As the Port Authority tries to reach a cost-effective agreement with its union workers, and county Chief Executive Dan Onorato withholds $27.7 million in funding from the agency to encourage responsibility, two legislators have put in their own two cents' worth of distraction.

The best that can be said is that House Bill 2070 -- from Republican Reps. Mike Turzai of Bradford Woods and Mark Mustio of Moon -- might help to concentrate the minds of Local 85 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, whose leaders haven't grasped the idea that the public's patience with overindulgent benefits is wearing thin when many other workers are struggling.

But this warning shot is based on several faulty assumptions. While the legislation would not privatize the Port Authority, it would end its monopoly under state law and allow transit systems in neighboring counties to pick up passengers in Allegheny County.

Even as deregulation and the free market bring the U.S. economy to the brink of ruin, the legislators embrace the familiar ideology that competition is unfailingly good. But, assuming that the Port Authority gets its house in order, it would be counterproductive to allow other transit agencies to come in and siphon off riders.

This prescription forgets the lesson of history: The reason that the Port Authority came into being more than 40 years ago was that private companies found it hard to survive in a competitive, free-market environment.

Moreover, where's the evidence that other transit agencies want to pick up fares here? A spokeswoman for the Beaver County Transit Authority said more details of the legislation would be needed before such a decision could be made. A spokesman for the Westmoreland County Transit Authority was more forthright: It had no plans to expand service.

In a statement on his Web site, Mr. Turzai said: "The Port Authority's spending is out of control. The state cannot bail out the Port Authority every year." Yes, spending is out of control. That's what the negotiations are about, so don't give up on the Port Authority until they're over. That's not ideology, but common sense.