Featured Commentary category, Page 77
Michael Skiba: Insurance fraud costs $309 billion a year — nearly $1,000 for every American
What would you do with an extra $932.63 in your pocket? That’s how much insurance fraud costs every American a year — $309 billion in total, according to the findings of a recent research study that I led. For a family of four, that adds up to nearly $3,800 —...
Guy Ziv: A stunning political comeback for Israel’s Netanyahu may give way to governing nightmare ahead
Israel’s political magician has done it again. Having been turned out of office in 2021 as the first sitting Israeli prime minister to be indicted — and with his corruption trial still underway — Benjamin Netanyahu has made another stunning comeback. After four inconclusive elections in just four years, a...
Greg Fulton: Alejandro Villanueva, a Veterans Day story
“Duty. Honor. Country.” Alejandro Villanueva followed the U.S. Military Academy at West Point’s credo when he was there and when he served in the military, and he adhered to it when he played with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Villanueva defied the odds to make it to the NFL, and became one...
Lois Bower-Bjornson: We all want clean air
I grew up along the Monongahela River in the once thriving coal town of Fredericktown, where coal barges, orange water and mine drainage were the norm. Eighteen years ago my husband and I moved back to Washington County to raise our four children, despite it being the most heavily fracked...
Darrell Owens: Responding to veteran suicide crisis
Over the past several years, most Americans have learned that veterans face a suicide crisis. We have been told that veterans take their own lives at a rate of 17 per day. The numbers resonate deeply with people across the country. Here in Pennsylvania, 240 veterans reportedly took their lives...
Brian Callaci: Reining in UPMC’s monopsony power key to addressing workforce crisis in Pittsburgh hospitals
What do self-proclaimed freelance writer Stephen King and UPMC registered nurse Jodi Faltin have in common? They’re both fighting back against corporate monopsony power that eliminates competition in the labor market and allows employers to dictate terms to workers. Whether you’re selling horror stories or expertise in providing patient care,...
Garen Wintemute: How a divided America splits on QAnon, racism and armed patrols at polling places
There is much talk about political violence in America these days. Garen Wintemute, a University of California, Davis, scholar who researches firearm violence, has recently led a nationwide survey research project on political violence. The Conversation U.S. asked him for a portrait of what Americans think about political violence as...
Cal Thomas: A ‘sure thing’ election that wasn’t
MIAMI — If Republicans could not score their “red wave” victories predicted by many pundits — and even some Democrats — in these midterm elections, what’s next for them? All the issues were on their side — inflation, high gas and food prices, an open border, underperforming schools. If they...
Luke Bernstein: Autonomous vehicle law puts Pa. in driver’s seat of opportunity, innovation
Pennsylvania’s Legislature recently put the commonwealth in the driver’s seat of innovation and economic opportunity by sending a bill to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk that paves the way for autonomous vehicle development. In the final days of the 2021-22 session, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry worked with state...
Candidate statement: Dr. Mehmet Oz
As a child, I grew up just a few miles south of Kennett Square. After graduating from medical and business school in Philadelphia, I operated on thousands of patients and invented a tool to fix heart valves that saves lives while cutting medical costs. Later, as a television host, I...
Candidate statement: Sen. Doug Mastriano
I never wanted to be a politician. I grew up in a middle-class family, and my dad served in the Navy. All I ever wanted to do was serve my country as a soldier. I served in the U.S. Army for 30 years before retiring as a colonel. After my...
Candidate statement: Lt. Gov. John Fetterman
Twenty years ago, I came to Braddock to start a GED program and help young people find jobs. After two of my students were shot and killed, I ran for mayor to stop the violence. I proudly served as mayor of Braddock for four terms. During my tenure as mayor,...
Candidate statement: Attorney General Josh Shapiro
I grew up in Pennsylvania, watching my parents serve their community — my father as a pediatrician, and my mother as an educator. I witnessed firsthand how they cared for our neighbors and friends, and I recognized at a young age the importance of standing up for others and knew...
Elizabeth Stelle: Inflation is killing small business
Deeanna Hilliard closed her bakery in August. Gluten Free by D&D in Volant had survived pandemic restrictions and persistent worker shortages, but it couldn’t survive record inflation levels. “The economy did us in,” Hilliard said. “After our third price increase, customer visits dropped, sales dropped (and) regular faces stopped coming...
Ace Dufresne: Ableism distracting Pa. voters
“As a lifelong liberal, I still can’t justify voting for the handicapped. He is mentally unable to perform the job.” “This man, much like the president, can’t even finish a sentence!“ “Dr. Oz has a functional brain … unlike John “Fetterwoman.”” These are responses I’ve received while text-banking with the...
Marjorie Hershey: Republicans and Democrats see news bias only in stories that clearly favor the other party
Charges of media bias — that “the media” are trying to brainwash Americans by feeding the public only one side of every issue — have become as common as campaign ads in the run-up to the midterm elections. As a political scientist who has examined media coverage of the Trump...
Rep. Martell Covington: The value of strong tech investments
It’s an exciting time to be in Pittsburgh. The city has experienced unprecedented growth and embraced a future where opportunities and options are more limitless than ever before. Exponential growth doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s taken long-term commitments, dedication and the strategic outlook of local leaders like Mayor Ed Gainey...
Thomas Koenig: Post-Janus, battles with public-sector unions continue
Jane Ladley was a Pennsylvania public school teacher her entire life. She wasn’t a member of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), the state’s public school teachers union. But in 2013, the PSEA forced her to pay a “fair share fee,” a sum that non-union members must pay to a...
Greg Fulton: We can’t vote ‘none of the above’
In multiple choice tests, “none of the above” is often an answer option. In Pennsylania’s U.S. Senate race, many voters would probably choose that option if it was on the ballot. Neither Democratic candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman nor Republican nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz is reflective of the majority of...
Dr. Tracy Todd: Addressing impact of illness on families of older Americans
If you or a family member has ever been diagnosed with a serious health condition, you’ll know that the impact doesn’t stay with the individual. The stress, anxiety, worry and depression that come from these illnesses reach beyond the patient and touch families, too. Some of the most life-threatening health...
Cal Thomas: Last man no longer standing
He called himself “the last man standing,” a reference to the rock ‘n’ roll icons of which he was among the most notable. Jerry Lee Lewis died last week at age 87. He was the last in a line of rock greats whose records I played as a 16-year-old disc...
Leon Ford and Evan Feinberg: Healing communities in Pittsburgh
In major cities across the country, violent crime remains stubbornly higher than it was pre-pandemic. Pittsburgh is no exception, with the homicide rate up 25%. If we want more peaceful communities, we must develop better relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Bridging the divides between law enforcement...
Richard W. Jones: Our kinder, gentler Halloween is welcome
Halloween is much better than it used to be. Trust me on this. I’ve seen a lot of Halloweens, and, 60 years ago, there was a heftier dose of “trick” in trick-or-treat than there is now. The night was divided into two parts in the Western Pennsylvania steel mill town...
Hannibal Travis: Future of creative freedom on the line
The internet has opened access to culture. Billions of webpages build on the art, images, music, film, television and writing of the past. This explosion of content leads to tough questions over ownership of creative work and exclusivity of use. The highest court in the land may soon try to...
Karen Adams: Campaigns’ love-hate relationship with their signs
Every election cycle, I’m accustomed to seeing campaign signs. But this past summer, I was struck by the sheer number of them in Scottsdale, Ariz., near where I live. I counted 18 on just one corner of a major intersection. As a linguist who studies political advertising, I’ve read the...
