Breaking News

Other Commentaries

A new chair, a shorter statement

The Federal Reserve left interest rates alone last Wednesday, holding its benchmark in the 3.50%–3.75% range for a fourth straight meeting – after standing pat in January, March, and April – in a unanimous 12–0 vote. That part was expected. The news was everything around the decision, because this was Kevin Warsh’s first meeting as Fed chair, and he used it to signal that the central bank is no longer leaning toward cutting rates. If anything, it is now leaning the other way. What actually changed? Start with the statement itself, the short document the Fed releases after ...

‘Only a matter of national security’ — a mission to fill workforce gap

Mike Rowe has been on a lonely mission. For two decades, he has been raising the alarm. Rowe has been warning anyone who would listen that our skills gap in the trades was widening to a chasm so large that the economic effect on U.S. manufacturing companies, in particular auto and steel industries but also defense, construction and energy sectors, was going to be nothing short of catastrophic. Few listened. Rowe appeared before Congress. Twice. He sent an open letter to then-President Barack Obama. Crickets. Nonetheless, Rowe persisted. His alarm bells were not hyperbole. In fact, ...

Who are the ‘occupiers?’

It is becoming commonplace and almost accepted to refer to Israelis as “occupiers,” people who are living on someone else’s land. Bob Dylan, in his song from the early 1980s entitled Neighborhood Bully sang, “His enemies say he’s on their land.” The false claim against Israelis, and Jews in general, is as old as written history. Abraham was concerned about being called an occupier. It was for that reason that he overpaid for the cave of Machpelah so that no one would ever say that he buried his dead on the land of another without permission. Perhaps the definitive ...

Everyone wants affordable energy — nobody wants to cut the ribbon

Northeastern states are scrambling to address rising energy costs. New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and others are even considering abandoning some of their most restrictive Green New Deal-style emissions policies to increase the supply of affordable sources. Such new energy projects are among the most difficult endeavors to bring to fruition. Requiring massive investments and at least a modicum of public support, they have no chance of becoming reality without people of influence standing for their success. Take the proposed Constitution Pipeline, for instance. The benefits of ...

Single-payer health care lacks credibility

Billionaire progressive activist and California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer recently remarked: “Health care companies only care about one thing: profits. Single-payer now.” This is the same Tom Steyer who opposed single-payer when he ran for president in 2020. “Bernie Sanders was right,” he says. “Boy, was I wrong.” He still cannot explain how to pay for it. Can anyone? Single-payer health care has been the progressive left’s signature domestic demand for four decades. It has generated presidential campaigns, mass rallies, congressional cosponsors and an ...

Informed debate — not party lines

Laws are created for many reasons: for protection, regulation, to promote fairness and safety, establish consistency, resolve conflicts, and enable trust. When legislators vote, we are responsible for educating ourselves and being open to hearing both sides of an issue. At times, I can vote on a bill with firm conviction. Other times I listen to arguments for and against and find myself changing my mind with each new speaker. What will be best for everyone in the long run? This was the case with House Bill 1814, which passed in the House on June 1. House Bill 1814 would ban the ...