade is good for the American economy. Mark Penn was asked to step down from his position by Mrs. Clinton after he met with the ambassador of Colombia, Carolina Barco Isakson. Before also being fired by the Colombian government, they paid him to advise on a strategy to pass the Colombia free trade agreement, submitted to Congress by President Bush yesterday. Mrs. Clinton... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/paulsons-mixed-bag/74028/ Wed, 2 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST It's been a tough year for New York bankers and financiers. Just when it looked like things couldn't get much worse, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, himself a former captain of finance, made a dramatic entrance on Monday to say, "I'm from Washington, and I'm here to help." Mr. Paulson proposed a smorgasbord of changes to America's financial regulatory system, arguing that "our current regulatory structure was not built to address the modern financial system." As a former chairman of the board... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/we-need-more-of-them/73618/ Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST You don't need an advanced degree in economics to know that the America economy is in difficulty. Just ask your local taxi cab driver or beauty shop owner or software developer. They and 26 million other Americans have much in common, not least of which is that they are all entrepreneurs, small business owners trying to compete, to innovate, and to survive. Entrepreneurs are forgotten Americans, forgotten by much of Wall Street if not by their neighbors on Broadway, Queens Boulevard, and... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/bear-stearns-better-than-uk-bailout/73242/ Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST The dollar is weak and falling, oil prices have climbed to undreamed of levels, credit markets are seizing up, and global stock markets are losing ground. Can Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke successfully avert a crisis? Yesterday the Fed again lowered the benchmark interest rate on overnight loans between banks by three-quarters of a percentage point to 2.25%. Since September 2007 the central bank has driven down this bellwether borrowing rate by 3 percentage points, slightly less than... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/not-so-fast-on-the-recession/72626/ Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST The American economy lost 63,000 payroll jobs in February, following a decline of 22,000 jobs in January, more than the initial estimate for January of 17,000. That was decidedly bad news and most Wall Street forecasters are predicting that gross domestic product is declining in the first quarter of 2008. So we're in a recession, right? Not so fast. We might still avoid a recession, defined as two consecutive quarters where the economy contracts instead of grows. The argument that a recession... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/steinems-got-clinton-all-wrong/72333/ Wed, 5 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST The campaign of Senator Clinton may or may not be on its last legs, but feminist Gloria Steinem believes Americans should vote for Mrs. Clinton because she's a woman. Last weekend in Texas, before yesterday's primary elections in Texas and Ohio, Miss Steinem said that, because she is female, Mrs. Clinton faced pressure to step aside in favor of Senator Obama, the other Democratic presidential candidate. This echoed Miss Steinem's January New York Times op-ed piece which concluded that "We have... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/ethanol-catch-22/71930/ Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST With ferocious lobbying by the corn belt, America has been planting more and more corn for the purpose of making ethanol, a gasoline additive that supposedly reduces tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide. Both Senators Clinton and Obama, the Democratic presidential contenders, have published plans to expand ethanol use, going beyond the mandates enacted in the energy bill in December in response to the lobbying. Now it begins to appear that ethanol may not be a panacea. In fact, more corn may... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/abusing-sick-leave/71449/ Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST It's midnight, you're walking in Manhattan. You hear a scream and see a woman on the ground, with a man holding a gun to her head. You dial 911 on your cell phone. There is no answer. One reason could be that one-third of all 911 call center technicians, who work for the New York Police Department, are pre-approved for unpaid absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows them not to show up for work — and not call in to the NYPD until two days later. Or, if your Staten Island bus... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/spend-now-while-you-have-it/71224/ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST How much are you planning to spend for Valentine's Day? $50? $100? Today, President Bush signs a law that will increase your federal debt obligation, and that of every other American, by $500. It's a $160 billion package of individual checks and business investment credits that's supposed to reinvigorate the economy. For a family of four, that's $2,000 in increased debt, far more than they will receive from Uncle Sam. In an election year, it is always easy to spend other people's money; in a... