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Featured Commentary category, Page 92

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Sean Kertes and Doug Chew: Why Excela received $5 million grant
We write in response to the Dec. 4 letter “$5 million grant to Excela wrong.” Transparency in government is important, so we’d like to set the record straight. The basis for a grant to Excela was set as far back as July 6, when Excela’s leadership team met with the...
Cindy Adams Dunn and Stephanie Wein: Celebrating conservation win in year of loss
It seems like more than ever, we’re barraged by a news cycle that’s filled with depressing stories about all the things going wrong in the world, from the divisiveness of the election to extreme weather and destruction, and of course, the pandemic. But there’s some good news that has quietly...
Peter Smith: Community capitalism would strengthen markets and people
Pope Francis recently wrote that “market capitalism” is out of control and that the world needs an alternative. In the United States, we are well aware of the burgeoning economic gap between the top 1% and everyone else that has erupted over the last 30 years. Multiple factors have contributed...
Mark Schwartz: Why no sanctions for frivolous election lawsuits?
Covid-19 has certainly made for an unprecedented situation for lawyers, as well as for our judges who try to maintain a semblance of order amid the overwhelming disorder that covid-19 has imposed. Court proceedings have always been about in-person proceedings, where we are able to personally confront opposing parties, their...
Rep. Austin Davis: Congress must act fast on CARES Act, new plan for Pa. residents
In March, we had to ask the most of our residents: We asked them to stay home. We asked them to forego their financial security, close businesses and have faith in the government to do the right thing. “We’ve got your backs,” we said. “Programs will be available to you...
Eugene Robinson: Trump, GOP causing crisis of faith in our democracy
WASHINGTON Democracy requires faith. President Trump and his unscrupulous enablers — including most Republican elected officials — are cynically destroying that faith for millions of Americans, and I fear the nation will pay a terrible price. I’m talking to you, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and most of your...
Sheldon Jacobson: Effective treatments, not vaccines, are light at end of covid-19 tunnel
We are nine months into the covid-19 pandemic, with many succumbing to face covering and physical distancing fatigue, and pockets of pervasive skepticism about the virus threat and its risk. No one is happy, and everyone has someone to blame for their anger, grief and malcontent. The question people are...
David Dausey: Keep holiday festivities smaller to prevent covid-19 from getting bigger
Americans need to change their behaviors in advance of the holidays unless they want a very grim start to the new year. If we don’t, cases of covid-19 could overwhelm the health care systems in many regions in the country and deaths will continue to escalate. Without significant changes to...
Ron Klink: When addressing drug prices, there’s a right way and a wrong way
In what may have been the last significant action of his presidency, President Trump recently issued two executive orders designed to lower prescription drug spending in Medicare. The first order would eliminate the current system of “rebates” for prescription drugs covered by Medicare Part D. The second order, dubbed the...
Catherine Rampell: The best way for Biden to save money later
There are two main arguments for Congress to provide generous, immediate fiscal relief. One is based on humanitarian concerns; the other, economic growth. President-elect Joe Biden should use both in his continuing efforts to sway penny-pinching lawmakers. On Friday, in response to a particularly “grim” jobs report, Biden made a...
Caleb Fuller: ‘E’ for ‘Excellence: — remembering Walter E. Williams
Walter E. Williams, prolific author, piercing cultural commentator, old school economist (that’s a good thing), devoted husband, loving father and longtime friend of Grove City College, has passed from this world. To the rest of America, Williams, who died Dec. 2, was known as a “suffer-no-fools” commentator on perennial hot-button...
Gene Barr: Gov. Wolf leaves many out in cold with covid liability veto
In a year that’s already been plagued by financial hardships, small businesses, nonprofits, day cares, and the education and medical communities recently received more troubling news when Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed critical liability protections on the last day of the 2019-20 legislative session — effectively leaving these industries out in...
