Featured Commentary category, Page 79
Michelle Annette Meyer: Nonprofits key to recovery from a disaster like Hurricane Ian
Massive storms like Ian and Fiona mark the beginning of a long and frustrating process for anyone who loses their home and possessions. Recovery usually takes years. Everyone’s experience is unique, but I’ve noticed some common patterns while researching disaster recovery. Understanding this complex process, which includes dozens of nonprofit...
Peter Morici: Americans want a president selling solutions, not a revolution
Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump would be among the least desirable nominees for 2024. Americans are profoundly unhappy about the direction of the country and want someone focused more sharply on challenges in their daily lives and less on the cultural issues that obsess the extremes of the Democratic...
Stratton Yatron: Biden, congressional leaders must unite to fight for Pa. jobs
As we enter the final weeks of a Senate race that may determine which party controls the U.S. Senate, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Dr. Mehmet Oz continue to argue over who will be the best fighter for hardworking Pennsylvania families. The upcoming debate between the two Senate candidates must...
Robert T. Smith: Tilting at global warming windmills
Just as Don Quixote tilted at the windmill of the evil giants in his mind, so we tilt at the windmill of man-caused global warming. The alleged environmentally friendly “green energy” alternatives are the add-on tragedy to the battle with the earth’s climate. While much of the world struggles with...
Sheldon Jacobson: ‘Shark Tank’ sinks with live audience
“Shark Tank,” the popular prime-time ABC network business reality program, started its 14th season Sept. 23 with a new twist: It was broadcast with a live audience. The results of this change were highly vocal spectators much like what you would find at a professional wrestling event, with the Sharks...
Lt. Col. Michal Polidor: Air Force set for another 75 years of air domination
“PROCEED DIRECTLY TO KEATING. IT IS BEING OVERRUN.” Those were the first words we heard over the radio on the morning of Oct. 3, 2009. In response, 1st Lt. Aaron “Finch” Dove and I, who were the lead aircraft in a formation of two F-15E Strike Eagles, positioned ourselves for...
Dr. Andrew Smolar: Does your party represent your moral foundation?
We are divided by our different belief systems. Roughly half of the population believes that our institutions are fair and that everyone is responsible for the outcome of his/her chosen pathway. The other half believe that the playing field is lopsided and that outcomes are not primarily determined by the...
Peter Morici: Biden’s student-debt forgiveness encourages universities to raise tuition
Present Joe Biden’s student-loan forgiveness has attracted wide criticism, but few express the menace it poses to the Federal Reserve and congressional powers. Federal student loans create more equal access to quality higher education for working- and middle-class students, and the average college graduate earns more, lives longer and expresses...
Greg Fulton: It’s inflation, stupid
When Bill Clinton was running for president in 1992, his chief political strategist was James Carville. Carville presented himself as a good old country boy from Louisiana, but really was one of the sharpest and best political minds in the country. Carville understood politics and had the pulse of the...
Eric Felton: A comedic showdown in the Keystone State
For a dead serious election that may determine which party controls the Senate come 2023, the contest in Pennsylvania between hulking Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and slender celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz has its share of comic relief. Some of it is self-aware: Walking into a Philadelphia rec center gym for...
Kathy English: Journalists must explain our work to our readers
Journalists do our jobs in the belief that journalism — at its best — matters to citizens the world over. As journalists around the globe unite today on this World News Day to proclaim publicly that journalism makes a difference, we must not turn away from the discouraging fact —...
Ari Mittleman: Working to eradicate hate
Earlier this month, our nation marked the 235th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. After a hot summer of intense debate and humbling compromises, 39 Americans with diverse interests and backgrounds signed their names to a first-of-its-kind document in world history. Sitting at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit at...
William Hauk, Lisa Miller and Wayne Au: Is the pandemic over?
President Joe Biden’s declaration that “the pandemic is over” raised eyebrows and the hackles of some experts who think such messaging could be premature and counterproductive. But to many Americans who have long since returned to pre-covid-19 activities and are now being forced back into the office, the remark may...
