Opinion

If you remember the movie “Animal House,” you remember Bluto — John Belushi’s character. In one scene, he exhorts his glum fraternity pals.  He gives an emotional and rousing pep talk — ordering them to follow him. He flings his fist in the air, rends the air with a banshee rallying cry, and charges out […]

On a regular basis, residents of the Mohawk Valley and North Country carefully craft responsible budgets for their families. Lawmakers in Albany, however, aren’t nearly as vigilant when it comes to spending the hard-earned dollars of working-class New Yorkers.  The middle class was hit hardest by the recession, which still impacts lives today. Dollars just

Some politicians cannot understand why so many folks hate politicians. To help them understand, I suggest they simply listen to themselves. Let’s take the battle over the vacancy on the Supreme Court following Justice Antonin Scalia’s death. President Obama has declared he will nominate someone to replace Scalia (He may even have already done so

Every now and then, I’m asked if I miss Congress. My stock answer is that no, I don’t really miss it, but there are definitely times when I’d like to jump into a policy debate or call congressional hearings. This is one of those times. Over the last few weeks, several media outlets have reported

New York State has established itself over time as a nationally recognized leader for red tape, overregulation, and its stifling business climate. So why is Gov. Andrew Cuomo aiming to create yet another unnecessary layer of government? The governor’s executive budget proposal looks to form a new agency, the New York State Design and Construction

New York state is facing one of its greatest challenges yet — our drinking and waste-water infrastructure is in critical need of updates and repairs. Concerns are growing over drinking-water systems throughout the state, some that include possible carcinogens. These serve as sobering reminders of how important safe drinking and waste- water systems are to

If you were a peasant, you could be forgiven if you said that Pope Francis confuses you.  Yes, he seems like a nice man. He seems down to earth. But he sends mixed messages. Not long ago, the pope traveled to Cuba. Recently, he visited Mexico. He spoke at a big rally at the border

Providing our youth with the opportunity for a strong education is one of the most important jobs of our government. Unfortunately, the education system has had its fair share of challenges recently, both in terms of funding and from policies stemming from federal and state laws. First among the challenges was the implementation of the

CenterState CEO recently gained some national recognition (www.brookings.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2016/02/04-economic-development-in-upstate-new-york-liu) for going beyond the traditional scope of work for an economic-development organization and chamber of commerce to more robustly and visibly address the issues of poverty and economic disparity.  Through our new Economic Inclusion Portfolio (www.centerstateceo.com/core-focus-areas/economic-inclusion), we are making a long-term, organization-wide commitment to ensuring that our

A shocking revelation was made at a recent joint state legislative budget hearing on public safety as Margaret Miller, head of the Office of Information Technology Services (ITS), testified that her office was working on three proposals for the ammunitions database that was initially outlined in the governor’s misguided SAFE Act.  This was a shock,