Opinion

Each year, New Yorkers and visitors from around the country are treated to world-class entertainment, quality locally grown produce, contests, music and more at the Great New York State Fair. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, the fair attracted a record 1.33 million visitors during the 13-day event. Founded in 1841, the annual tradition features an  […]

America’s policy toward Taiwan is complicated to say the least. Taiwan is a democratic society in the shadow of autocratic China. It’s an economic and technological power and a key U.S. trading partner. We have similar values and strong people-to-people ties. We support Taiwan’s self-defense.  But we don’t have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan; relations

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