It is a cliche that we live in an exceptional country. Some activists even insist that a candidate who doesn’t salute “American exceptionalism” doesn’t deserve our votes. People boasting of our exceptionalism are likely thinking about our personal freedom, winning the race to the moon, inventors, winning almost every war. And the like. I am […]
Op-Eds
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
The White House's non-denial denials on its DACA deal with Democrats
By Aaron Blake The Washington Post Democratic leaders in Congress announced a major agreement with President Donald Trump on Wednesday night. “We agreed to enshrine the protections of DACA into law quickly,” Democratic Senate and House leaders Charles E. Schumer and Nancy Pelosi said of the program to protect the children of those who are […]
advertisement
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Republicans need a better tax plan for 2017
By Ramesh Ponnuru Bloomberg View It is not 1981 anymore. That is the message of an editorial in the conservative Weekly Standard, which warns Republicans not to design a tax reform patterned on the one that Ronald Reagan signed in his first year as president. Mimicking the Reagan tax cuts is a temptation both because […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
President’s deal with Democrats — what’s next?
What just happened? President Trump cut a deal with Democrats to pay for hurricane damage relief and raise the debt ceiling without getting anything in return, except the temporary avoidance of a government shutdown. How to describe this? Was it a sellout, or a pragmatic act? It’s football season again, so let’s call this deal […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Merger issue brings many questions
As I was out and about recently, I had the pleasure of sharing a few minutes with a resident whom I had never met before. As I walked up his driveway, he invited me to sit down at a table in his yard under a large oak tree. After chatting about the weather, the condition […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Five bipartisan steps to ?x health insurance
By Bill Frist, Andy Slavitt Special To The Washington Post At a meeting this spring, we sat down with a number of insurance company chief executives who are major participants in the Affordable Care Act exchanges. They asked us to carry back a message to Washington: Put partisanship aside and end federal uncertainty about support […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Employment rate, wages favor whites
WASHINGTON — There are few economic problems more frustrating than the stubborn gaps in wages and unemployment rates between blacks and whites. Despite decades of trying to reduce or eliminate these gaps, black workers continue to experience higher unemployment rates and lower wages than whites. That’s true even after correcting for age, education and occupational […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Congo's vicious Kasai war could spread
In August 2016, small but violent conflict erupted in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s south-central Kasai region. In the world beyond the Kasai region’s five provinces (Kasai, Kasai-Central, Kasai-Oriental, Sankuru and Lomami) the cause of the violent outburst was unclear. According to initial reports, it involved a local grievance. The Kasai region’s relative isolation contributed […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
President makes a deal with top Democrats
Donald Trump’s deal with “Chuck and Nancy” has rained new angst on his party (the Republican Party). It extended the debt ceiling for three months and provided hurricane relief. “Republicans, sorry, but I’ve been hearing about Repeal & Replace for 7 years, didn’t happen!” Trump tweeted, the subject being the Affordable Care Act. To rub […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Italian mafia corrupt services for immigrants
ROME — I spotted them on my way to dinner with a friend near Castel Gandolfo. They are migrants from Africa, sitting by the side of the road outside a “temporary” residence that, for many, appears to have become permanent. They all have cellphones. They all seem oblivious to us as we pass by. My […]