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Americans dying too young

The American public is being sold a bill of goods that enrolling everyone in government-approved health insurance — primarily managed care — will improve the nation’s health and close the troubling disparities between the health of Black and white Americans. Former President Barack Obama made insurance coverage the signature issue of the Democratic Party. Now Democrats in Congress are revving up for a fight to spend hundreds of billions of dollars more subsidizing managed care plans, while Republicans are opposed. Politics aside, the facts show the money could be far better ...

The cast of characters Trump has chosen to populate his second term is a Star Wars cantina of fanatics, extremists, conspiracy theorists, sexual harassers, and disreputable no-goods. They have little or no experience running government, let alone expertise in the issues confronting the agencies and departments Trump wants them to lead. Over the next two weeks, the Senate will hold confirmation hearings on them. As soon as they’re completed and Trump takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, the Senate will vote on them. Most if not all Senate Democrats will vote against them, so Trump ...

‘Deep state’ and ‘the swamp’ difference

Donald Trump has promised to do many things once he reoccupies the White House. Among the most famous, and most desired by his biggest fans, is his vow to “drain the swamp” and “demolish the deep state.” The first and arguably most important challenge for such a project is definitional. What is the deep state? And what is the swamp? Are they different? How so? Trump doesn’t have a clear answer. He often uses the terms interchangeably. And he’s not alone. Many in the media do the same. That’s understandable if you try to put yourself inside Trump’s head (something I ...

Saving money in an overlooked place

President-elect Trump and nominees for his upcoming administration often speak about cutting spending in order to reduce the debt. Some of the targets are familiar, but one that is never mentioned is the amount of money that could be saved by releasing, or not incarcerating in the first place, nonviolent offenders. According to The Sentencing Project, 72.1 percent of federal prisoners are serving time for a nonviolent offense and have no history of violence. More than half are for drug offenses. The U.S. has more people incarcerated in jails and prisons than any other “free” ...

Congestion pricing finally comes to N.Y.

New York has been named the most traffic gridlocked city in the world with Midtown Manhattan the most congested part. For years, the city has tried to install congestion pricing to reduce the number of vehicles. The money collected would be used to fix the crumbling subway system. How bad was the congestion? The intersections were so blocked by cars and trucks that pedestrians couldn’t even see the “walk” signs on the other side. When they figured it was their turn to cross, they would squeeze their bodies between fenders. Now the fee for cars in peak hours is a one-time daily ...

Respect for the rule of law in US

Respect for the rule of law in the United States can hardly be helped by the fact that so many Americans don’t know what it means. Last year’s annual civics survey by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center found that one-third of our countrymen couldn’t name all three branches of government — and almost 1 in 5 couldn’t name one. It’s tough to summon opposition to the undermining of the rule of law among those who don’t know the difference between checks and balances and, say, Chubby Checker. The crumbling of trust in the very civic institutions ...