Readers Report
A Closer Look at Carly Fiorina's Track Record
Many professionals are skeptical of the success of the sweeping reorganization at Hewlett-Packard Co. ("The Radical," Cover Story, Feb. 19). Maybe CEO Carly Fiorina is right. Corporations of the future will be omnipresent. Their services will be accessible through multiple channels from everywhere at any time, and will be deliverable everywhere and anytime. Fiorina has already envisioned this service evolution.
Rado Kotorov
Morristown, N.J.
I'm intrigued by Carly Fiorina's business approach, so your article was welcome. Also much appreciated was the complete omission of any discussion of the woman's fashion tastes and family situation.
Tina Kampman
Springfield, Ohio
Who was the marketing whiz at Lucent Technologies Inc. who studied and projected the marketplace and underestimated and misjudged the direction the technical markets were taking? Who was the marketing whiz who made radical financing arrangements to sell equipment to new telcos no matter what?
Prior to being picked as Hewlett-Packard CEO, Carly Fiorina was furiously [helping develop] a bold management makeover (experiment) at Lucent. This experiment has resulted in a disease that was at Lucent now spreading to HP. Fiorina has made projections of growth in sales and profits at HP and afterwards makes apologies for missing the forecasts. Is anyone watching the store?
Walt Soboleski
Atlanta
Who Is Best Equipped to Spend the Surplus?
Laura D'Andrea Tyson doesn't want to "squander" the budget surplus on a tax cut ("The surplus? Make it a national savings account," Economic Viewpoint, Feb. 19). Instead, she wants to keep the money in government hands, so that it can be more wisely spent. How insulting. It's my money. Giving that money back to the people who earned it is the one way the government can demonstrate its own integrity, taking only what it needs instead of everything it can grab.
G. Lynn Shostack
New York
Even though I am from the pointy-headed East, it makes me want to join a militia whenever I see a column describe tax cuts as squandering the government's money. I like tax cuts. Some of us might spend our tax cut, others might save it for retirement, or start a business, or give it to charity. Isn't that part of what freedom is all about?
Eric Hagan
Upper Gwynedd, Pa.
I suggest that Tyson petition the Internal Revenue Service to put a check box on its forms that will allow the government to keep your tax refund. We can call it the "Laura D'Andrea Tyson keep-my-tax-refund-because-the-government-can-spend-it-so-much-better-than-I-can" box.
Conrad Styczen
Palatine, Ill.
Wireless Advocates Must Stand Up and Be Counted
The wireless industry does not have eminent domain, and some communities and citizens adamantly oppose locating antennas in residential areas ("Wireless: A little government meddling may not hurt," News: Analysis & Commentary, Feb. 19). If we, the citizens who want these services, don't stand up and fight for the infrastructure it takes to support them, the situation will continue to get worse.
Joe Blaschka Jr.
Woodinville, Wash.
Nuclear Power Has Stood the Test of Time
Nuclear plants, an economic pariah just a few years ago, are now hallmarks of success for electric utilities ("Nuclear power puts a glow on Exelon," Inside Wall Street, Feb. 12). Our current fleet of power facilities is being outpaced, and unless we engage in a major building campaign, including nuclear units and clean-coal power plants, we will all feel like Californians very soon.
William H. Miller
Professor of Nuclear Engineering
University of Missouri
Columbia
Lessons from California's Power Crisis
Laura Cohn's commentary says: "Only the incentives of a free market will encourage building new capacity" ("Why the energy crunch needs tough love," News: Analysis & Commentary, Feb. 19). Much of the media and many politicians have forgotten some 100 years of history of the electric utility industry. Regulation was the norm, and investors were happy to provide capital for generation, transmission, and distribution. And prices fell for most of the period.
H. Michael Hayes
Westminster, Colo.
The Dangers of Allowing Patients to Sue
"Patients' rights for all patients?" (Social Issues, Feb. 19) should have been titled "Much higher costs and/or lost health insurance for all patients?" The federal government should let the states pass their own laws--in the hope that innocuous laws are passed that focus on mandatory external review of physicians by competent physicians, rather than incompetent lawyers.
Kenneth S. Abramowitz
New York
To Manage Diabetes, You Need Adequate Insurance
Yes, tools for self-management of diabetes are available ("Taking the sting out of diabetes," BusinessWeek Lifestyle, Feb. 19). But without adequate medical insurance, most people are not going to spend the money to buy glucose meters and the (very expensive) test strips that go with them.
Carol Emmet-Boring
Winston-Salem, N.C.
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