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In a struggling Pennsylvania town, Elon Musk discusses ‘purpose’

McKEES ROCKS — At the freshly renovated Roxian Theatre along Chartiers Avenue in a struggling river town, Loren Stephenson said she and her fiance, Alex Ames, had been standing at the front of the line since 8 a.m. to hear billionaire Elon Musk speak at 2 p.m. Stephenson, a Duquesne University professor, said she came to see Musk speak because she respects his brilliance as an entrepreneur and innovator. “I love his ideas about our safety, less government spending, talking about purpose and getting the country back on track,” she said. The Pittsburgh native held a homemade ...

Tariffs and taxes and tips, oh my!

Donald Trump is touting a tariff on imports to raise revenue from other countries. However, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), these tariffs would be largely passed on to consumers as increased prices. Trump proposes tariffs from 20% on all imported goods up to 200% on imported cars. Tariffs would be imposed on phones, clothing and even foods like coffee and bananas. Furthermore, he has no plan to prevent American companies from raising their prices to just under the cost of imports. Trump’s defense is his 2018 tariff on washing machines. The purpose ...

Three Mile Island and free markets

In a political environment that increasingly pretends government-imposed fixes are the best answers to everyday problems, it sometimes feels like a rare moment when we can celebrate the problem-solving dynamism of the marketplace. Three Mile Island – specifically, the new 20-year agreement between Constellation and Microsoft to fire up the decades-old reactor and provide urgently needed baseload power to the electrical grid – is such a moment. This deal represents a genuine market-driven solution to a broader economic challenge: satisfying our unquenchable thirst for ...

Soft landing achieved — but risks remain

Last month’s jobs report alleviated recession concerns, and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report about three weeks ago showed headline inflation continued to move in the right direction – though at a slower pace than expected. Long-dated yields, which depend on expected inflation and future economic growth, moved higher on this news. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury increased by another 10 basis points last week. Falling energy prices helped drag down headline inflation as measured by the CPI, but core inflation accelerated for the third consecutive month. Meanwhile, ...

This election, only one thing matters

This election, only one thing matters. The only question that matters in this election is this: Which candidate will absolutely guarantee we preserve a constitutional republic with democratic liberties after taking the oath of office on January 20, 2015? Kamala Harris or Donald Trump? The peaceful transfer of power is essential to democracy. Donald Trump tried to block the peaceful transfer of power by attempting to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. In addition, we will never be able to calculate the damage done by his autocratic mismanagement of COVID, ...

The Pajama Factory: Setting the record straight

It is time for us to emphasize, from our perspective, what we feel is accurate about the situation we are facing at the Pajama Factory today. This is especially important at a time where there are sensationalized headlines and false rumors floating around. When you put your heart and money into a project like this that benefits the entire community, it is critical to ensure those in our community and in decision making positions are fully informed. We also want to apologize for the length of the following report but we feel it’s important to get as much accurate information out there ...