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Budget process should not be bogged down with other debates

Editorials

Over the past year or so we’ve noted that the decision to tie the status of marijuana and skills games to the budget was unfair and counterproductive. The concerns we editorialized about were simple: These issues need thorough debate, on their own terms, with lawmakers considering the drawbacks and disadvantages, especially for either legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana. Concerns about how driving under the influence will be investigated and prosecuted, about the impact on workplaces and employers and how to mitigate unwanted effects, about what legal or decriminalized marijuana ...

Obamacare did not lower costs — time for a better approach

Other Commentaries

After more than a decade dealing with the so-called Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”), Americans are still struggling with rising health care costs. Overall health care costs continue to climb—and employers, families, and taxpayers are all paying more. Health care has, in fact, become less affordable for families. Insurance premiums are skyrocketing. Meanwhile, patients’ choices are shrinking, and access to care hasn’t improved. Obamacare has failed to deliver on its promises. Yet, many politicians are calling to double down on Obamacare, increasing subsidies to ...

Who won in Minneapolis?

Letters

The recent drawdown of DHS agents from Minneapolis is being hailed as a victory for the forces of anarchy acting relentlessly to destroy our Republic and the American Dream. Indeed, a fair number of conservatives have expressed the drawdown “feels” like a loss. But is it? So let’s start with the proximate cause of the Minnesota mess. Under the mandate given Trump in the 2024 election, ICE was ordered to remove known criminal, illegal immigrants with existing Detainers, Arrest Warrants and Final Orders of Deportation from Minnesota, most of whom are current or recent guests of ...

What other newspapers are saying: Filling city hub more than empty gesture

Editorials

When hundreds of thousands of people descend on Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft in April, they should be greeted by a spruced-up Steel City. The landmark fountain at Point State Park has recently undergone a $3.4 million upgrade. Market Square is in the midst of a $15 million face-lift. And Acrisure Stadium, home of the Steelers, is getting improvements of its own. In downtown Pittsburgh, eyes are turning to empty storefronts. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, a nonprofit focused on community and economic development, is stepping up efforts to fill vacant retail spaces. It would ...

No one can be certain about future

Editorials

One of several points raised in our Sunday editorial is that the so-called “rainy day fund” that the Shapiro administration proposes raiding to cover the difference between what he wants to spend and how much the state reasonably predicts the state will get in tax revenues exists so ...

When aid ends, a baby dies

Letters

President Trump promised countless sweeping actions on day one of his second term. Most of them never materialized. But one of the first major actions President Trump took was to end USAID, the agency responsible for global health programs, food security, disaster relief, and basic humanitarian support. Cutting it wasn’t just a bureaucratic shift; it was a decision with a body count. In the short term, researchers have estimated that 500,000–700,000 additional deaths per year as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and nutrition programs collapsed. Over the longer horizon, projections ...