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Homebuilding keeps weakening in latest data

Inflation fell more than expected in June. That gave consumers some breathing room, and they kept spending – even if they became more selective about where their money went. Homebuilders were less optimistic. Beneath a volatile monthly increase in total housing starts, single-family construction continued to decline. Multifamily construction may be approaching a bottom, but overall homebuilding has fallen back toward its pre-pandemic pace – not nearly enough for a country with a 4.7 million-home housing deficit. Sadly, the relief may also be temporary. Asking-rent growth has ...

Error rate is high — but new numbers provide hope

Pennsylvania is wasting millions of dollars on overpayments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. If nothing changes, the state faces hefty penalties next year. But Pennsylvania can do more to stop the waste without harming those who depend on SNAP. For more than a year, Pennsylvania has not only overpaid SNAP recipients but also refused efforts to shed light on these overpayments. For more than a year, the commonwealth has stonewalled all federal requests for data, even though the federal government shoulders most of SNAP’s cost. Now, ...

Birthright citizenship not just for immigrants

Now that we’ve completed our celebration of America’s 250th birthday, it’s time to prepare for the 300th -- the tricentennial. I will not live to see it, but I hope the nation will. At least, I hope a certain kind of America will celebrate its 300th year -- one that has regained its moral equilibrium and turned its back resoundingly on illiberalism in all its ugly forms. If the United States does not reverse its current retreat from the principles and traditions that ennobled it, if it becomes the kind of predatory, grubby and aggressive nation that Donald Trump champions, or if ...

Who remembers Oliver Anthony?

I still listen to Oliver Anthony. He was the rednecky guy who played guitar outdoors with bugs and dogs. His songs are mournful and angry, lamenting his struggles with addiction, his poverty and the changes in America. In his song “Rich Men North of Richmond,” welfare queens on one side and a Washington elite on the other were wasting his life. The song became what Fox News called “The Conservative National Anthem.” Biden was president then. They even played of bit of it at the first Republican debates in August of 2023. The politicians appeared a bit mystified when asked to ...

Examining the lore of antisemitism

Essayists and a variety of writers are puzzling over the incredibly rapid rise in antisemitism, frequently, but not always, cloaked as anti-Israelism. “What is going on,” they wonder almost out loud? Bill Maher seems to be the only cultural icon speaking out against the plague of bigotry which is endemic to both the leftwing of the Democratic party and the rightwing of the Republican. The plague does not begin and end with non-Jews either. Even one with a strong constitution should be sick to the stomach to see a podium with Bernie Sanders and a few of his Jewish lap dogs ...

Camping a story worth telling to America

Big names are representing our commonwealth at the Great American State Fair in Washington, DC. Well-known Pennsylvania staples such as Crayola, Middlesworth…and Camp Susque? Why does a small Christian summer camp get to represent Pennsylvania along with heavy-hitters from our agriculture, energy, or even snack industries? The fair, running June 25-July 10, 2026, is an opportunity for our state to showcase our contribution to our collective national identity. While Camp Susque might be a small, rural, and non-profit organization, camping plays a crucial role in our state’s ...