Letters: Climate action not a partisan issue; New leadership needed on BOT

Climate action not a partisan issue

Pennsylvania’s Republican legislature has again demonstrated its determination to block Governor Wolf’s efforts to protect our environment. (“Pennsylvania court blocks governor’s carbon emissions plan” CDT, April 7). Our lawmakers clearly care more about reelection; about pandering to big power companies, coal, oil and gas producers (many from out of state) than they care about the people of Pennsylvania.

In their myopic view, a “carbon tax” of a few cents per day — a fraction of the cost of a bottle of water, a cup of coffee or this newspaper — would be unacceptably burdensome. Most households could save the added cost by turning out the light when leaving a room, by unplugging the phone charger when not in use or by taking shorter showers! Even this modest cost would be more than repaid by future savings as the nation makes the promised change to renewable energy.

As UN Secretary General Guterres made clear, we cannot continue to rely upon fossil fuels to energize the world economy. The reserves are limited, increasingly costly to obtain, and we can no longer tolerate the adverse consequences of their use on health and climate. As steam replaced water power in the 19th century, as internal combustion engines replaced steam in the 20th, the Age of Fossil Fuel is coming to an end in the 21st. We must adapt to alternative, sustainable energy sources, and most experts believe we can do so without sacrifice.

This is not a partisan issue. It is an issue of human survival.

New leadership needed on BOT

Over the last ten years, Penn State alumni have become more educated about how our alma mater is governed and how decisions are made for the university’s future. Ten years ago, we started to vote for changes to the PSU Board of Trustees and for people that we thought would return our school to its deserved status and “right the ship.” Instead, we found out about the over-sized board, the influence of certain committees, the background and credentials of BOT members, and the lack of real governance, critical thinking skills, and sound decision making.

Now, we have a candidate for trustee named Barry Fenchak who has been attending (when allowed), chronicling, analyzing and opining on the actions of the board. As Louis Brandeis once said, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” Mr. Fenchak has identified issues and has offered solutions to the issues that PSU faces like insane tuition costs and irrational governance. I believe it’s time for us alumni to vote for solutions, not just slogans or personal alignments.

I have spoken with Barry several times to try to vet his intent and his position on a range of topics. He is forthcoming, direct and willing to discuss alternatives, all with the goal of student advancement at Penn State, not bloated administration or pet agendas. Yes, Pennsylvania’s flagship university is a big business, and it needs some new leadership on its board of trustees.

Federal Reserve’s wrong path

The Federal Reserve aims for a soft landing as it works to extricate itself — and all of us — from from an inflationary mess made worse by the Fed’s big — and avoidable — mistakes over the past two years with its almost singular focus on demand stimulation. If nothing else, the Fed has provided a convincing demonstration that Keynesianism on steroids was the wrong path. Ironically, that path is also most certainly not one that Keynes himself would have chosen had he been faced with the same challenges as Fed Chairman Powell. Keynes championed his approaches in the mid-1930s when the ratio of government spending to GDP was nowhere near what it is today, thus enabling more policy flexibility. Secondly, temporary deficits such as those he advocated were not nearly as likely to become permanent as they are today. Either those in the overwhelmingly Democrat-dominated Fed don’t understand, are unaware of, or more likely chose to ignore a key element of Keynes’ most fundamental thinking: that while helpful in various situations, deficits must be temporary and self-liquidating — not structural — and actually paid back by an expanding economy rather than by inflation.