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Politicians just can’t help but create troubled economies

Editorials

Politicians say they can “make the economy work better.” I once believed they could. But years of reporting taught me politicians’ attempts to “fix” the economy usually make things worse. Twenty years ago, Republicans and Democrats helped create the Great Recession by telling government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy more of people’s mortgages because, as President George W. Bush put it, “Owning a home is a part of (the American) dream.” But that guarantee inspired lenders to approve dubious mortgages, given to riskier borrowers. Housing prices shot up ...

For times that try our souls: Resistance

Editorials

“Fight for our rights, fight for your rights,” is probably the most overused phrase in American politics. In this desperate moment when American democracy — and world peace — is in peril in one man’s cruel chokehold, it’s time to retire that jersey. “Resist for our rights” is the right way to approach the national plight. Nonviolent resistance is the only way out, as old as the Friends faith, which was born some 400 years ago in England. Also known as Quakers, they practice and spread the art with remarkable results over time. They were the backbone of the ...

Time to leave the Social Security plantation

Editorials

To repeat what Americans have heard a lot recently, our Social Security system is in very bad shape. Per the most recent report, in 2025, of the Social Security and Medicare board of trustees, Social Security is capable of paying out the entirety of promised benefits through 2033. After that, there is only capability of paying out 77% of promised benefits. That’s seven years from now. Anyone who got a letter from their investment fund or insurance program that said “We’re sorry but in another seven years we won’t be able to pay out what was promised” would immediately ...

CHOICE Act is a danger to Ohio kids

Editorials

Sitting in the Ohio House Health Committee is state House Bill 561, a measure for which authors appear to have given as much thought to a catchy acronym as they did to the well-being of Ohio children. HB 561, “to revise the law governing childhood immunizations and exemptions and to name this act the Parental Clarity on Health Options and Information on Conscientious Exemptions ‘CHOICE’ Act,” would eliminate the requirement for some Buckeye State children to get the hepatitis B vaccine and make changes to other vaccine regulations. It is similar to a host of other ...

The second coming of DOGE

Editorials

President Trump has signed an executive order creating a task force to crack down on fraud in government programs. Vice President JD Vance will head it. This is the administration’s second effort to reduce government misspending and overspending following Elon Musk’s effort as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. As we approach another April 15 with a $38 trillion debt, addressing fraud ought to be a bipartisan goal. The fact that it hasn’t been a priority for politicians is largely because, I suspect, it isn’t their money being wasted. It might also be ...

Is affordability really a crisis?

Editorials

At some point, the headlines turned “affordability” from a concern into a “crisis.” But what does affordability mean? For most of us, that depends on what we consider our minimum requirements for happiness. If you look at TikTok, life in New York City is a fairy tale of chic bars, eggs topped with caviar and everyone looking conspicuously stylish. For much of Gen Z, TikTok is what they know of the expensive cities they and plenty of others dream of frolicking in. The music. The sunsets. The screenshot bait. They set their hearts on the pricey neighborhoods paraded across the ...