WASHINGTON — The big news in health care last week was the disclosure that CVS Health Corp. — owner of a vast network of drug stores — is considering buying Aetna Inc., one of the nation’s largest health insurers, for roughly $66 billion. It’s undeniably important, but why? Clearly, economic concentration in health care is […]
Op-Eds
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Political pandering nurtures cancer of Islamic extremism
SINGAPORE — Last week’s tragic terror attack in New York was the kind of isolated incident by one troubled man that should not lead to generalizations. In the 16 years since 9/11, the city has proved astonishingly safe from jihadi groups and individuals. And yet, speaking about it to officials in this major global hub […]
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Endless accusations don't solve a thing
In considering the indictment of former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and an associate, I am reminded of former Bill Clinton aide and defender James Carville’s line about the ability of a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.” Manafort and a longtime business partner, Rick Gates, pleaded not guilty to all 12 counts […]
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We're different, eh?
“Living next to you,” Canada’s prime minister Pierre Trudeau once said, is “like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast . . . one is affected by (its) every twitch and grunt.” He called the United States an elephant, Canada a mouse. Despite much in common, size, as Trudeau […]
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U.S. economy fails to wow investors
A rich guy I know really, really dislikes Donald Trump. A member of the 1 percent, Jack (not his real name) thinks the president has sullied the country’s reputation and put democracy in danger. But I had to ask him this: “Aren’t you at least happy with the stock market?” He’s done quite well on […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Crime props up North Korea's regime
The economic and political sanctions regimen the Trump Administration has placed on North Korea and its corporate enablers may help undermine one of the dictatorship’s most important industries: its global organized crime operation. Military and diplomatic analysts agree that criminal organizations influence several ongoing wars. But crime syndicate participation is rarely a decisive factor. However, […]
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Another way Congress protects its own
It should surprise no one that when it comes to sexual harassment, members of Congress and their staffs are treated differently from the rest of us. The Washington Post notes a law in place since 1995 under which anyone accusing a lawmaker of sexual harassment can file a lawsuit, but only if they first agree […]
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Tax cuts and economic growth
“Do we have any historical evidence that lowering tax rates, particularly among the richest strata, generates economic growth, as the Republicans always predict? Has this ever worked?” — a reader WASHINGTON — The answer is “no.” As Congress tackles “tax reform,” we really don’t have conclusive historical evidence of the relationship between tax rates and […]
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GOP attacks on Trump counterproductive
The showdown between President Donald Trump and Sen. Jeff Flake turned out to be no contest. It wasn’t Trump who was out of the GOP mainstream, but Flake. The Arizona senator supported Gang of Eight-style immigration reform, when immigration restriction is becoming a litmus-test issue in the party. He is a Goldwaterite, libertarian-inflected conservative, when […]
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It is time to take the long view for L-A
As the president of the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, I was honored to speak at the press conference in Veterans Memorial Park in Lewiston on Oct. 17 commemorating the 45th anniversary of the Clean Water Act of 1972. And I was especially proud to honor fellow Bates College graduate Ed Muskie, sponsor of […]