Opinion

Masks, mandates, and more control New York’s mask mandate for businesses finally ended [on Feb. 10]. On [Feb. 9], Gov. Kathy Hochul lifted an executive order requiring masks to be worn indoors for some places, but she has kept the requirement in place for children in schools. There does not appear to be any scientific explanation […]

A few weeks ago, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman made a startling suggestion. He proposed a cross-party 2024 presidential ticket: Joe Biden and Liz Cheney, perhaps, or Kamala Harris and Mitt Romney, or another combination of a leading Democrat and an anti-Trump Republican.  Friedman’s reasoning is that the U.S. is at a crossroads, and he contends

Over the past two months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) establishment survey has shown gains of 1 million new jobs, but it is coming at the same time as red-hot 7 percent inflation, a collapsing 10-year [yield] and 2-year yield, and 5.7 percent economic growth in 2021. And yet [we see] projected GDP growth [forecast]

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is the largest peacetime alliance in the world and has been arguably the most successful such alliance in history. It has had remarkable success in achieving its basic goals: containing Soviet expansion, checking the rise of nationalism, and helping integrate Europe.  NATO provides a model for multinational cooperation — something

[The Jan. 28] decision by the Farm Laborers Wage Board [to lower the overtime threshold for farm workers to 40-hours per week] demonstrates how completely tone-deaf Albany bureaucrats are to the needs of the state’s agriculture industry.  Despite hours of testimony, multiple financial reports, and real-world accounts of the devastating impacts a lower overtime threshold will

It’s been [just over] a year since Joe Biden took office as president, and though it’s still too early to draw firm conclusions about his performance, it’s not too early to discern some trends. Especially in light of how Biden positioned himself in the 2020 campaign and, I believe, how he still sees himself: as a centrist

The recently unveiled executive budget proposal should be no surprise to anyone who has lived in New York state in the last decade. Spending is looking again to be record-setting, and the $216 billion proposal on the table would represent the largest in the history of the state if passed as it stands. As history has

We Americans share a common faith in democracy as the best and most-just system of governance. We treasure government “of the people, by the people and for the people.” With the founders, we believe that governments derive their authority from the consent of the governed. For generations, we have seen the United States as the world’s champion

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its most-updated data regarding inflation and spending trends in the U.S. The numbers aren’t just bad; they’re historically bad. The rate of inflation has hit a 40-year high. And the latest announcement came with no immediate solution from New York State’s legislative majorities or Gov. Hochul to address this

Decades ago, it was easy to talk about “the promise of America,” as historians and boosters did regularly, and have most people understand what you meant. These days, I worry they’d look at you as if you’d taken leave of your senses.  Even before the pandemic threw us back on our heels, many people here and abroad