Opinion

Buried deep in the March jobs report is the punchline that pulls the rug out from under any happy talk about the Biden economy. To quote the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) summary, “Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 13 cents to $31.73 in March. Over the past 12 […]

When Congress returned to Capitol Hill [recently] after a recess, it faced a changed world from the one that existed when its members left town. Not just because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as dramatic as that has been, but because of the response to it. Before the invasion, Europe was fractured. So, of course,

It seems like New York invents new says to reward criminals every day. The latest policy concocted by extreme progressives is to give special treatment to those previously convicted of marijuana-related offenses regarding opening up a state-licensed retail shop. Put another way, if you have been convicted of distributing or possessing marijuana, you are immediately moved to

The value of a free, independent press to representative democracy is incalculable. Our system of government relies on the people knowing what their elected representatives say and do. The best check on every elected official is an active news media looking over their shoulders.  Autocrats know this as well as anyone. Witness what happened when Russian President

GE deserted Utica. Kodak disintegrated in Rochester. IBM left Binghamton. Carrier abandoned Syracuse. Upstate New York has endured much economic hardship over the years, having suffered under a tax and regulatory structure dictated by downstate leaders. But those were the decisions of private-sector companies beyond our control. And despite those setbacks, we are on the road

President Joe Biden recently used his first State of the Union address to talk about where our country has been and where we are going. The president mentioned a lot we can be proud of and even more to look forward to, especially in rural America. The country has faced deep challenges over the past year, and

President Joe Biden is pointing fingers all over the world for inflation that has been going on for more than a year for the dramatic increase in the costs of goods and services in America. Come on man. In less than 13 months, the inflation rate has gone from 1.4 percent to 7.9 percent, underscoring Biden’s

Around the country, states have been taking on the task of coming up with new lines for congressional districts. And with about two-thirds of the districts for the next decade mapped out, a recent New York Times analysis found something discouraging. The people drawing redistricting maps, wrote Reid J. Epstein and Nick Corasaniti, “are on pace to

“It is a tragedy that some of our children have spent most of their young lives hiding behind masks…”   Finally, after years of forced masking in schools, our children can see the smiles of their friends and the faces of their teachers. As New York lifted its school mask mandate [on March 2] our children and

American policymakers have a very full plate. They’ve got to grapple with health care, education, the environment, economic growth and more. The list goes on and on.  Along with these priorities, I have argued for some time that the policy community needs to do more to address poverty. How much time and resources should we devote