Opinion

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

With a $1 trillion infrastructure package on the books and the Biden administration’s $1.8 trillion “Build Back Better” measure preoccupying the Senate after passing the House, government spending is very much on Americans’ minds. In public meetings, I frequently hear people say that government’s share of the economy is too big, and it’s likely that voters’ feelings

While my colleagues and I gear up for a new legislative session, I am optimistic for a brighter and better 2022. To say that the last year has been littered with obstacles and unfortunate distractions is an understatement, and it is now time to get New York back on track for the 20 million residents who call

Looking back at how some of the $2.2 trillion in CARES Act money was spent is a lesson in why we don’t need another multi-trillion-dollar spending bill — they are always fraught with waste and abuse. When Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in the Spring of 2020, it directed states

The question of what role religion should play in American public life is difficult and controversial. It produces a lot of heated debate and no easy answers. My view is that religion has a role to play in our political life and that its impact on our democracy is largely positive. It’s true that religion can

Wholesale prices increased at their quickest pace on record in November in the latest sign that the inflation pressures bedeviling the economy are still present. The producer price index for final demand increased 9.6 percent over the previous 12 months after rising another 0.8 percent in November. Every single month that Joe Biden has been president has

I still remember a question I got years ago. It was at a public meeting in Southern Indiana, in one of those squat, featureless cinder-block buildings you find all across the country. This young woman stood up and commented that I had traveled throughout the U.S. and had met all kinds of people. So she wanted to

Medical facilities across New York are facing massive staffing shortages that have not only jeopardized the available bed space for patients in immediate need but are now also impacting the number of services offered in hospitals. It’s clear that the inability to provide patients with both essential and elective care has been seriously threatened by Gov. Hochul’s