Opinion

Our national-security experts confront many threats to order and stability in the world. In this column, I touch on a few of the most urgent of them. Terrorism. While there is no universally accepted definition, we typically use the term to refer to the use of violence, usually by nonstate actors and targeting civilians, to achieve […]

The needs of every single New Yorker must be accounted for as we continue to transition out of lockdown and into more regular activities. The disability community, which was hit particularly hard by both the physical and emotional impacts of COVID-19, must get the care and attention they deserve as we approach what appears to be the

It’s so easy, in the course of our day-to-day lives, to get caught up in the political preoccupations of the moment. What’s the U.S. Senate going to do about the filibuster? How should infrastructure money be spent? Is the country going to come out of this year as badly divided as it started? These and many

The gradual reopening of New York’s businesses and movement toward normalcy in daily activities has provided a lot of optimism and hope for our small-business owners, consumers, employees, and residents of New York. To that end, my colleagues in the minority conference and I are pleased to see graduating high-school students included in those reopening efforts. New

We see a new tone in diplomatic affairs between the United States and China, a real change in how both sides view the relationship. Top officials now talk openly about competition — much more so than a few years ago. The fact is that the U.S. and China have long been rivals, competing for influence and

The majority conferences in the New York Legislature recently passed a back-room budget deal that completely disregarded every rule of fiscal responsibility. The 2021-2022 enacted budget is $18.7 billion more than last year’s spending plan. New York State is now planning to spend $212 billion across the board, which represents a 9.7 percent increase over last year

Following a year of economic turmoil and uncertainty created by the COVID-19 crisis, New York State passed its 2021-22 fiscal year budget [on April 7.]. The $212 billion plan includes funding that will advance important opportunities and drive progress across New York. Significant investments are rightfully being made in schools, childcare, and higher education, which will create

New York State’s criminal-justice system has deteriorated to dangerous levels. At the direction of Democrats in the state legislature and New York City, we have seen drastic changes to parole and bail policies that have undermined police officers and put the public in harm’s way. Misguided policies have coincided with a drastic increase in violent crime, creating

The relationship between the United States and China is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. When it goes smoothly, global tensions are low. When the relationship hits the rocks, tensions rise — not only between the U.S. and China but also  throughout the world. For many years, the relationship seemed to be improving. After

The process of developing the annual New York State Budget officially begins when the governor presents his spending proposal in late January. But the terms of negotiations become clearer once legislative-majority conferences offer their financial plans, which Assembly Democrats unveiled recently. “One-House Budget Resolutions” should be viewed as a political statement rather than a policy document. However,