We have reservations about the state House passing a bill to incrementally increase Pennsylvania’s minimum wage. As this issue has routinely resurfaced every few years for decades, we’ve noted that the economies of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, their suburbs and our more rural region are all ...
The White House hailed Friday’s jobs report for May, and it did beat market expectations with a net gain of 139,000 in payrolls. But there are signs of weakness under the labor-market hood that bear watching. The unemployment rate stayed low at 4.2% for the third straight month. Employers are holding onto their workers despite the uncertainty over tariffs. Wage gains were also healthy, rising 3.9% over the last 12 months. The weaker news is that the jobless rate stayed the same because some 625,000 people left the job market. As a result, the labor participation rate fell 0.2% in ...
The expression “time flies” is familiar to most people. However, time cannot “fly” fast enough regarding Pennsylvania’s new handheld-cellphone ban for individuals operating motor vehicles on commonwealth roadways. Until the full teeth of the law replaces the wishy-washy provisions currently in place, innocent drivers or vehicle passengers could die or be maimed — just because only a warning will be issued now, rather than a monetary penalty from violators’ wallets or pocketbooks. The possibility of a fine, rather than a warning, could deter some drivers from risking ...
We appreciate the efforts by state Sen. Cris Dush, R-Pine Creek Township, to address an important issue. “I find it deeply troubling that Pennsylvania’s long-standing (Right-to-Know) law mentions no criminal offense for destroying or altering records subject to a RTK request,” said ...
The question of whether damage from the tornado that tore through St. Louis on May 16 merits a federal disaster declaration shouldn’t really be a question to anyone who has seen the devastation on the city’s north side — five people dead, thousands of buildings damaged or destroyed, countless residents left homeless or housed in undermined and unsafe structures with nowhere else to go. This is exactly what federal disaster designations were designed for. Yet fully three weeks after the tornado struck, and almost two weeks after Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe formally requested a ...
Our editorials about energy policy are frequent — but also, we believe, consistent. Energy is too interconnected with every facet of businesses’ and families’ budget for the issue not to be treated as significant. We believe the U.S. needs development of domestic energy sources, ...
