Featured Commentary category, Page 61
Brenton Smith: We don’t have 10 years to think about our Social Security insolvency problem
It has been nearly 40 years since Congress was able to find common ground on the future of Social Security. While millions of people depend on the system as a lifeline, politicians have done little to slow the erosion of the program’s finances. If the projections in the latest trustees...
Stephen Mihm: How the Titanic wreck became a money-making scheme
The ill-fated passengers who died trying to visit the wreck of the Titanic paid an extraordinary price for the privilege: $250,000 each. This is hardly surprising, given how many people view the story of the doomed ship with intense, if morbid, fascination. A profitable industry now caters to this obsession,...
Sheldon H. Jacobson: Should the TSA end the 3-ounce liquid restriction?
The plot to bring liquid explosives onto flights from London to the U.S. and Canada in 2006 prompted the Transportation Security Administration to institute a limitation of 3 ounces on all liquid and gel containers placed in carry-on bags. This led to the well-known and much maligned 3-1-1 rule for...
Dennis Roddy: Voucher backtrack another calibrated move by Shapiro
Cynicism abounds in government. It’s where cynics go to win big. So the indignant surprise that Gov. Josh Shapiro went back on his word to Senate Republicans over scholarship vouchers for kids in failing schools is both understandable and meaningless. The passion of public policy is wasted on the mathematics...
Randy Highlands: Decision to close Jeannette EMS a difficult one
The decision to close Jeannette EMS was one that did not come lightly (“Jeannette EMS shuts down after 63 years,” July 3, TribLIVE). I have devoted over 44 years of my life to this service and community in various capacities within the service. The EMS industry as a whole is...
Dr. Andrew Smolar: Republican leadership, power and courage
So much has been said about Donald Trump that fans and foes are tired of him. What hasn’t been described are the motivations of Republican leadership — the congresspeople who fawn over him despite private reservations, and state Republicans who continue their support. Representatives of the Republican Party have remained...
François Dubet: French riots follow decades-old pattern of rage, with no resolution in sight
Although they never fail to take us aback, French riots have followed the same distinct pattern ever since protests broke out in the Eastern suburbs of Lyon in 1981, an episode known as the “summer of Minguettes”: a young person is killed or seriously injured by the police, triggering an...
Cal Thomas: The catastrophe du jour
King Charles III has launched a catastrophe countdown clock. It will tick until 2030, a year in which he predicts “serious consequences” if the world doesn’t effectively address “climate change.” Honestly, if you can’t trust the king, whom can you trust? It’s always good to be reminded of predictions like...
Peter Morici: Biden and McCarthy’s debt-ceiling deal puts U.S. on course for fiscal trainwreck
The agreement that President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached recently to suspend the U.S. debt ceiling until 2025 avoided immediate turmoil in financial markets but does little to avert the crisis that may be brewing due to huge federal deficits. The deal cuts the 2024 deficit by...
John A. Sparks: In Sackett and Tyler, court bolsters property rights
In its last three terms, the Supreme Court has received a great deal of public attention — both positive and negative — due to its decisions on human sexuality (Bostock, Zarda) and abortion (Dobbs). This term, going relatively unnoticed, were two now-decided cases — Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency and...
Cal Thomas: Court’s affirmative action ruling a step toward true equality
It may not have had the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation, or the civil rights legislation of the 1960s, but last week’s ruling by the Supreme Court that affirmative action in college admissions violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause is an important advancement toward equality for all. Reaction to...
Elwood Watson: Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling is very revealing
After decades of aggressive and strategic efforts from influential right-wing forces, the Supreme Court outlawed race-conscious admissions at universities throughout the nation, dismantling decades of progress and crippling the potential of racial diversity and pluralism at our nation’s institutions of higher education. Chief Justice John Roberts, speaking for the majority,...
