Short Fuse

Pensions: Marzilli works the system
In addition to his other problems, former state senator James Marzilli has now become the poster child for a messed-up public pension system. In June, after he was accused of trying to grope one woman and harassing another, the 50-year-old Arlington Democrat stopped performing his duties and dropped his reelection campaign. Now he wants to increase his pension from $14,000 to $27,000, under a law that allows longtime officials under age 55 to claim more retirement money if they fail to win re-election. Whether this perk is even relevant in Marzilli's case is debatable; he resigned his seat in November, after he purported to represent the Massachusetts Senate at an environmental conference in Germany. But why should any officials be eligible for a bigger pension because voters decline to reelect them?

Gun laws: This Uzi is not a toy
Pelham Police Chief Ed Fleury was arraigned last week on involuntary manslaughter charges for his role in the Uzi machine gun death of an 8-year old boy, but that step will do nothing to clarify the state's murky laws on the use of firearms by minors. That will require action by a timid Legislature, which last month postponed a promised hearing on state laws relating to gun shows of the type where young Christopher Bizilj was killed. The Legislature's public safety committee said it was waiting for completion of the criminal investgation. But the need to clarify and toughen state laws regarding minors handling automatic weapons will be just as urgent regardless of the outcome of Fleury's trial. The public safety committee needs to live up to its name.

Credit cards: Plastic parameters
Amid this decade's orgy of debt-fueled consumer spending, credit card companies raked in money by issuing as many cards as they could, jacking up late fees and interest rates, and getting Congress to make it harder for consumers to escape credit card debt through bankruptcy. Fortunately, regulators are at least starting to crack down on sneaky practices. The Federal Reserve, Office of Thrift Supervision, and the National Credit Union Administration have announced new rules that, among other things, restrict card issuers from raising rates on existing balances for customers and guarantee a reasonable time for customers to pay off loans. Even so, the card companies got off easy: The new rules don't take effect until mid-2010.