Peter Morici: Biden must make a covid-19 stimulus bill happen now
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” the oft-quoted opening line from “A Tale of Two Cities,” is an apt description of the American economy. And we know how those times ended — in revolution. The stock market booms as if America shines more brightly...
Jonathan Goldstein: How we know who wins elections, and why it matters
By now we know the story of the 2020 election. One with heroes and villains. Laudatory tales and vile conspiracies. And, most importantly, a fog that obscured the winner for days. In a normal year, we tune into the news on election night to learn who won and who lost....
Ruben Navarrette Jr.: Biden is not ‘The One’ to fix America’s race problem
SAN DIEGO — Joe Biden wants to be the civil rights president. You don’t say? That old dog isn’t likely to learn new tricks, and so it’s no shock that the 78-year-old president-elect sees America in Black-and-White. However, what is new — and noteworthy — is that the Biden White...
Kathleen Parker: Biden press team honeymoon won’t last
The breathlessness surrounding President-elect Joe Biden’s communications and press offices — all women! — should be considered a honeymoon that will end at 1 a.m. Jan. 21, the day after Biden’s inauguration. It’s all in the stars. Constellations, that is, of media superstars, many of whom have become household names...
Erik Paulsen: Executive order for price controls will harm innovation and patients
President Trump recently signed a new executive order to reform our health care system. While his desire to lower costs for patients is appropriate, the proposed changes would do more harm than good. The new “most-favored- nation” executive order would tie Medicare payments for certain medicines to the lowest price...
Dr. David Dausey: Be a patriot and roll up your sleeve for covid-19 vaccine
In the coming months, Americans will have the opportunity to do the most patriotic thing they can do for their country: roll up their sleeves and get a vaccine for covid-19. The push to develop a vaccine for covid-19 is truly unprecedented. Coronaviruses were first detected in humans in 1965....
Robert Smith: We’ve got enough environmental regulations
“The environment has never been cleaner in my lifetime than now.” That’s the way I begin a part of my guest lecture to business classes at a local college. The look on the faces of the products of our public-school educational system is one of disbelief. As a nearby, familiar...
David Wassel: Dissecting the 2020 election
At first blush, the Democrats prevailed, although with considerable nuance and caveats. Here’s a rundown. Vice President Joe Biden didn’t win the broad sweep of states that was advertised. But only the 270 Electoral College vote threshold, which he crossed, matters. Democrats didn’t win expected Senate seats, denying them a...
Kate Boulton: To help end overdose, we have to transform probation
As an increasing number of criminal justice policymakers acknowledge that we can’t punish our way out of the overdose crisis and as America faces a broader reckoning around our criminal legal system, we must address community supervision and its role as a driver of mass incarceration. For people who struggle...
Rep. John Joyce: American innovation promises covid-19 hope
For centuries, America has been the land of promise, and we have led the way in lifesaving advancement. In the span of my medical career alone, I have witnessed remarkable innovation — from groundbreaking discoveries to new therapeutics and even cures for deadly diseases. In 2020, America’s scientists and researchers...
Peter Morici: Expanding pool of skilled labor key to Biden resurrecting economy
President-elect Joe Biden ran on a platform to address climate change, remedy inequality, resurrect the economy and implement a more focused covid-19 strategy. Preliminary tests indicate Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine could be as much as 95% effective, and others are on the way from Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Oxford-AstraZeneca. However, producing...
Nathan Benefield: Don’t raise taxes while Pa. families are hurting
Pennsylvanians have made tough decisions amid the profound economic costs of the covid-19 pandemic. Millions of Pennsylvanians lost their jobs temporarily or permanently this year. Sadly, families continue to struggle and sacrifice to stay afloat. In the coming state budget debate, lawmakers and the governor need to back them up...
Sheldon Jacobson: Food and consumer goods supply chains remain resilient
We can all remember the run on consumer goods like toilet paper and cleaning supplies back in March and April 2020. With an unknown, invisible virus circulating among us, any items or surface touched by a human hand were a target for disinfection. Groceries and other items delivered to our...


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