Looking at the papers today, we see a Philadelphia Inquirer article about how that city’s minority-contracting program has been defrauded by a phony company, and a Chicago Tribune article about a finding that “‘a significant factor’” in the deaths at a recent fire there could be traced to bad decisions by firefighters, whose promotions “have been driven by raw patronage, ethnic politics, City Hall clout or affirmative action.” The Chicago commission makes a “provocative proposal” that top firefighter posts “be filled on the basis of testing and merit.” And maybe Philadelphia should award contracts to the lowest bidder. In the municipal context, affirmative action equals old-fashioned corruption.