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Working Americans pay their share of taxes

Editorials

A claim that working Pennsylvanians need to “pay their fair share” all too often bubbles to the surfaces of some of our society’s debates on tax policy. The rhetoric that surrounds perennial pushes to eliminate or significantly reduce property tax burdens in Pennsylvania is one place this claim sometimes surfaces, municipal officials’ pursuit of greater latitude for cities and boroughs to assess heavier taxes on payroll is another. The reality is that working Pennsylvanians — and working Americans, particularly the middle class — pay thousands of dollars a year in ...

Gun violence

Letters

The following is a reply I sent to Senator McCormick regarding gun violence. It seems appropriate given the loss of life that occurred in Shreveport this past Sunday. Senator McCormick, I thank you for responding to my email regarding gun violence. This past Spring, the residents of Millville in Northumberland County experienced an unspeakable tragedy. A seventeen-year-old male shot and killed another seventeen-year-old male living in the same house. I don’t believe there is much disagreement among most Americans that we are past the time to address this issue. In your ...

Make life a little more affordable

Other Commentaries

“Everything just costs too much right now.” That is what we hear every day from the people we represent. Families feel it at the grocery store. They feel it at the gas pump. They feel it when the electric bill comes in or when they pay for their cell phone service. These are not optional expenses. These are the basics of modern life. When everyday essentials keep getting more expensive, the government should not make it worse. It should look for ways to provide relief. That is why we are working on legislation to establish targeted tax holidays on essential goods and ...

Fight against fentanyl ongoing

Editorials

“It was probably the most shocking thing I discovered on the campaign trail.” U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, said this to columnist Salena Zito in a column the Sun-Gazette published Monday about the nation’s fentanyl crisis. “The scale, 4,000 Pennsylvanians, 100,000 Americans, and you look at those statistics and people’s eyes glaze over (at) the numbers, but again, that is someone’s family in those numbers. The reference point is how many people died in Vietnam. Remember, 52,000 people died in Vietnam. One hundred thousand died (from) fentanyl in one year. So ...

An energy giant that keeps tripping over its own red tape

Other Commentaries

Pennsylvania has an energy problem — and it has nothing to do with what’s in the ground. The commonwealth is an energy powerhouse by almost any measure. Pennsylvania exports 89 million megawatt-hours of electricity per year, making it the nation’s leading electricity exporter. The Keystone State also ranks among the nation’s top producers of natural gas, nuclear power, and coal, powering and heating American homes and businesses nationwide. Yet Pennsylvanians pay more for electricity. A new report from the Joint Economic Committee finds that the average Pennsylvanian paid ...

No kings

Letters

We now have an official king — the mayor of Williamsport Pennsylvania. No independence celebration after 250 years. I want it on May primary ballot for a vote — the king does not rule here! FRANCIS KELLEY Williamsport Submitted by Virtual Newsroom