Todd Eachus: Working together to connect all Pennsylvanians
In a world increasingly driven by digital connectivity, access to the internet is no longer a luxury — it is a fundamental necessity that allows Pennsylvanians to communicate, learn, work, socialize, and access essential services. The covid-19 pandemic only magnified the challenges faced by those in our state who still...
Point: State of the republic — precarious
The state of the republic is precarious, but I am hopeful that democracy will prevail because it is resilient. We the people have faced serious threats in the past, including even a Civil War, and we have overcome them. We must continue to pass laws to strengthen our democracy in...
Counterpoint: Decline in religion doesn’t bode well for the republic
Over the past several decades, a growing number of Americans have abandoned their faith — usually Christianity — to join the ranks of the nonreligious. These “Nones” describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular.” Some may shrug at this, but you don’t have to be religious to know...
Gary Franks: False abortion claims are being used for political gain
Recently we marked the first anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization landmark decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, which I applaud. The Supreme Court ordered a return of the power to regulate all aspects of abortions to individual states. Thus, electing more Democrats or Republicans to Congress...
Colin McNickle: The lose-lose situation of a $15 Pa. minimum wage
The Law of Unintended Consequences will come back to haunt Pennsylvania businesses, their workers and the commonwealth’s economy should the state nearly double the mandatory minimum wage by 2026, concludes an exhaustive analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “If the Pennsylvania Legislature enacts, and the governor signs, a...
Peter Morici: Biden’s protectionism driving emerging economies into China’s hands
America and its Western allies face a new era of geopolitical tensions with a coalescing alliance of autocratic states — China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and perhaps Saudi Arabia. It’s become fashionable to warn about the dangers of a new Cold War. But competing with China for influence among emerging...
Mickey Dutrow: Solar a budget solution for Pa. schools
Next year, Pennsylvania school districts will be staring down a financial cliff as the historic covid-19 pandemic funding ends. The stakes are even higher now since the state Supreme Court ruled that the General Assembly must find ways to pay for public education. When compounded with crumbling infrastructure, increasing mental...
Jonah Goldberg: Wagner Group’s coup attempt may be over, but it shows a real crack in Putin’s power
Like many people, I was glued to the news for much of Saturday, watching what seemed, at least for a moment, to be the first stages of a coup d’état — and it still might be. The only thing we know for certain is that if this is the beginning...
Elwood Watson: Quoting Hitler an example of the shift on the right
Last week, an Indiana chapter of Moms for Liberty, a nonprofit organization that advocates for “parental rights” in education, ended up apologizing and condemning Adolf Hitler after previously using a quote from the racist and antisemitic Nazi leader in its newsletter. “We condemn Adolf Hitler’s actions and his dark place...
Featured Commentary: Supreme Court has not committed to a major innovation in transparency it started during the pandemic
When the Supreme Court began livestreaming audio of oral arguments in May 2020, it was because the covid-19 pandemic prevented the justices from convening in person. But since then, even as pandemic-era restrictions eased, the Supreme Court has continued livestreaming, uninterrupted. The Supreme Court initially approved the practice on a...
James Horncastle: What the Wagner Group revolt in Russia could mean for the war in Ukraine
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, staged a revolt against Russia after claiming the Russian army deliberately attacked his forces. Prigozhin demanded justice — and that took the form of an armed insurrection. Before Prigozhin reportedly backed down after negotiations with the leader of Belarus, the Wagner Group...
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler: I will never abandon Marc Fogel
Over the past five years, I’ve worked to solve a multitude of issues facing American citizens overseas. In 2020, my office helped secure the African evacuation of Andrew Mewbourn, a Hempfield Township teacher suffering from a severe eye ailment. In 2021, I fought to hold President Biden accountable for his...
Darlene Leslie: In drought, water should be for people, not profit
The commonwealth of Pennsylvania has issued a drought watch, acknowledging what those of us with gardens have known for months: We are well short of the rainfall we’d normally expect by this time of year. According to the National Weather Service, we’ve received only 13.6” inches of rain when we...
