Chris Kutz Describes Genesis of Blue Sky: New Ideas for Obama Administration Web Site

The Daily Californian, January 27, 2009 by Leslie Toy
http://www.dailycal.org/printable.php?id=104062

“I just noticed in talking to faculty how much of a shared excitement there was about the upcoming Obama administration,” Kutz said. He has invited scholars from all departments to submit their own ideas without restricting them to their official areas of expertise. “I hope that it will be an opportunity for more Berkeley faculty to voice and attract the ideas that they have.”

Kenneth Bamberger and Andrew Guzman Think U.S. Firms Should be Liable for Unsafe Imports

San Jose Mercury News, January 26, 2009 by Ken Bamberger and Andrew Guzman
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_11557900

If their bottom line is affected, companies will check to see how their toys, medicines, pet food and other products are made and whether they are safe. American importers and sellers have no trouble fine-tuning their products to the precise demands of the American consumer. There is no reason to think they are any less able to make sure that the products won’t injure us or our children.

Law School Scholars Propose New Ideas for the Obama Administration

San Francisco Chronicle, January 25, 2009 by Chris Jay Hoofnagle, Christopher Kutz, Jacob S. Hacker, Larry Karp, Jinhua Zhao
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/25/INT315F820.DTL&type=printable

-Chris Hoofnagle Recommends Public Reporting of Identity Thefts
Despite its incidence and severity, consumers have few tools to avoid identity theft. A light touch regulatory approach could spark a revolution in the prevention of fraud if banks and other credit-granting institutions were required to publicly report the number of identity theft incidents, the forms of identity theft and the amount of loss suffered or avoided.

-Chris Kutz Wants Executives to be Liable for Company Losses
So let’s require firms that want to pay in stock options to include a liability component as well, so that executives share both in the upside and downside risks. Liability would force managers to account for the risks they take with other people’s money.

-Jacob Hacker Prescribes Health Care Reforms
In acting now on health care, we’ll be keeping Americans healthy, reducing the financial risks of health care, and encouraging good health-industry jobs. We’ll also be tackling the leading long-term threat to the federal budget: runaway health costs.

Oona Hathaway Calls on Obama to Submit Iraq War Agreement to Congress

San Francisco Chronicle, January 23, 2009 by Oona Hathaway and Bruce Ackerman
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/opinionshop/detail?&entry_id=35025

President Obama should fill the legal vacuum Bush has left behind. He should submit the agreement to Congress for its consent. This would allow a broad majority of Republicans and Democrats to give bipartisan support to our troops, and place our military operations on a firm constitutional foundation.

David Onek calls for Some Exceptions to Police Overtime Limits

San Francisco Chronicle, January 20, 2009 by C.W. Nevius
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/20/BA1L15D6AC.DTL&type=printable

David Onek, newly appointed to the Police Commission, called it “a delicate balancing act.” “The Police Department needs to pitch in and tighten its belt just like every other city agency,” said Onek, the founding executive director of the Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice. “But this may be a case where an exception is justified, as long as the overtime is closely monitored.”