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Tony Auth archives | tauth@phillynews.com

Better to shelve N.J. tax-cut plans: It would be nice if you could splurge anytime you wanted and put an expensive item like a Bianchi bike or the new iPhone on a credit card. But most people who know they can’t afford to spend that kind money won’t do it. So why is it that New Jersey public officials seem incapable of exerting the same fiscal discipline that regular people impose on themselves?
Not the time to stop land preservation: Gov. Corbett’s first budget took aim at a signature environmental effort launched by two of his Republican predecessors, so it probably should come as no surprise that this year’s austere spending plan from the tax-averse governor would siphon money from two other land-conservation programs.
Tough times require great teachers and schools: These are tough days for public schools. Districts across the state are facing cuts while legacy retirement costs explode. School leaders are forced to make incredibly tough decisions about curricula, consolidations, furloughs, and extracurricular activities.
Letters to the Editor: Barnes’ quirky restrictionsArt critic Edward Sozanski faults the Barnes museum for failing to display the best of what it owns to maximum effectiveness ("Disdainful Albert Barnes and his daunting collection," Sunday). Other art critics concur in more insistent terms.As an illustration, Matisse’s "The Red Madras Headdress" is confined warehouse-fashion among a wall of miscellaneous canvases. Years ago, when the court permitted selected paintings to travel to earn money for the bankrupt Barnes Foundation, that dramatic masterpiece was featured and captured world attention. Other paintings then freed for the first time from the Barnes allowed viewers to see the art in all its glory. Why did it take 61 years since Barnes died to state the obvious? Had Barnes left sufficient money to perpetuate his quirky display of art under bizarre restrictions, he surely had the right to do so. But to allow the dead hand to perpetuate it at public expense is intolerable.
Can you judge a book by a Kindle cover?: Although we’re not judgmental about material things like clothes or cars, we do confess to judging a book by its cover. But these days, when everyone’s Kindle case is the same color, that’s harder to do.
Pa. needs corrections reform: Kyle, a convicted burglar sentenced to one to three years in Pennsylvania state prison, was granted parole in June 2011, but spent an extra 100 days in jail, not because he failed to serve time for his crime, but because he couldn’t pay an administrative fine. According to the Department of Corrections, he owed $13.70.
Children's advocate should be proud: Inquirer Editorial: For 25 years and more, the Philadelphia area has had a relentless advocate in Shelley Yanoff for improving the lives of children.
Can’t let emotions rule on Syria: The murders of at least 49 children in the massacre of more than 100 villagers in the town of Houla has stoked the fires of U.S. politicians calling for this country to do more to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But an emotional response to what is unquestionably a heinous act is the last thing the United States can afford. Assad needs to go, but there are too many questions about what would follow his departure to take hasty steps that would only lead to regret later.
Letters to the Editor: Don’t make city unaffordableSo it has come to betting on whether the real estate-tax increases will induce flight to the suburbs and kill the city slower than will concern over the schools and the relentless level of violence in them ("Schools face ugly choices," Sunday).The truth is that this is a very sick city. Mayor Nutter took office recognizing that tax burdens — from the business privilege tax to the wage tax — were negatively impacting Philadelphia and harming development. Yet year after year goes by and proposals to exempt small entrepreneurs from business taxes languish. Meanwhile, the saving grace, low realty taxes, are now a target and increases in them are planned. I sympathize and I wish I could tell the mayor what the right answer is. But I’m pretty sure I know what the answer isn’t: making Philadelphia real estate unaffordable.
One Great Idea: Mike Jerrick: Mike Jerrick suggests re-purposing the old Reading Railroad line into an elevated park, similar to New York City's High Line.
Don’t repeat biases of the past: Let’s suppose I wrote a column claiming that human intelligence was fixed and immutable, so we should accept individual cognitive differences instead of trying to change them. I’d be flayed alive, especially by my fellow liberals. Now let’s imagine another column, where I made the same statement about sexual orientation: It’s set at birth, and nothing can alter it. Most of my liberal friends would nod approvingly.
When gay rights meet civil rights: When leaders lead, especially on difficult social issues that demand the end of an injustice or the expansion of liberty, people will follow. The NAACP’s resolution supporting marriage equality is the most important sign yet that President Obama’s public support of it had the power to change hearts and minds. While individual NAACP leaders have spoken out in favor of allowing gays to wed, most notably chairman emeritus Julian Bond, the organization hadn’t spoken with one voice — until now.
Sorry, Christie, no 'Comeback' in N.J.: What a difference three months can make. Between February, when Gov. Christie delivered his budget message, and May, the "New Jersey Comeback" has sputtered to a stop.
Voter-ID law is a pig in lipstick: Inquirer Editorial: Cosmetic changes can't improve the look of an ugly law designed to lower voter turnout.
N.J. much safer than Pa.: Inquirer Editorial: The 2003 repeal of the motorcycle helmet requirement should be reversed.