POINT: Canceling student debt one of many steps needed to restore promise of higher education
The president’s debt cancellation plan will help millions of borrowers who have fallen through the cracks of a broken higher education system. Each year, the federal government makes billions of dollars available in loans to students pursuing a college degree or postsecondary credential. These loans are made under the guise...
COUNTERPOINT: 2 plus 2 make 5 in Biden’s student loan handout
Someone once said that if you torture the data long enough, it will confess. Even still, it is difficult to manipulate the data to the point where you can justify the White House’s student loan handout. Simply put, the numbers do not add up. The claim is that nearly all...
Beth L. Fossen: Name-calling in politics grabs headlines, but voters don’t like it
Spending on political advertising is setting records in the midterm elections. But evidence shows that negative messages might discourage voters from casting ballots altogether. As the 2022 midterms get closer, political attacks in campaign advertisements are on the rise. In November, Rep. Paul Gosar shared an anime cartoon video showing...
Dr. Norbert Goldfield, Dr. Mitch Kaminski and Jeffrey C. Lerner: Voting for the common health of Pa.
The first patient one of us treated as a young internist 45 years ago had been refused care by another physician because his insurance had expired. The man cried. He hasn’t been forgotten. Scenes like this were more common at one time. Today, millions of patients are spared humiliation and...
Carlos A. Suárez Carrasquillo and Fernando Tormos-Aponte : Puerto Rico’s vulnerability to hurricanes magnified by weak government, bureaucratic roadblocks
EDITOR’S NOTE: Five years after Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico, Hurricane Fiona has killed at least four people, caused widespread flooding and left hundreds of thousands of residents without water or power. Maria caused extensive damage to Puerto Rico’s power grid in 2017 that left many residents without...
Sascha Meinrath: National broadband rollout has blind spot: Lack of accurate, transparent data about internet access speeds
Imagine purchasing “up to” a gallon of milk for $4.50, or paying for “up to” a full tank of gas. Most people would view such transactions as absurd. And yet, in the realm of broadband service, the use of “up to” speeds has become standard business practice. Unlike other advertisements...
Nicholas Creel: Why the red wave is becoming a red ripple
Republicans are increasingly finding themselves in danger of seeing what should have been an epic red wave falter into a pathetic red ripple, or worse, a Democratic gain in Congress. While it may be tempting to point to the recent spate of legislative and policy wins by Democrats as the...
Peter Morici: U.S. must take lead on globalization to compete with China
Global commerce is being rearranged by Western sanctions on Russia, covid inspired hardening of supply chains and Western apprehensions about China, but none of this spells the end of globalization. It merely heightens the competition between the United States and China about who will lead. The process will disrupt the...
Stephen Herzenberg: Union growth offers greater promise to workers
This week, clean energy leaders from around the world will gather here in Pittsburgh for a critical dialogue on how to address climate change but also improve jobs. Their choice of Pittsburgh for this unique gathering is not a coincidence: Opportunities for workers in the Steel City and all of...
David Dzombak and Tom Batroney: The Clean Water Act at 50
On Oct. 18, 1972, Congress enacted in a bipartisan manner the Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972, also known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). Prior to the CWA, clean-water laws at the federal and state levels were inconsistent, and progress was slow in cleaning up our nation’s water,...
David McKenzie: Community solar could ease economic pressures
Election season always brings discussion about the issues that are most important to Pennsylvanians. The economy is at the top of the list, with inflation and high energy prices hitting wallets hard. One solution that checks all the boxes on these economic concerns is community solar. Senate Bill 472 and...
Paul Muschick: Catholic church sex abuse victims deserve justice. Don’t let the election interfere.
A few weeks ago, Gov. Tom Wolf and legislative leaders announced they had reached a bipartisan agreement to finish the long overdue job of giving long ago victims of child sex abuse an opportunity to seek justice. Let’s just hope their pledge is honored after November’s midterm election. Nothing ever...
