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Show I """The Utah Statesman Opinion • " Monday, April 10,200613 Not enough done about SUV mileage to increase the overall average fuel economy of the light-truck fleet. So the proposed increase . mad a chance to give substance by 2011 to an average of 24 miles per gallon -•to the president's (with the Hummers ^-promise to wean and friends) from "America from its today's 21.6 oil addiction, It mpg (without , tjidn't entirely miss Other Voices Hummers) is more the chance, but it didn't seize it by the throat, impressive than it looks. The increases in light-truck fuel * either. The administration plan will economy standards in recent save a significant amount of oil years are particularly noteworover the ne\1 few years. With thy compared with their prior >i(a little more ambition, it could stagnation. Yet increasing the average have saved much more. . , The most important feature of fuel economy even oi this rejigthe revamped standards is thai gered fleet by only a few miles for the first time they include per gallon over the next five .;tj^e largest, most gas-guzzling years is well short of the kind sport-utility vehicles. Including of regulator)' push the industnem in the regulations natu- try needs. And while the rule 'ftll makes it more difficult includes the biggest SUVs, it In announcing its revised , fuel economy standards tor light 'trucks, the Bush administration Nat'l View file your state income tax online at does not include the biggest pickup trucks. This new regulatory approach might not present a problem if the standards were nigh enough to push all companies substantially. But as they are written, they may not do that. For example, because of the size of its SUVs, General Motors' estimated average fuel economy figure would actually go down in the first year of the new regime. Such anemic regulator)' pressure is hardly going to spur automakers to develop the revolutionary technologies that will make a long-term difference in global climate change and America's dependence on foreign oil. This editorial appeared in Sunday's Washington Post. PROGRESS From page 7 2 f,,^ren in working-poor families and would require employers who don't cover their workers • "to contribute to the cost of the state premium subsidies. That thumbnail hints at the - plan's brilliant political balancing. The package advances many ideas dear to conservatives. It enshrines the conservative value of individual responsibility by requiring everyone but the poor to contribute to their own coverage. It would provide that coverage primarily through the private marketplace, not government programs. It would test (for young people, at least) the conservative belief that insurers will create much more affordable health policies if extensive state mandates to cover specific treatments are loosened. And starting in 2008, it would link payments for health care providers to the results they produce for patients - an idea gaining ground in both parties. *'••'• "The Democratic rhetoric has been about getting insurance for everyone, but their answer is always taxes and government takeover," Romney said in a characterization that Democrats, of course, dispute. " W e took the ideal of insurance for everyone but applied Republican principles: Reform the market, help those who truly can't afford to buy it themselves." Much could still go wrong. The immediate risk is that coverage would remain too expensive tor the uninsured who earn too much to qualify lor the public subsidies. The plan would exempt individuals from the mandate il they couldn't find affordable coverage. The longer-term danger is that the program might grow unaffordable not only t:>r individuals, but for the si.'.le if health-care costs keep rimy; at their current rate The initial projection is [\\a'> once the program is lullv urnning, the premium sulv-:n r, for low-income familif- will cost $725 million a ye.ir. The Bush administration pih hed in by allowing the st.ve to apply federal Medicaid funds toward that bill. But if premiums rise faster than expected, the state still might be unable to afford sufficient subsidies to keep insurance within reach of lower-income families - especially since it has not dedicated any specific source of revenue, such as a cigarette tax hike, to the plan. Those threats are real. But the Massachusetts plan has created a structure supple enough to respond to the challenges that emerge if the state's future political leaders show the flexibility demonstrated by Romney and state Democratic leaders, such as House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi. Romney, as his comments above show, hasn't renounced partisanship. Neither have Massachusetts Democrats. But both sides overcame partisanship to reach a productive agreement. That's the most important lesson in the Massachusetts breakthrough. " I n the private sector," said Romney, a former management consultant, "you don't get anything done inside an organization by battling. You look for consensus and coalition-building and that's what we have had to do here." Ronald Brownstein wrote this column for The Los Angeles Times. *Most residents making less than $100,000 qualify. <* Check http://taxexpress.utah.gov to see if you qualify,. IMMIGRATION From page 7 2 has never been seen starting debates throughout the country. j. Well, back to the unnamed Republican from Texas - he was giying a well-written speech on why the addition of a wall is an efficient technique in reducing the amount of illegal immigrants coming into the country. His Democratic counterpart w,^ arguing against the construction of the wall, stating some altcrru.;i\ L bulutions. Clearly, illegal immigration is a problem in our country, Lul the question is if a 2,000-mile long wall is the answer. Mexicans ,cpme to this country in search of a better life. They come because r they have to come, they come to save their family's lives and they c'6me to save their own lives. Mexican immigrants ready have only two options: either continue living in poverty or take the chance at something better. So, we are essentially at odds. Illegal immigrants aren't going to quit trying to come, and we aren't going to quit trying to stop them from coming. So what is the solution? A wall? I hardly think so. Aren't we the country that is supposed to be tearing down walls in Berlin, not putting up our own? The solution lies in nriaking the countries these immigrants are coming from better. Going to these extreme measures to keep our boarders free of immigrants will not stop them from coming. Instead, our country should be lending a hand to make their country liveable. Illegal immigration is a problem in this country, but looking at it from the 'other side of the "wall" seems to make their motives a little more understandable. "iip Comments and questions can be sent to adamstrong@cc. usu. edu. i:" >~. .THE COLOR *OF SPRING Sony Ericsson Z520 BUY :$ ONE R 39" get the second one sit&r $50 maiUn rsbst^ p$f phom and $ 9 in-store credit on second phom. 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