Opinion

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

The United States emerged in the 20th century as the world’s most powerful and competitive nation. Our economy, our technology, and our political system became the envy of all others. But in recent years, many observers have claimed that America is losing its edge. What do we need to do to strengthen our competitive position in

[I] recently participated in an Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee hearing discussing New York’s rapid transition to full electrification of the economy as a way to influence climate change.  As the ranking minority member of the committee and an avid outdoorsman, [I am] keenly aware of environmental concerns over the cost of carbon. New taxes on gasoline, diesel,

It would be fair to say that for a good bit of our history, Americans paid scant attention to redistricting. The redrawing of congressional and legislative lines every 10 years, sparked by population shifts captured by the Census, tended to pass unnoticed. Unless, of course, it involved some particularly outrageous instance of gerrymandering. For line-drawers, especially in

New York’s local businesses are the driving force behind the State’s fiscal well-being, and the goods and services they supply are irreplaceable in our daily lives. To maintain the health of local economies, we must continue to support the small businesses within our communities. One way we can accomplish that is by [shopping at small, local retailers

The rise of China is the most formidable challenge that American foreign policy faces. With its population of nearly 1.5 billion people and its rapid growth, China has transformed itself into an economic and political powerhouse. We face other challenges, of course. Among them, terrorism, a turbulent Middle East, a nuclear-armed and unpredictable North Korea, climate change,

The Nov. 8 announcement by the New York Department of Corrections that six correctional facilities will be closed is more evidence that Gov. Kathy Hochul is campaigning rather than governing. Closing prisons is an idea that might appeal to liberal voters in a primary, but it’s of no benefit to upstate communities and represents yet another step

It’s a cliché to say that everything is connected. But we live in a world where this is clearly true. Ideas, goods, services, workers, tourists, commerce, communications, drugs, crime, migrants, refugees, weapons, climate impacts, and, of course, viruses — they all cross borders constantly.  This is one reason I have come to believe that drawing a distinction

Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed two new laws increasing protections for tenants in New York state. There continues to be a lot of talk in Albany about protecting tenants. Certainly, no one wants to see tenants who are genuinely struggling lose their homes.  But there is little talk in Albany about protecting small mom-and-pop property owners