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JD Vance and the bipartisan itch to tax Americans’ behavior

Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance has been in the news for an old clip of him talking about how the tax code should punish adults without kids. While Vance’s proposal probably aims to address demographic concerns, it represents a misguided approach that contradicts fundamental principles of economic freedom and fairness. And you know what? That’s precisely what our tax code already does, in this case and many others. Using the tax code to “reward” parents and “punish” nonparents is at odds with the idea of a neutral, efficient tax system. In an ideal and ...

Thank you, President Biden

It seems I spoke too soon. My last column was written before President Biden stepped aside and endorsed Kamala Harris. The results of this action were better than any of the Dems I know had hoped for. There was no chaos. Dems of varied stripes didn’t begin putting forth their candidates for consideration. There was no great debate about how to go about replacing the President on the ticket. Instead, more endorsements came pouring in from Democratic senators, congressmen/women and governors. And money! More money than anybody’s ever seen. (Sorry, I’m starting to sound like Donald ...

Who’s really looking out for Pennsylvania?

By now, we have all heard Gov. Josh Shapiro complain that he is tired of getting his “ass kicked” by other states. He has opined that Pennsylvania is losing out to economic development in Ohio. Ask the authorities, planners and chambers of commerce in the western part of the state about the difficulties of enticing businesses to come to Pennsylvania, rather than Ohio. Pennsylvania is also next in line to get an old-fashioned “whooping” by West Virginia, a state that not only actively supports the coal industry, but also the natural gas industry and the integrity of the electric ...

A local solution to meeting workforce needs in public safety

Across the nation, law enforcement agencies are struggling to recruit and hire police officers. Multiple social, political, and economic forces are at play simultaneously, and are shaping the current state of public safety recruitment and retention. The challenges are systemic in nature and reflect individual level considerations, making solutions to the problem complicated. As vacancies increase due to retirements and the inability to fill open positions, officers are left overworked and burned out. If law enforcement agencies continue to lose officers without bringing in qualified, ...

Future of energy for state alarming

Things are heating up in Pennsylvania, especially for our electrical grid. The Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection (PJM), the grid manager for the commonwealth plus twelve other states and the District of Columbia, is worried about our future energy needs. As existing power plants come offline and lawmakers seek to replace them with woefully inadequate alternatives, PJM estimates electricity shortages as early as 2027. The debate on Pennsylvania’s troubling energy future has two policy choices: continue with Gov. Josh Shapiro’s preference for picking winners and ...

A time for prayer, civility and respectful discourse

I consider the recent attempt on the life of former President Trump to be a tragic and saddening event. My immediate reaction to the news was to pray for him, the other victims, those close to them, and his supporters. I thank God the ex-President’s injuries were no worse than they were. The horrific incident has shaken us all. Such acts of violence have no place in a civilized society. The impact of such incidents goes far beyond the immediate victims. The attempted assassination affects the fabric of our democracy and instills fear and uncertainty in the hearts of citizens. This ...