ARCHIVES OF EDITORIALS

 

March 10, 2005

A critical decision

Voters in the 12th Suffolk District face a critical election this month. Residents of Hyde Park, Mattapan, Dorchester and Milton must choose from among five candidates who will best replace Tom Finneran.

Recently the demographics of the district have changed. The population of the residents is now 67 percent black, Latino and Asian. This is a decided change from the primarily Irish Catholic constituency which Finneran originally represented. Understandably there has been considerable discontent in recent years that the interests of so-called minorities were not being well served.

There is little interest, however, in returning to the mindless ethnic based bloc voting of the past. The recent countywide election of Andrea Cabral as sheriff indicated the emergence of a new maturity in Boston. Sophisticated voters are willing to look past ethnic labels to elect the most promising candidate. This is the road that Boston voters must continue to travel.

Nonetheless, Boston has not yet completely arrived at this enlightened state. There are some politicians and some candidates still wedded to the old ways. According to many who are knowledgeable about the politics of the district, Eric Donovan holds many of the views that made Finneran unpopular with activists in the communities of color. Yet, because of the large number of candidates, Donovan has a good chance of winning. A solid turnout from the high voting Dorchester precincts could put him over the top.

Unlike some elections, the winner only needs to poll the greatest number of votes. It is not necessary to win a majority of the votes cast. The three Haitian candidates, Emmanual Bellegarde, Linda Dorcena Forry and Kirby Robeson could split the vote from their base without anyone tallying enough votes to overcome the Dorchester bloc.

Now is the time for statesmanship. Those three candidates ought to choose the one most likely to win and join that campaign. Such an act would establish that these candidates are more interested in the welfare of the district than their ego-inspired personal progress. There will be other opportunities in politics in the future. The sincere interest in benefiting the community, as demonstrated by those who agree to the selection process, will be well noted by voters.

Time is running out. There is no time to lose.

A failure of health care?

Americans are expected to pay their bills in a timely fashion. Failure to do so will cause their credit ratings to decline, but even more important for some, it can cause them to lose their social standing. This extreme sanction will often result if the creditor is unable to pay his or her bills and must declare bankruptcy.

The common opinion is that bankruptcy befalls those who live recklessly beyond their means. Unable to repay the money that they have unwisely borrowed, they must resort to the courts to be discharged of their obligations. The lenders are left holding the bag.

However, a recent study found that about half of all personal bankruptcies in 2001 were the result of medical bills which are often paid on credit cards. Sudden illness is hardly the profligacy that calls for an amendment to the bankruptcy laws to make it more difficult for the debtor to be discharged of his debts.

The credit card companies have been pushing to make it harder to file for Chapter 7 which would absolve one’s debt. It is difficult to feel sympathetic about the credit card companies’ losses because of their incessant solicitation of customers. Congress should be compassionate toward those whose finances have been ruined because of illness.

 

Home Page