Featured Commentary category, Page 86
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,...
Rep. Dan Frankel: Yes, this time is different — a new era of gun violence prevention is coming
I am from gun safety future, and Republicans, you’re in trouble. For more than 40 years, you have successfully avoided talking about this issue as fatalities and injuries climbed and as firearms became deadlier. With the help of the National Rifle Association, you declared any form of regulation a dire...
Peter Morici: Biden’s infrastructure bill is hardly ‘monumental’
America was once capable of transformational projects — the Erie Canal, transcontinental railroads and Interstate Highway System. President Joe Biden says the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a “monumental step” that will create millions of jobs, but that’s quite an exaggeration. The American Society of Civil Engineers...
Tom Hogan: Is Pittsburgh going Krasner?
“Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, with Alabama in between,” political strategist James Carville once said. This quote usually irritates the good citizens of Pittsburgh, who dislike being put in the same category as what they view as the trash-talking, Eagles-loving, cheese-steak-eating barbarians from the east; they identify with the more...
Earl Baker: Pa. natural gas will save our European allies
The impacts of Putin’s bungled war in Ukraine have been severe and reach far beyond the borders of Eastern Europe. The world’s economy, energy supply and food markets have been upended by a conflict that has snowballed into a humanitarian disaster. For too long, our European allies have relied on...
Mona Charen: Liz Cheney’s star turn
The House Jan. 6 Committee began a series of prime-time hearings last week. For the past 11 months, Rep. Liz Cheney has been the face and the voice of the committee. Like the Greek goddess of retribution, Nemesis, she has brought down her hammer on former President Trump and the...
William Hartung: Ending the war in Ukraine is a key to crafting a foreign policy for the middle class
The Biden administration has responded forcefully to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both in terms of the attention paid to the conflict and the resources devoted to supporting that nation. This was evidenced most recently by the passage of the administration’s proposal for a massive $40 billion aid package for...
