All The Monitor's View
- Would you like unlimited days off?
Some employers offer unlimited vacation days to workers. But is it really a perk?
- Internet privacy should trump growth
Facebook’s Internet.org wants to aggressively spread Internet connectivity to the developing world. But that shouldn't be its top priority.
- Science for everyone
As ‘citizen science’ projects grow in popularity, science loses some of its mystery. That’s good.
- Obama’s pressing agenda
Urgent issues await presidential action this fall. How Mr. Obama handles them will say a lot about his presidency.
- Yucca Mountain low
A court is rightly pushing the Obama administration to make a decision on the Nevada site, a first step in setting a long-term policy on nuclear waste.
- Egypt – take the long view
Stopping the violence comes first. Realizing that democracies can take decades to emerge should be a cause for hope.
- College football: Let the big guys go
A ‘Big 5’ division with only top teams would give big-money, big-time football a league of its own.
- Decline in marriage – it’s the economy
Working-class Americans are passing up going to the altar. Fixing the economy could help change that.
- Prison reform: Seize the moment
Both parties realize that the exploding prison population is unsustainable. Sentencing reform is one step in the right direction.
- FDA and e-cigarettes: Nicotine addiction must not be the norm
The Food and Drug Administration will likely decide soon how to regulate e-cigarettes, the electronic devices that deliver a vapor of nicotine (along with some toxins). The agency must assume people do not want to be addicted to this powerful drug.
- Fixing America's subsidized homeownership
This fall, Congress and President Obama will debate how much taxpayers should still back homeownership. But first they need to ask if owning a home leads to well-being.
- Far more than Snowden led Obama to cancel Putin summit
An assertion of values more than interests are behind President Obama's cancellation of a September summit with President Vladimir Putin. The US simply doesn't see world diplomacy as Putin does.
- Bottom line, disabled people might be better employees
Walgreens and now a report by the National Governors Association show businesses can benefit by seeing disabled workers not as charity cases but employees with uncommon qualities that can enhance profits.
- Buds of hope for US-Iran nuclear talks
With a new, more moderate president, Iran trades signals with US over possible openings for nuclear talks. Each side needs to first build trust. The next two months will be critical to find peace paths.
- What Obama should see in his Federal Reserve nominee
With President Obama due to nominate a new chief of the Federal Reserve soon, he and the Senate must focus on what today's elected leaders often miss: a long-term perspective.
- Snowden asylum in Russia: What now for US?
With Russia granting asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden, Americans now have time to sort out the apparent clash of values – liberty versus. security – that his actions represent. If only he had found another way to help resolve that clash.
- Crackdown on Egypt protests: What's really at stake
The Egyptian military's order to end the Muslim Brotherhood protests is the latest slide toward violence and chaos. Egypt must right itself by balancing order and freedom.
- Can the Senate's negotiating style save the day?
Two sets of secret talks seeking a 'grand bargain' – between Israelis and Palestinians and between Obama and the GOP on fiscal issues – involve current and former US senators. Can that chamber's style bring solutions?
- China tries a 'good Samaritan' law
The Chinese city of Shenzhen joins other governments around the world in passing a law that tries to remove the fear of legal liability in helping others in emergency distress. Rescuing others out of universal love shouldn't be held back by fear.
- After Zimbabwe election, Mugabe needs a way out
The Zimbabwe election on July 31 appears rigged and could lead to a repeat crisis like that after a 2008 vote. The African nation needs a peaceful transition through some form of forgiveness.