State Debate: Toughen enforcement of seat belt law

A 10/7 roundup of editorials in state papers

Compiled by Judie Kleinmaier  —  10/07/2008 10:23 am

Toughen enforcement of seat belt law, says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Seventy-three lives; $220 million in accident-related costs. That's what reports say could be saved annually if Wisconsin toughened its enforcement of the seat belt law. Add in the fact that doing so by July 1 would bring a federal windfall of about $15 million and it seems like an easy decision.

As we've argued in the past, states with primary enforcement laws -- whereby officers could stop vehicles when they suspect drivers or passengers aren't using seat belts -- generally show greater seat belt use. A state survey in June found that 74 percent of Wisconsin drivers and passengers buckled up, down 1 percentage point in a year. Federal officials said the national rate of seat belt use was 82 percent in 2007.

Gov. Jim Doyle supports primary enforcement of the seat belt law. He should put it in his next budget or use his office as a bully pulpit for the change.

Madison joins low-income housing argument, notes the Beloit Daily News.

Brace yourself: Even in liberal paradise -- more commonly known as Madison -- the tranquility can be disturbed by the rudeness of reality.

News item: "A top Madison Police Department official says the city should reduce or freeze building low-income housing because the tenants are overwhelming police services."

Ald. Brenda Konkel, took exception. The captain, she said, "bought into the stereotype that poor people cause crime. Poor people are poor. Criminals cause crime. ... Limiting places for poor people to live will not prevent crime."

Such arguments may sound familiar in Beloit. The community has grappled with the question of how much is too much when it comes to low-income housing.

Here's our take. The more broken homes and single moms, the more thuggery. The more absentee dads, the more thuggery. The more disinterest in education, the more thuggery.

Madisonians' eyes are being pried open to the sort of problems which have plagued other cities. That, of course, doesn't mean Madison will act. The policy paralysis that comes from stubborn ideology is difficult to overcome. Even so, this should be interesting. Pull up a chair to watch Madison argue with itself.

Not the same game without marching band, says the La Crosse Tribune.

There was something missing Saturday night from Camp Randall Stadium as the Wisconsin Badgers faced the Ohio State Buckeyes. It just wasn't the same without the University of Wisconsin Marching Band.

On Friday, the band was benched over allegations of hazing. Director Mike Leckrone said he believes "I hit them between the eyes with a sledgehammer."

Sometimes, a sledgehammer is the appropriate tool.

Let's hope the band and the university act swiftly to toss out the off-key idiots and get the band back on the field hitting all the right notes.

We must lower our expectations to balance the books, says the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram.

If there is a silver lining in the Wall Street rescue package approved last week, it is that the $700 billion price tag is raising public awareness of the mess we've created by borrowing too much money for far too long.

The solution requires a 180-degree change in the way we look at our federal government.

The national debt is $10.1 trillion. We are putting the next generation in an untenable situation. The only way out is to demand the federal government spend less, and in turn we have to expect less, be it for bike trails or the entire alphabet soup of federal programs that hand out money that doesn't exist.

So far, we've seen no evidence of a willingness to change, and frankly that includes John McCain and Barack Obama.

Compiled by Judie Kleinmaier  —  10/07/2008 10:23 am