Opinion

Around the country, states have been taking on the task of coming up with new lines for congressional districts. And with about two-thirds of the districts for the next decade mapped out, a recent New York Times analysis found something discouraging. The people drawing redistricting maps, wrote Reid J. Epstein and Nick Corasaniti, “are on pace to […]

“It is a tragedy that some of our children have spent most of their young lives hiding behind masks…”   Finally, after years of forced masking in schools, our children can see the smiles of their friends and the faces of their teachers. As New York lifted its school mask mandate [on March 2] our children and

American policymakers have a very full plate. They’ve got to grapple with health care, education, the environment, economic growth and more. The list goes on and on.  Along with these priorities, I have argued for some time that the policy community needs to do more to address poverty. How much time and resources should we devote

Amid the worst inflation in 40 years, New Yorkers are forced to tighten their belts to manage persistent, skyrocketing prices. The cost of living is rising, and household budgets are feeling the pinch. The price of gasoline continues to increase, with the U.S. average expected to reach $4 per gallon. Home-heating costs have soared with utility bills

Reforming the rules by which the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate operate isn’t usually the stuff of breathless headlines. But the high-stakes maneuvering over the Senate’s filibuster rules — part of Democrats’ efforts to enact voting-rights changes — has captured a lot of attention recently. The reason is plain: The filibuster rules may be arcane, but

Under pressure from health-care providers, myself, and many other elected officials, the New York State Department of Health announced [Feb. 18] that it would not be enforcing a booster-shot mandate for health-care workers that was scheduled to start on [Feb. 21.] This reversal is a win for our health-care heroes. It averted what would have

The 2022 Winter Olympics, [having recently wrapped up] in Beijing, again focused the world’s attention on China. The games provided China with an opportunity to impress a worldwide audience and to distract attention from criticism over human-rights violations and other issues. But there is rarely a time when China is not in the spotlight. With the

Masks, mandates, and more control New York’s mask mandate for businesses finally ended [on Feb. 10]. On [Feb. 9], Gov. Kathy Hochul lifted an executive order requiring masks to be worn indoors for some places, but she has kept the requirement in place for children in schools. There does not appear to be any scientific explanation

A few weeks ago, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman made a startling suggestion. He proposed a cross-party 2024 presidential ticket: Joe Biden and Liz Cheney, perhaps, or Kamala Harris and Mitt Romney, or another combination of a leading Democrat and an anti-Trump Republican.  Friedman’s reasoning is that the U.S. is at a crossroads, and he contends

Over the past two months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) establishment survey has shown gains of 1 million new jobs, but it is coming at the same time as red-hot 7 percent inflation, a collapsing 10-year [yield] and 2-year yield, and 5.7 percent economic growth in 2021. And yet [we see] projected GDP growth [forecast]