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/winning-loss/70961/ Fri, 8 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST Mitt Romney's decision to quit the presidential race is a win for both him and the Republican party. It's a win for Mr. Romney because he made his exit in a statesmanlike manner at yesterday's Conservative Political Action Conference meeting in Washington, D.C., before Senator McCain took the stage. This opened the door for Mr. McCain to get fervent applause from the conservative audience, a group he needs for the success of his candidacy. That statesmanlike gesture positions Mr. Romney as a... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/right-energy-solution/70811/ Wed, 6 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST With crude oil again approaching $90 a barrel and a gallon of gasoline costing more than $3.00 in the metropolitan area, New Yorkers may well ask how the persistence of higher energy prices will affect the economy — and what, if anything, can be done to bring prices down. If prices stay at these levels, then in 2008 Americans will pay about 1% of Gross Domestic Product, or $130 billion more for oil than they paid in 2007, and $180 billion more than they paid in 2006. These are significant... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/my-mccain/70426/ Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST Even before yesterday's Florida win, John McCain was racking up endorsements from conservative Republicans such as Senator Martinez of Florida and Jack Kemp, a former congressmen from New York. But other conservatives have their doubts. On Monday, the president of the Leadership Institute, Morton Blackwell, was quoted in the Chicago Tribune saying: "I think Senator McCain is essentially hostile to the conservative base of the Republican Party and he is wrong on many, many issues that are... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/rangel-recession-and-rebates/70016/ Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST Will yesterday's Federal Reserve decision to lower the federal funds and the discount rates by a record three-quarters of a percentage point cause Rep. Charles Rangel, the Democratic chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, to shelve his plans for a fiscal stimulus package? Quite the reverse, unfortunately. Politicians want to show that they care, too. As Bear Stearns chief economist David Malpass puts it, "nothing is more fun for Washington than handing out checks." That's perhaps why... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/health-care-rub/69636/ Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST As Senator Clinton and Mitt Romney debate the pros and cons of mandatory health insurance, one vital ingredient has been forgotten: the physicians who provide our medical care. With demand for medical services growing, we need to encourage more people to go into medicine. But doctors aren't getting much respect these days. Last year, the government's Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services ordered that doctors' Medicare reimbursements be cut by 10% effective January 1, 2008. Then in December... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/fairtaxs-plausible-solution/69192/ Wed, 9 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST Whatever happens to Mike Huckabee in the weeks ahead his "FairTax" deserves a serious look. Mr. Huckabee proposes to substitute a national consumption tax for all existing federal taxes. Although Congress might not be ready for this drastic step, a move from taxing income to taxing consumption would be highly desirable. New Yorkers paid $169 billion in federal taxes in 2005, the latest year available. Under the FairTax, taxes would be reduced to $132 billion, according to an estimate by the... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/desperately-seeking-visas/68799/ Wed, 2 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST Even as words fly fast and furious before tomorrow's Iowa caucuses, no federal immigration reform law is likely to be enacted in the politically charged atmosphere of 2008, a presidential election year. This failure will make a difference to the economy, America's future technological capacity, and to millions of people — employers and foreigners who want to fill vacant jobs here. With some states, notably Arizona, legislating immigration requirements of their own, a state-by-state patchwork of... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/new-york-can-do-better-than-london/68536/ Wed, 26 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST Come January, traffic comes back and congestion too. The state Congestion Mitigation Commission has until the end of next month to submit final proposals to the State Legislature and the City Council on Mayor Bloomberg's congestion tax proposal. Something has to be done about New York's traffic. Congestion wastes New Yorkers' time, burns excessive gasoline, pollutes, and discourages businesses and shoppers from coming to Manhattan. One sensible remedy would be congestion pricing. President Bush... