Opinion category, Page 161
Peter Morici: Whatever the inflation reports say, the Fed has no business lowering rates now
Anticipating the Federal Reserve’s moves is tough because the U.S. central bank has not effectively articulated the challenges it faces. Monetary policy features famously long lags that change from one business cycle to another. Much depends on structural changes in government finances and the private economy, external shocks that instigate...
Leonard Greene: First lady Jill Biden getting unnecessary abuse after Joe’s debate flop
Her loving students might call her Dr. B., but one cynical columnist has gone so far as to deride her as “America’s most famous community college teacher.” Jill Biden can’t win. If she talks her husband into staying the course after his widely panned debate performance, she’s a power-hungry puppet...
Letter to the editor: Where does Dave McCormick live?
There have been many opinions about Senate candidate Dave McCormick and his upbringing. Clearly, McCormick is originally from Pennsylvania, born and raised. Sen. Bob Casey is raising questions about McCormick’s current residency. Meeting the requirements to get on the ballot requires residency. If it’s a property bought to meet these...
Letter to the editor: Credit card swipe fee proposal would hurt consumers, small businesses
Some members of the Pennsylvania Legislature are making a misguided effort to exempt sales tax from credit and debit card interchange fees. I fear this radical change would adversely affect consumers and small businesses, including members of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania. Interchange fees are payments...
Editorial: Standing up for youth lost in accidents and crime
We lose children every day. There are a million ways every year that our most precious resource slips through our fingers. All of them are heartbreaking. All of them are terrible. Nationwide, the total is about 37,000 annually, according to the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention. In Pennsylvania,...
Letter to the editor: Making the Strip District safer
I recently read a letter from a fellow resident who moved to Pittsburgh for work and was convinced to stay because of the Strip District (“Strip District should cater to pedestrians,” June 30, TribLive). He highlighted the pleasant experience of walking to work, getting groceries and dining out, contrasting it...
Amber Bloom: Paying student teachers stipends is a win-win
As the daughter of a sixth grade teacher, I’ve grown up surrounded by educators. Ever since I was little, I’ve wanted to follow in my mom’s footsteps and become a teacher myself. I’m very clear on my purpose in life: it’s to serve my students. But as a college student...
Jess Ward and Mattias Gugel: Pa.’s swipe fee cap — more harm than good for small businesses
The latest legislative misstep in Pennsylvania, HB 2394, aims to prohibit financial institutions from charging interchange fees on the sales tax portion of credit card and debit card transactions. While the intent to lower business costs is laudable, the execution is as ineffective as a Hershey’s chocolate teapot. Lawmakers are...
Letter to the editor: We must find middle ground on abortion
Are you familiar with the Ten Commandments? The Fifth Commandment is “Thou shall not murder,” translated loosely as “respect human life.” Unborn babies are human lives. Abortion is the killing of another human being. The unborn baby must be recognized formally as a human life before birth. The Democratic left...
Letter to the editor: Look at Biden, Trump accomplishments before voting
Debates are a poor way to determine votes, especially when one side ignores the truth. In the recent debate, President Biden stumbled early while affected by a cold, while former President Trump spouted nonsense with one lie after another. “After-birth abortion?” This from a man whose party is responsible for...
Editorial: Kiski Township should let Sunshine Act clear up Bartolicius’ departure
Residents of Kiski Township know one thing about the resignation of Lee Bartolicius from his position as police chief: Township supervisors accepted it. Do they know why he resigned? No. Do they know if there were problems to be resolved? No. Do they know what he received in a severance...
Letter to the editor: Don’t vote for Biden — or a replacement
A few weeks ago, I started drafting a letter directed to Joe Biden supporters, via your paper, arguing that, under no circumstances, should they ever vote for Biden in the general election. My argument followed a pure logic channel: 1. In 2014, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates claimed Biden...
Guy Ciarrocchi: Rural Pa. can thrive, not just survive
When it comes to rural Pennsylvania, reporters have focused on three issues: the pace of rural population loss, what happens when these communities hit rock bottom and if anything can be done. The last point — what can be done — is the key challenge faced by rural communities. But...
Robin Abcarian: Surgeon general acknowledged America’s gun violence emergency. Here’s why that matters.
Hey, cheer up: The news is not all bad. The federal government acknowledged for the first time last month that gun violence is an urgent public health crisis. You already knew that, of course. We all knew it. But, thanks to the gun lobby’s stranglehold on our political class, it’s...
Letter to the editor: Early morning airport woes
Once again, Pittsburgh International Airport is not doing what is has to do to assist travelers. They are telling people now to arrive three hours before their flight leaves. So, if your flight leaves at 6 or 7 a.m., you have to arrive at the airport between 3 and 4...
Letter to the editor: Biased reporting on debate
Why wasn’t the Associated Press story “Trump, Biden clash over economy, immigration, Jan. 6” (June 28) placed on the editorial page instead of the front page? Editorial opinion ran rampant through this article, leading off with “Joe Biden repeatedly sought to confront Donald Trump … as his Republican rival countered...
Editorial: With or without Chevron, clearer laws are essential
Among the many rulings the Supreme Court handed down this term, a decision on so-called Chevron deference could prove especially consequential. The question at issue was whether the courts or government agencies should determine the meaning of ambiguous laws. The new ruling unsettles a 40-year-old understanding by shifting some of...
Letter to the editor: Protecting our workers
In 2022, the number of preventable work deaths increased 5.7% over 2021. The preventable injury death rate also rose from 3.6 to 3.7 per 100,000 workers from 2021 to 2022. And workplace medically consulted injuries totaled more than 4.5 million in 2022. No elected leader or employer can look at...
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 8
Editorial cartoons for the week of July 8....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 8
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of July 8....
Letter to the editor: Praise for school voucher article
The article on school vouchers was well written and balanced (“School vouchers may make it into Pa.’s budget, but what would they really do?” June 28, TribLive). Kudos to the author! Ron Rodman Murrysville...
Letter to the editor: Biden should step aside
Joe Biden claims this year’s presidential election is about preserving democracy and that Donald Trump is running solely to feed his oversized ego. If Biden truly believes this, then he should step aside. The Democrats would then be able to nominate a practical centrist around whom the vast majority of...
Editorial: Hispanic population growth can build Pennsylvania political power
Western Pennsylvania is not a melting pot of cultures. The people who have come to or passed through Pittsburgh and surrounding communities have not blended into a homogeneous puree of creamy uniformity. And, really, who would want that anyway? Instead, it’s more like a marketplace of skills, ideas, beliefs and...
Letter to the editor: Westmoreland County does elections right
What a difference transparency makes. There is a crisis of confidence in Pennsylvania’s elections. There are many reports and social media posts about election observers being denied meaningful observation. This erodes confidence and raises suspicion. I had the opportunity to observe the processing of mail-in and provisional ballots at the...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Cicero offers guidance on growing old without giving up
Since I first encountered Cicero in school, my admiration for him has grown and grown. I was drawn even closer to him when I found out the Roman lawyer and philosopher summered in Treglia — ancient Trebula Balliensis — my family’s village in southern Italy. When I suggest to my...
