Opinion

Even under the best economic conditions, back-to-school shopping can be financially challenging. In today’s times of historic inflation and economic uncertainty, it’s an even bigger hill to climb. Unfortunately, this is the reality facing many New York families as September rapidly approaches. And for this reason, the Assembly Minority Conference has offered proposals to help ease the

The worst impulse of career politicians in Washington, D.C. is to throw money at a problem without having any idea of how to fix it.  Last year, the Democrats rushed through a $1.9 trillion boondoggle spending bill, one of the largest in U.S. history, without any Republican support or input. Earlier this year, the nonpartisan

For nearly two years, my colleagues in the Assembly Minority Conference and I have been imploring the Farm Laborers Wage Board to keep the overtime threshold for farm workers at 60 hours per week. With the board set to make its recommendations to Gov. Kathy Hochul next month, I am calling on the governor, once again, to

Some of the United States’ most important relationships are with other countries in the Americas. They often receive less attention than they deserve. These relationships can be challenging, but there are few challenges more important than working effectively with our neighbors.  The promise and challenge of forging meaningful collaboration with Mexico and the nations of Central

As a rule, most emergencies are obvious to the individuals experiencing them. In New York, though, that basic logic doesn’t apply. Gov. Kathy Hochul, again, extended her own “emergency powers” through Aug. 22, despite COVID-19 cases and fatality levels dropping in an overwhelming majority of the state. Simply stated, this is an absolutely brutal abuse

Here’s a question: When was the last time at least half of Americans said the government in Washington, D.C. could be trusted to do the right thing all or most of the time?  It was right after 9/11, according to the Pew Research Center, and that was really just a blip. Before that, you’d have

Imminent recession looms Consumer inflation reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [on July 13] ticked up to 9.1 percent the past 12 months, the highest since 1981. It has to be a crushing blow to any chances of avoiding a recession in the U.S. this year. Food prices are up 10.4 percent unadjusted

The United States contributes more than any other nation to the search for global peace and prosperity. Our leadership is essential in dealing with the world’s difficult and confounding problems.  We are the foremost guardian of that peace and prosperity, shaping the international order more than any other nation. We have strong partners, especially the

Since taking office, Gov. Kathy Hochul has insisted a full review of the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response is forthcoming. Yet, as the weeks and months linger on, no such report has been released nor has the administration even hired any consultants or even begun taking contract bids to get to the bottom of what happened.