Opinion

A bunch of fast-food workers went on strike for a day recently — to call for lifting the minimum wage in their state — from $7.25 to $15.   It’s easy to mock them. And at least one big newspaper did. It asked, “If $15 is a good idea, why not raise the minimum wage […]

Back in 1995, the Cato Institute published a study entitled, “The Work vs. Welfare Trade-Off,” which analyzed welfare benefits in all 50 states, and concluded they were a disincentive to work. A year later, the Congress enacted, and President Clinton signed, welfare-reform legislation that ended Aid to Families with Dependent Children, replacing it with the

There is a new water-level plan proposed for Lake Ontario that will threaten shoreline property, recreational activity, and damage public infrastructure. Plan 2014 has been proposed by the International Joint Commission (IJC). The IJC is comprised of six members from Canada and the U.S. It was created to help handle issues in shared waters, such

“No fracking in New York! No more pipelines either!,” the man screamed into my face. We were at a farmers’ market across from the school in my village.   I asked him to face the school, and explained, “That school may close. Not enough kids. Because there are not enough young marrieds here. There are

What happens in Colorado might not stay in Colorado. It might come to New York. People in a group of counties in Northern Colorado are trying to form a new state. They want their counties to secede from Colorado, because urban (ie: Denver) representatives ignore concerns of rural folks. This movement boasts some clout. Upstate

Part of what makes the Finger Lakes area so exceptional is its potential to be an economic generator for all of New York. The fertile farmland throughout the region, paired with a growing demand for highly skilled manufacturing, could add up to a real catalyst for the state’s economy. There is tremendous opportunity here to

The great con job is on again — with your taxpayer dollars. And if you are in the state pension system, it is with your retirement dollars.   The con is pretty much the same as the con the mobsters pull with union pension dollars.The con is this. The comptroller of New York City (the

A few weeks ago, the governor proposed what he is dubbing the Tax-Free NY Program.  Understanding that his success as governor greatly depends on whether he can provide the leadership to help turn around New York’s languishing economy, Cuomo is pushing the legislature to pass what he calls “a game-changing initiative.”  I disagree with the

I’m not a big fan of gossip. I just look at it as a big waste of time. Even though I’m not that interested, I’m not oblivious to the fact that it drives discussion among many people. Most of the time, when gossip takes over, I just become a fly on the wall. The juicy