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/keeping-unions-accountable/68313/ Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST While government spending, saving energy, climate change and a new strategy for Afghanistan have been dominating the news as Congress struggles to finish its work before Christmas, another important issue has gone unnoticed — union transparency. The omnibus spending bill that is close to final passage would increase funds available for every oversight agency in the government except the Office of Labor Management Standards at the Labor Department, the group that oversees union finances. There's... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/credit-verdict/67898/ Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST In order to evaluate yesterday's Federal Reserve decision to lower short-term interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, Americans need to know the magnitude of the current "credit crisis." Is it indeed a threat to the economy? Or has the "crisis" been exaggerated? The Fed's decision, its third cut in four months, shows its concern that the credit crisis in subprime mortgages poses serious economic risks beyond the housing sector. The president of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, Eric... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/frightening-food/67668/ Fri, 7 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST While parents are trying to avoid placing Chinese-made toys such as Aqua Dots, assembled with a toxic glue, and Thomas the Tank Engines that are painted with lead under the Christmas tree, there is a potentially greater challenge: ensuring the safety of imported foods their children and all of us eat every day. This year Americans will buy about $14 billion worth of fruits and vegetables imported from all countries, with a majority of imports coming from Mexico, Canada, and Chile. That's 75%... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/breaking-through/67290/ Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Between November 14 and November 22, Paris was in chaos because most of the metro and the buses were not running, it was impossible to get into a subway train, and people like Fabien Duquesne, a 20-year old student at the Sorbonne, had to walk an hour to get to class. When he arrived, many classes were cancelled because professors couldn't get there. Mr. Duquesne, proud of his role in the 2006 student riots, told me from Paris in a telephone interview that the transportation strikes posed... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/marathon-of-a-life/66894/ Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST The death of marathon runner Ryan Shay in Central Park during the Olympic time trials on November 3 disturbed many New Yorkers. But there was news of the death of another runner the next day. It was someone who actually finished the marathon — my high school classmate, Matthew Hardy. His story should matter to New Yorkers because he lived in New York since 1991, loved New York, and embodied the city's quest for achievement. Matt and I attended Sidwell Friends School together in Washington, D.C... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/punishing-the-consumer/66559/ Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST While OPEC ministers meet tomorrow in Saudi Arabia to ponder the consequences of $90 per barrel oil, New York's gasoline prices are at $3.03 per gallon for regular, close to last May's high of $3.13 per gallon. Meanwhile, Congress is in the home stretch of writing an energy bill. But rather than trying to help consumers, the lawmakers seem to be doing all that they can to drive up the price of energy. Last May, refiners paid about $67 per barrel for oil, but the average price of gasoline in New... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/better-than-ever/66194/ Fri, 9 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Democratic presidential candidates are crisscrossing Iowa, citing growing inequality as a reason for raising taxes and expanding government social programs. Campaigning in Cedar Rapids in mid-October, Senator Clinton declared, "It's an economy where the gap between the few at the top and everybody else just keeps getting wider … This is the highest level of income inequality since 1929." Mrs. Clinton might feel guilty for having accepted multi-million dollar advances for her books, but she... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/wrong-way-charlie/65740/ Fri, 2 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Why does Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, want the taxpayers to spend an extra $9 billion over 10 years to expand Trade Adjustment Assistance, a benefit and training program for workers who lose jobs to trade? Here's what the 19th term Manhattan Democrat says: "We must be certain that, as our nation moves forward with expanded trade, we send a clear bipartisan signal that it won't be at the expense of American workers." It's a puzzling explanation, because... DIANA FURCHTGOTT-ROTH http://www.nysun.com/opinion/subprime-debacle/65326/ Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST Can the housing "correction" get much worse? September housing starts were down by 10%. Building permits, a portent of future starts, declined by 7%. September sales of existing homes fell by 8%, to an annual rate of 5 million, the lowest since 1999, and median home prices declined by 4% from the prior year. Sales of new homes, released yesterday, rose by 5%, but were 23% lower than a year ago. To make matters worse, on Wednesday Merrill Lynch, the biggest underwriter of securities backed by...