Featured Commentary category, Page 84
Dana Siler: Climate legislation matters … now more than ever
The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in West Virginia v. EPA is a disappointment to those who want to see strong, quick climate action. Given the volatility of implementing greenhouse gas reductions via actions from the executive branch, the impetus is now on Congress to act on climate change. The court’s...
Peter Morici: Employers must embrace hybrid work to attract top talent
Employers that insist workers return to the desk five or even four days a week are facing tough resistance. When Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon ordered his bankers to their desks full time, just 505 of his base employees showed up. Subsequently, young bankers were threatening to quit and otherwise...
Bruce Castor: No pipelines means more coal, less safety
The Pittsburgh metro area has emerged as one of our nation’s leading energy hubs, though this status does not come without risks. Right before the busy Memorial Day weekend, a Norfolk Southern Train struck a vehicle, causing a significant train derailment that sent nine carriages into a tributary of the...
Dr. Andrew Smolar: Prevention, mental health and our current crises
I see that we have a collective blind spot. We don’t understand mental health. Our media talks and writes about elevated rates of anxiety during Covid, depression and substance abuse during mid-life, and suicidality among adolescents and veterans. Mental health professionals are rarely consulted. We have three current crises that...
Marc Stier: We need a budget for all Pennsylvanians
It appears that state budget negotiations are continuing and we may have some announcement of a budget deal in the next day or so. The last few weeks of public debate in Harrisburg have been deeply revealing of the different approaches of the two parties. One of those parties has...
Greg Fulton: July Fourth and the American dream
We celebrate the Fourth of July as Independence Day because that is the date credited for when the Declaration of Independence was signed. The signing of the Declaration also represented the beginning of an experiment that the world had not witnessed before. It was the initial step in the creation...
Viewpoint 2: On Independence Day, we could do better
Independence Day is recognized across America as the day to celebrate freedom. As the popular song says, “I’m proud to be an American/Where at least I know I’m free.” Yet many people don’t feel terribly free. Some think the traditional American way of life is under attack. Others think that...
Viewpoint 1: Our freedoms are under attack
Recent headlines, from the Jan. 6 committee’s hearings to the Supreme Court rolling back the right to reproductive health care, profoundly implicate the freedom that many will celebrate this Independence Day. Opponents of democracy — a system that works best when it empowers people to have an equal say in...
Rob Altenburg: Supreme Court hurts EPA’s ability to fight pollution
The Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia vs. EPA is a major setback and hobbles the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to regulate the pollution that causes climate change, but it doesn’t stop Pennsylvania from taking necessary steps here at home. The court’s ruling may have far-reaching consequences...
Peter Morici: Defending Taiwan starts with standing up to Putin
President Joe Biden’s recent statement that the United States would intervene militarily if China tried to take Taiwan by force was hardly a gaffe. The U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity has outlived its usefulness. Since President Richard Nixon went to China and put the two nations on the path to...
Kenneth W. Gatten III: Dr. Oz’s misinformed oil and gas policies
As prices at the gas pump hit record highs, U.S. oil and gas policies are proving to be key issues heading into the November midterm elections. Recently, Republican Senate nominee Mehmet Oz railed against the Biden administration, lamenting that President Biden’s “failed energy policies have crippled us” and calling to...
Eric Epstein: Electric fantasyland led to higher rates, higher taxes and more terminations
On Aug. 4, 2000, Republican Gov. Tom Ridge announced that electric competition would lead to job growth, economic expansion and decreased rates. According to Ridge, “Pennsylvania’s national leadership in electric competition continues to bring dramatic savings and economic benefits to Pennsylvanians.” The Department of Revenue rolled out the pompoms and...
Stephen Bloom: Scholarship bill is a lifeline for kids
Pennsylvania has become a battleground for educational freedom and choice. Parents from diverse perspectives are showing up at school board meetings, filing lawsuits, forming political action committees and running for their school boards. Many have reached a boiling point with systemic inequities and curriculums that often feel more like activism...
Kimberly Orth: American Rescue Plan subsidies provide health care for those who need it most
Nationwide, health insurance participation in the Affordable Care Act’s individual market is growing and increased competition is helping drive down consumer premiums. In Pennsylvania, UPMC Health Plan is one of eight health insurance providers offering affordable coverage options to more than 400,000 enrollees in 2022. Through the covid-19 special enrollment...
Sheldon Jacobson: NHL general managers should study computer science
Ron Hextall, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ general manager, holds the 21st overall pick in the upcoming National Hockey League entry draft to be held July 7 . This pick gives him the opportunity to add outstanding hockey prospects. Pittsburgh has not been particularly effective with its selections, with 2015 the last...
Sarah Fay: I received 6 psychiatric diagnoses in 25 years. They were a dead end.
The day I sat in my psychiatrist’s windowless office and was told I had bipolar disorder, I’d already been in the mental health system for 25 years. It was my sixth diagnosis. Starting at age 12, I’d also been told I had anorexia, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive...
Gabriela Suarez: Kids’ neighborhoods can affect their developing brains, study says
Children growing up in more disadvantaged neighborhoods — meaning those with poor housing quality, more poverty, and lower levels of employment and education — show observable increases in brain activity when viewing emotional faces on a screen, according to our team’s new study. But importantly, we found that this association...
Kevin Hensil: PASSHE continues system redesign with funding update that supports students, universities
The editorial “Funding formula is PaSSHE pipe dream” (June 20, TribLIVE) is built on a misunderstanding of a new formula to distribute state funds among the state-owned universities. The editorial suggests the formula isn’t viable without an increase in state funding. While the formula and funding are separate issues, to...
Rep. Kerry Benninghoff: We need smart policy to bring down inflation, reduce energy costs
The status of our state and national economy is at the forefront of many people’s concerns as they go out to spend their hard-earned money to purchase the necessities of life. As such, a realistic assessment of our economic picture today and tomorrow is crucial to understanding where our priorities...
David Rotenstein: Preserving Pittsburgh’s history isn’t a morals test
Pittsburgh, like any major city, has its share of historical heroes and villains. Our heroes include Andrew Carnegie, Fred Rogers and August Wilson. The bad guys (and women) include racketeer Tony Grosso and jailbreak accomplice Kate Soffel. Historic preservation is one way that we tell our city’s stories using the...
Richard Krauland: The mathematical truth about climate change
So let’s move on to another extremely important subject in modern society. Climate change was originally known as global warming. But as the real science measurements failed to show the expected rise in global temperatures, the name was changed. But the ferocity of its adherents has not diminished. No doubt,...
Gisele Fetterman: 10 years of DACA success, but work still remains
Ten years ago, President Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to protect the Dreamers and give them an opportunity to work and go to school without fear of deportation. This vitally important program has changed the lives of nearly 830,000 Dreamers and their families across the...
Andrew Reiner: On Father’s Day, some dads just want to parent without the stereotypes
Recently, I was sitting in the cafe of a large chain grocery store when two employees walked by. One of them must have been training the other one because he said to his colleague, “You saw how crazy things were for Mother’s Day? How we sold out of flowers?” The...
Con: Mandatory voting is a bad, unconstitutional idea
A handful of countries, most notably Australia, impose mandatory voting, with citizens facing fines and punishments if they don’t appear at the polls. And every few years, somebody proposes bringing this practice to the United States as a good-government reform that allegedly would improve the health of our democracy. Luckily,...
Pro: Universal voting makes sense for a full and healthy democracy
In our book “100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting,” E.J. Dionne and I make a case for universal voting — that voting should be a required civic duty for every American citizen. Universal voting could be enacted federally or — more likely — by states or municipalities. If adopted,...
