Share the View: Keystone and Realpolitik

Share The View

THE LATEST OPINIONS FROM BLOOMBERG VIEW

FEBRUARY 25, 2015 bloombergview.com

CLIMATE CHANGE Michael R. Bloomberg: "The Keystone XL pipeline has become a perfect symbol of Washington's dysfunction. Democrats exaggerate its environmental impact while Republicans exaggerate its economic benefits. In the debate, each side talks past the other, because each cares more about gaining a political advantage than a policy achievement. Yet a path exists for President Barack Obama to transcend these differences and allow both sides to declare victory." Read more... EUROPEAN ECONOMY The Editors: "Europe is taking a break from the crisis over Greece it's engineered over the past few weeks. It's a welcome breather -- but that's all it is." Read more... Stephen Mihm: If Greece can't get its citizens to pay taxes, perhaps it should ask Israel to lend a hand. Read more... FEDERAL RESERVE The Editors: "Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen mostly succeeded in her attempt to be vague about Fed policy in her semiannual appearance before Congress on Tuesday. On one issue, however, she was unequivocal -- and correct: A congressional audit of the Fed's interest-rate decisions is a very bad idea." Read more... INVESTING Justin Fox: "The world is out to get active money managers. As Bloomberg's Charles Stein reports, they've been having a tough economic recovery, with only 21 percent of stock-picking mutual funds beating their benchmarks during the past five years." Read more... SPORTS Kavitha A. Davidson: "Don't look now, but Nascar is suddenly appearing very progressive on women's issues in sports." Read more... CONGRESS Jonathan Bernstein: "John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are playing a game of chicken this week. Against each other. Whoever veers off first will lose more True Conservative points." Read more... UKRAINE CRISIS Leonid Bershidsky: "Less than a year ago, Igor Bilous was a symbol of hope and change for Ukraine. The 36-year-old investment banker's appointment to lead the country's tax service seemed to confirm that the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych's corrupt regime would mark a generational shift and a radical cleanup of the Ukrainian state. Today, however, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk suspended Bilous and two of his key deputies pending a corruption investigation." Read more... FOOD Megan McArdle: "Aaron Carroll points to a study showing that one reason we may be seeing so many peanut allergies is ... that we're protecting kids from peanuts." Read more... ENTERTAINMENT Virginia Postrel: "The Fox broadcasting network's drama 'Empire' is already a phenomenal business success. What remains to be seen is whether it will prove an equally remarkable artistic success." Read more...