Declarations

Don’t Text, Just Drive

“Txt Back L8R”

—Billboards going up around Michigan are reminding drivers to hold off on text messaging. The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning said that the billboards in major metropolitan areas will carry the phrase text back later (“txt back L8R”). They’ll have one of two accompanying messages: “OR PAY $100” or “IT’S THE LAW.” The ban was effective July 1. A first offense will cost $100 and repeat offenses will cost $200. Texting will be a primary offense under Michigan’s law, meaning police can pull over motorists solely for using phones to send text messages. Some in law enforcement say the similarities between dialing a cell phone, which remains legal, and texting, which will cost drivers $100 for a first offense, will make the ban difficult to enforce. A ban on texting while driving also took effect in Iowa on July 1.

Tempering Expectations

“It’s important to temper the expectations.”

—Illinois Department of Insurance Director Michael McRaith said his state wants to manage the program to provide health insurance in a new high-risk pool funded under national health overhaul carefully to make sure there’s enough money to keep everyone who enrolls covered until Jan. 1, 2014. That’s when the new health law will prohibit insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. The department anticipates “more applicants than the funds will allow us to enroll,” McRaith said. Enrollment will be limited, eligibility requirements tight and coverage may not begin until late summer. Illinois expects to receive nearly $200 million from the federal government to start covering people with medical problems who have been uninsured for at least six months. The state estimates that 4,000 to 6,000 people will be covered in the new program. Many more are expected to apply for coverage.

Big Money, Big Worries

“We worry about big money. I worry about big money having a corrupting influence, but it is reassuring to know that when public opinion gets engaged, it will win.”

—Democratic Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts. Franks headed a panel of U.S. lawmakers that hammered out a historic overhaul of financial regulations in late June. In a marathon session of more than 21 hours, legislators agreed to a rewrite of Wall Street rules that will crimp the industry’s profits and saddle it with tougher oversight and tighter restrictions. The reform must still win final approval from both chambers of Congress before Obama can sign it into law, giving Wall Street one final chance to deploy its army of lobbyists on Capitol Hill. The bill has actually gotten tougher in its year-long journey through the halls of Congress. Democrats rode a wave of public disgust at an industry that awarded itself rich paydays while much of the country struggled through a deep recession caused by its actions.(Reuters)