Editorials from around Pennsylvania

Editorials from around Pennsylvania:

RESTRICT SUBPRIME LENDING, July 17

Interest rates will be allowed to continue rising, but gradually, later this year, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told members of Congress on Wednesday.

The economy is improving, meaning the Fed’s longstanding policy of holding interest rates at basement levels is no longer necessary, Yellen explained.

Yellen’s comments on interest rates and the economy in general made headlines, as many in politics, the media and financial services wonder how economic growth can be stimulated without causing inflation. No one wants to back away from low interest rates at the risk of falling back into the so-called “Great Recession.”

But a key concern, subprime mortgages, has received little notice. They may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back leading to the recession.

For years leading up to 2008, banks were encouraged - sometimes virtually ordered - by the federal government to hand out mortgages to virtually all comers. Inadequate focus on borrowers’ ability to make the monthly payments resulted in a mountain of defaults.

There is reason to believe that with the economy improving, the same attitude about mortgages may be returning. That simply must not be permitted.

Rather than encourage banks to accept subprime mortgages, Washington should do all it can to discourage the practice.

-Altoona Mirror

Online: https://bit.ly/2vkGIKO

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DON’T REGULATE AIRBNB OUT OF BUSINESS, July 16

Communities such as Easton and Bethlehem should resist the urge to overtax, over-regulate and potentially kill Airbnb rentals.

It’s a good sign that visitors to the Lehigh Valley are signing up for short-term lodging provided by property owners, which can vary from a long-term house rental to a weekend bedroom to an overnight stay. It’s a reflection of a healthy tourism and visitor economy.

But that’s not to say Airbnbs shouldn’t be taxed or regulated. Far from it.

Complaints about Airbnb come from several quarters - notably hoteliers and bed-and-breakfast owners who say in-home rentals allow hosts and customers to avoid paying hotel, sales and business privilege taxes.

Airbnb has responded by agreeing to pay hotel taxes, as it does in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Representatives also have expressed a willingness to pay the 4 percent room tax levied by Northampton and Lehigh counties to support tourism and economic development.

As Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. points out, regulation is a thornier issue than taxation. Most short-term rental properties aren’t subject to zoning oversight or safety inspections. Because of that, routine procedures such as certificates of occupancy, smoke alarms and sanitary conditions aren’t addressed on a municipal level.

What about the neighbors? In some places, weekend rentals lead to loud parties. On-street parking can dry up with more vehicles per dwelling.

Homeowners have a reasonable expectation that their residential blocks won’t “go commercial” without having a say through planning and zoning hearings. Also, many cities are dealing with tight rental markets; short-term rentals can reduce the availability of apartments.

Some cities have reacted by banning Airbnbs outright. That’s an overreaction. Bethlehem hasn’t gone that far, but city officials ordered the owners of home in a historic district to cease Airbnb bookings while the city tries to sort things out.

Easton is on alert, too. Panto has asked the planning director and chief codes officer to investigate to see what other municipalities are doing and make recommendations to city council.

This much seems certain: Just as Uber and Lyft changed the landscape of taxi service, Airbnb is tapping into popular demand and ease of online access. It’s here to stay, in one form or another.

Uniform tax collection is a start. Municipalities will need registries to keep up with regulation, and that might depend on state laws still in the formation stages.

The New Jersey Legislature, for example, is entertaining two bills - one that would subject Airbrbs to state sales tax, along with hotel and motel occupancy fees. Towns would be able to enact their own fees. Another bill would prohibit rentals of fewer than 30 days and let municipalities ban Airbnbs outright. Reasonable local control is needed; prohibitions are short-sighted.

In Pennsylvania, Airbnb is paying the 6 percent hotel occupancy tax. It should also pay county and municipal hotel taxes, and fees that apply to similar businesses.

A balance must be struck. State legislators should give towns the go-ahead to regulate, but not stifle, a grassroots industry that shows a lot of promise. Cities such as Bethlehem and Easton should look to integrate new laws into their housing, fire and safety codes and landlord-licensing ordinances with an eye to create a fair business climate and keep the peace on residential blocks.

-Easton Express-Times

Online: https://bit.ly/2uK7grt

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STOP OPIOIDS FROM BEING DELIVERED BY THE U.S POSTAL SERVICE, July 17

Within the murky online corners of the so-called Dark Net, drug dealers emphasize the best way to send their goods across the United States is not via FedEx, UPS, or another private mail carrier, but through the U.S Postal Service.

Last year, up to 59,000 opioid-related deaths occurred, making those narcotics the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50. Many of the deaths were attributed to synthetic opioids, which have flooded the market through mail orders from China using USPS.

One exported drug, the synthetic opioid fentanyl, is widely considered one of the deadliest drugs in America. Fifty times more potent than heroin and nearly 100 times more than morphine, fentanyl is believed responsible for about 52 percent of Pennsylvania’s 4,642 opioid-related deaths last year.

The drug is so powerful law enforcement and emergency personnel have been warned to be careful when coming into contact with it. But its potency is what makes fentanyl ideal for shipping. Small amounts can be easily mailed instead of the larger quantities required with less potent drugs.

Reddit, the popular digital chat forum, has become a hot spot for people looking for advice on how to access Dark Net drug markets. While avoiding scammers and law enforcement, customers can find the best dealers - alongside stories of addiction, failed recovery, and overdose deaths.

But the dealers don’t always get away. The FBI arrested a southwest Philadelphia man who was considered one of the nation’s biggest Dark Net fentanyl dealers. Unfortunately, the arrest of Henry Koffie, also known as “Narcoboss,” will likely cause only a lull in the Dark Net drug trade.

