Opinion

Our nation [recently] watched as new leadership came to power at the federal level, marking the first time both the President and Senate Majority Leader share a connection to Central New York. Their knowledge and ties to this community, and their ability to collaborate with state and local leaders, position our region to seize opportunities and address […]

In the aftermath of COVID-19 lockdowns, New York’s economic-development and reopening plan has been confusing, inconsistent, and has disregarded objective data and legislative cooperation. In every corner of the state, business owners have been forced to wade through complicated and constantly-changing guidance. The most recent iteration of this is based on a zone-colored scheme that

With Social Security’s finances in the spotlight these days, especially since COVID-19 devastated the U.S. economy, there is no shortage of ideas for how to reform the Social Security System (SS) to restore it to financial solvency. Some proposals have originated in Congress (Social Security 2100 Act) and others have been floated by various “think tanks.” In

The New York Assembly recently reconvened to begin the 2021 legislative session. While the halls of the Capitol were dramatically different due to COVID restrictions, we begin our work with a sense of optimism and purpose. After a great deal of tumult in 2020, here in New York we must set an example for the rest of

President-elect Joe Biden will take office vowing to bridge partisan differences and unite Americans. It will not be easy.  Biden will have to work with a Congress that is deeply divided, reflecting divisions among the American people that have grown stronger and more intense.  Beginning in the 1990s, we entered a period of protracted polarization.

The [New York State] proposal to reduce the 60-hour overtime-threshold [on farms to 40 hours] threatened to over-regulate New York’s family farms out of existence. Fortunately, the [state Department of Labor’s] Wage Board acted prudently in its decision to preserve the current threshold for the time being. This is welcome news for farmers across New

Joe Biden won’t become President of the United States [until Jan. 20], but it’s fair to say he’s already feeling the pressures of the office. I think being president-elect may be the second-hardest job in the world.   For one thing, as president-elect he’s encircled by people who want something from him: appointments, jobs, and internal

Vaccines for COVID-19 recently began being distributed and administered. The Wall Street Journal states it will take until sometime in March to vaccinate the first 100 million individuals with the highest priority of getting the vaccine. That would leave well over 200 million Americans still in need of the vaccine as we head into spring.   The

Pundits have been commenting on the “Decline of the West” since the German philosopher Oswald Spengler published a book by that title in 1918. The Western world may not be as dominant as it once was, but its decline has been exaggerated. The West, as we usually refer to it, is more a concept than

First, digital conversations on “matters of public concern,” legally the centerpiece of First Amendment jurisprudence, were consistently blocked by partisan social-media operators throughout the 2020 election cycle. That alone is arresting; it has changed public access to information and calls for action. Social-media companies moved from offering a “public forum” (with concurrent legal duties, including openness)