Opinion category, Page 276
Editorial: The cost of consideration for school construction
Everyone knows inflation has been difficult for the past couple of years. Gas was up. Eggs were up. It’s probably easier to list what didn’t go up dramatically since 2019. That’s definitely a shorter list. The rising prices have made plenty of people think twice about purchases. So what if...
Letter to the editor: Parable of the Good Samaritan for 2023
There was a cable news anchor who obtained an exclusive interview with Jesus Christ. Wanting to boost his station’s ratings, he asked Jesus, “Teacher, what is the greatest commandment?” Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength,...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: America learns from tough times
On June 5, much of the media covered the 55th anniversary of the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was running for the Democratic nomination for president when he was killed. If you were around then, it was the latest bad news in a decade of bad news....
John Tamny: There’s no such thing as ‘government stimulus’
Money has no purpose absent production first. Say it over and over again. Money is abundant in the United States not because the Fed decreed it so, but because productivity is a magnet for investment. If ever there comes a time when Americans cease their productive ways, the money will...
Noah Feldman: With Trump’s federal prosecution, timing is everything
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges, catapulting the U.S. into new legal and constitutional territory. What this means for democracy and for the 2024 presidential race I’ll leave for others to explore. Legally, the two key issues for Trump’s future are, obviously, whether Trump is convicted...
Shannon Bow O’Brien: Pence vs. Trump race breaks new ground
Former Vice President Mike Pence launched his campaign bid for president on June 7, placing him in unusual ranks. While 18 of the 49 former vice presidents have gone on to run for president, it’s rare for vice presidents to run against their former bosses. Six of these former vice...
Letter to the editor: If Trump wins GOP nomination …
If President Trump would win the GOP nod for the election and lose, what would the Trumpers do? See insurrection, payoffs, etc. Would he be able to serve from behind bars? See jail sentences for his puppets. Maybe destroy the Statue of Liberty, Lincoln Memorial? He lost. Face it Kirk...
Sounding off: U.S. debt, lying politicians, kids’ future, ‘gender insanity,’ ‘getting tough’ among week’s topics
We’ll go to war or go broke The U.S. has the largest debt burden of all the countries in the world, over $31 trillion and growing. We have the largest military budget in the world. The U.S. spends more than the next 10 countries combined on its military. We have...
Letter to the editor: Hempfield tax hike
Regarding the article “Tax increase included in draft Hempfield Area budget” (May 22, TribLIVE): No one would argue against better curriculum or more police officers for the district. But can someone please explain to me how a $30 million increase in the construction costs is not the reason for a...
Editorial: Electric vehicle fee for road use is only fair — but is there a better path forward?
Changing technology doesn’t just affect business or industry. It also affects government, sometimes in how it regulates and sometimes in how it taxes. We are seeing that now with electric vehicles. In Pennsylvania, roads and bridges are funded, in large part, through gas tax. The Keystone State has some of...
Letter to the editor: Politicians should study financial literacy, too
I read the article “Show me the money: Teachers, education experts advocate for financial literacy” (May 21, TribLIVE). We should make it mandatory for all politicians to take a financial literacy course and be tested afterward. If you talk to a financial adviser, the first thing he or she will...
Gary Franks: Kudos to CNN and CBS for some great reporting
Recently, CNN and CBS each earned kudos for digging deeper on an issue. They asked the tough questions that made folks in authority extremely uncomfortable and had equally as challenging follow-up questions. Adroit investigative reporting better serves the public. When the media does its job, it ensures that we have...
Ken Hersh: We must work to protect democracy
The United States is in the middle of a two-front war. We face dangerous external adversaries at a time when many inside our country doubt the benefits of our own leadership and the integrity of the very institutions that are designed to support our democracy here at home. 9/11 taught...
S.E. Cupp: Mike Pence 2024 still thinks he’s Pence of 2014
At a spry 64 years old, former Vice President Mike Pence is celebrating. On Wednesday, he marked his birthday — and formally announcing his run for president. It’s a strange and circuitous series of events that led him from a promising future as a GOP rising star to here, polling...
Colin McNickle: High costs, poor results — the troubling PPS story
Despite per student annual expenditures of nearly $30,000 that rank among the state’s highest, Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) continued to be a major disappointment when it came to academic achievement in 2022, concludes a new analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “Clearly, money is not the answer,” says...
Peter Morici: Americans may have to start working younger and retire older. That might be a good thing.
China announced earlier this year that for the first time since the 1960s, deaths outnumbered births and its population slipped in 2022 by 850,000 to 1.41 billion. Covid-19 brought this event forward a few years. More fundamentally, the legacy of China’s now-abandoned one-child policy and the high cost of raising...
Letter to the editor: Verona farmers market open for business
Our Verona farmers market, from 2-7 p.m. every Thursday at 736 E. Railroad Ave., has been around since the early 2000s. It was started by our current mayor, Dave Ricupero, and is currently run by the Verona Chamber of Commerce. This season, we have an abundance of vendors selling everything...
Letter to the editor: Rain would have helped with smokestack dust
After reading about the discomfort caused by the dust when the Springdale smokestack was imploded (“Amid dusty cleanup, Springdale residents remain unsettled in the wake of smokestack implosions,” June 2, TribLIVE), I have what might be a simplistic solution: wait till it rains. Now, it might take some planning and...
Lori Falce: Where there’s smoke, there’s wildfires — and serious questions to answer
Problems can get out of hand when you decide they don’t affect you. Maybe it’s because you don’t have the time or the money or the ability to do anything about them at the moment. I get it. That’s why my mail accumulates on the passenger seat of my car...
Laurels & lances: Strange story, bad decision
Laurel: To a strange story. OK, we have to admit right up front that, sometimes, it’s hard to decide exactly whether a story should be a laurel or a lance. Sometimes, it could be both, depending on how you look at it. Sometimes, it could be neither but is just...
Letter to the editor: Look past politicians’ spin
Q: How can you tell when politicians are lying? A: Their lips are moving. Rep. Summer Lee and Sen. John Fetterman’s statements justifying their votes against the debt deal lend credence to this truism. Lee said work requirements for able-bodied food-aid recipients 54 and under with no dependents (up from...
Paul Kengor: Remembering the contributions and lessons of Andrew Mellon
The Mellon name certainly doesn’t go unrecognized in the Pittsburgh area. But a Mellon who might not get the recognition he fully deserves is Andrew Mellon. Sure, he’s hardly unknown in these parts, but I think Andrew Mellon isn’t appreciated quite the way he should be. One native who doesn’t...
Maurizio Vasania: Political compromises — like the debt-limit deal — have never been substitutes for lasting solutions
The compromise to avoid default on the U.S. debt passed muster, eventually. President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy pulled it off. The nation can breathe, at least for the next two years. And yet, the far right is unhappy, many Democrats from the progressive wing are...
Featured Commentary: Scandals have the potential to affect the legitimacy of judges — and possibly the federal judiciary, too
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is no stranger to controversy. In 1991, during his confirmation hearings in the Senate, Thomas faced accusations of sexual harassment from a former colleague and law school professor, Anita Hill. More recently, Thomas’ personal relationship with a real estate billionaire, Republican donor Harlan Crow,...
Letter to the editor: Thanks to caring community for letting teen be all he can be
As the Class of 2023 celebrates graduation, the Gratzmiller family would like to extend their appreciation to the residents of the Alle-Kiski community. To everyone who has allowed Andrew to be Andrew, we say thank you. When Andrew was diagnosed with autism, we were not sure what life would look...