It’s too easy for the drugs to reach their ultimate destination. LegitScript, a digital consulting company conducted an experiment in which it made 29 orders of synthetic opioids to be sent to its office in the United States. None of the test deliveries were seized by authorities.

The Postal Service should follow the lead of private mail carriers handling overseas packages by electronically tracking basic information, including the sender’s name, address, and contents of the package. That would provide enough information to help spot suspect mail so U.S. Customs agents wouldn’t have to sift through vats of packages manually.

Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio) introduced a bill last year, the STOP Act, which would set aside billions of dollars to pay for the advanced electronic equipment the Postal Service needs to flag suspect packages. That wouldn’t bring mail trafficking to an end. The Postal Service says half the world’s foreign countries don’t provide the data that needs to be tracked. Suppressing incoming mail also might prompt some countries to block mail from the United States.

But the opioid epidemic has reached proportions in this country that demand action on a number of levels, including passage of the STOP Act. The Postal Service has been widely criticized over the years for its lackluster performance and postage costs, but blame Congress if it’s not properly equipped to reduce the huge volume of narcotics being mailed into this country.

-The Philadelphia Inquirer

Online: https://bit.ly/2tI3zha

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TRANSPARENCY TAKES A HIT IN LAW EXEMPTING POLICE AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDINGS FROM RIGHT-TO-KNOW LAW, July 18

A new Pennsylvania law exempts police audio and video recordings from the state’s Right-to-Know Law, leaving the release of those records largely to the discretion of police. The bill, signed into law earlier this month by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, also clears legal hurdles that kept police departments from using body cameras. The legislation was supported by police groups. Lawmakers passed it overwhelmingly.

It’s another victory for secrecy over transparency, for suspicion over confidence.

Two weeks ago, we decried the decision by the Lancaster County Commissioners to encrypt police transmissions, blocking the public - and media - from hearing what’s going on in the county.

We opposed that decision because there’s no evidence that radio transmissions have made policing more dangerous or more difficult. We believe such measures erode transparency and openness in government. And the public depends on the information gathered from monitoring police scanners.

Then, we heard from a few critics.

“It is a shame that LNP, like many other groups and organizations, use a tragic incident to make a case for furthering their own agenda. Unfortunately, this is the world we live in today,” wrote Randy Herman, of Manor Township, in a letter to the editor.

What agenda? Our job - and that of any other news organization - is to cover the news and keep people informed. That’s not an agenda, it’s a responsibility, and LNP takes it pretty seriously. News outlets have been monitoring police scanners for decades, and we have yet to hear of one instance in which a police officer’s safety or ability to do his job was compromised because of it.

Now this.

As we’ve written before, we strongly support the practice of equipping law enforcement officers with body cameras. These cameras provide both accountability and protection for police officers, and can help build public trust.

Police body cameras helped to prove that four Cleveland officers were justified in using lethal force in March 2015 against a man who had threatened to kill his wife and landlady.

But removing audio and video records from the state’s Right-to-Know Law will effectively block, at least in most cases, public and media access to those records.

If a lack of public trust and faith in government institutions is indeed a real problem, this law only serves to exacerbate mistrust.

Holly Lubart, director of government affairs for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said after the Senate passed the bill in May that it “will not permit meaningful public access to police body camera records, which in turn eliminates accountability, one of the primary reasons for collecting this footage in the first place.”

Elected officials talk a lot about accountability, but it’s getting more and more difficult to take them seriously when they pass laws like this.

As is the case with encryption, there’s no evidence that access to audio and video recordings via the Right-to-Know Law makes a police officer’s or prosecutor’s job more difficult. But we can be reasonably sure that blocking access to those recordings will only increase the level of suspicion among the public toward law enforcement. This can’t be a good thing for anyone, especially police officers who are trying to build trust in the community.

We support law enforcement. We understand that police officers have a dangerous and difficult job. What we’re having a hard time unraveling is how making the relationship between the police and public more adversarial serves the best interest of either.

This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. In fact, this bill had overwhelming, bipartisan support.

Such cooperation would normally be encouraging, until you consider that the governor and Legislature can’t figure out how to balance the budget but can easily pass a bill that strikes yet another blow to transparency.

Yes, our governor and Legislature can’t find an answer to the state’s most pressing issue, but they were able to come up with a solution to a problem that didn’t exist.

-LNP

Online: https://bit.ly/2uvj2FL

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TRY DELIBERATION, July 19

Like most political professionals, most Republican members of Congress did not believe last year that Donald Trump would win the presidency. So when on the stump in their own re-election campaigns, they promised their base that they would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act without worrying about an actual plan, because they thought it would face Hillary Clinton’s veto.

Surprisingly faced with a president who would sign a replacement, Republican majorities in both houses withered. When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell failed for the third time this week to muster enough votes for re-engineered replacement bills, he proposed Plan B - a straight repeal with a promise of a replacement bill in two years. Three Republican senators quickly said they would vote against that proposal, killing it. The question now is whether McConnell will turn to Plan C: actual governance.

Democrats passed the ACA in 2010 without any Republican votes. Yet the bill traveled the customary legislative course, including more than 100 hearings - 180 degrees from the secretive, exclusionary process employed by McConnell in the Senate.

Democrats obviously oppose repealing the ACA. But everyone believes it needs improvement. The vast majority of Americans do not want the ACA repealed; they want it improved. McConnell should commit to that goal and invite Senate Democrats into an open process.

-The (Scranton) Times-Tribune

Online: https://bit.ly/2vDCey9