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Our opinion: Input needed on school meetings

Our Opinion

Warren County school board members will discuss this week the possibility of holding school board meetings at locations throughout the county rather than at the administrative offices on Route 62. There is an argument to be made to do so. Having meetings in locations throughout the district may bring some people to meetings who are unable to take the time to drive to the administrative offices for meetings. Boards at all levels should do what they can to make it as easy as possible for the public to participate in meetings. But there is more than one way to accomplish that goal. ...

Our opinion: State has expensive budget

Our Opinion

We agree with one assessment of our state budget The Center Square reported on in Tuesday’s edition: The cost of the new budget is too high. That view, expressed by the Commonwealth Foundation and other conservative organizations and officials, is grounded in simple realities. Pennsylvania has to compete for employers and for families — and in the past decade to two decades, too often comes up short to states with lower tax burdens. Pennsylvania also is confronted by the same reality found across America: the cost of health care continues to be a strain. As The Center Square ...

Tax the left, not the rich

Local Commentaries

Internal Revenue Service data indicate that the top 1% of taxpayers pay about 45% of all income taxes in the United States. The same data indicate that 49% of the U.S. population contributes absolutely nothing. Yet we still hear the nonsensical “Tax the rich!” mantra on infinite replay (yawn). It started with Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto in 1848. Marx – the quintessential socialist who mooched off others all his life — thought that confiscating the earnings of productive people would be fun. Socialist movements always start with “Tax the rich!” and always end in ...

Editor's corner: Pennsylvania’s business reputation keeps rising

Our Opinion

Pennsylvania seems to be revving its economic engine, according to a recent report. Site Selection Magazine recently noted the state has the 11th best business climate in the nation this year and the top business climate in the Northeast. Pennsylvania also claimed the eighth spot for most ...

Pointing fingers won’t lower electric costs

Local Commentaries

Pennsylvanians are frustrated by rising electricity bills, and rightfully so. In a letter sent just this week, Gov. Josh Shapiro pointed to PJM, the regional transmission organization that manages our power grid, as the cause of these increases. In reality, energy costs more because we’re not producing enough of it. Before we point any fingers, it’s important to understand what PJM is, what it does and, most importantly, what it does not do. PJM is one of nine regional transmission operators (RTOs) in the United States and the largest in the nation. It coordinates electricity for ...

Other voices: No real fix yet on health care

Our Opinion

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) thinks he has a new idea: no taxes on health care. He has proposed making all out-of-pocket health care expenses tax deductible, saying that would “ help people immediately.” But would it? Right now, there are already significant tax breaks on health care. The largest is the exemption of employer-sponsored health insurance from income taxes. That exemption didn’t arise because the government wanted to help people pay for health care. It was an accident. During World War II, wages were capped by the government, but health benefits were not. Many ...