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Same crisis wearing different clothes

Commentary

America has a spending problem. It also has a health care problem. These are not two separate crises but rather the same crisis wearing different clothes. The Cato Institute’s new “Handbook on Affordability” is a great resource to understand the root problem and how to fix it. Start with a recap of the fiscal picture. The federal government runs large deficits so persistently that they’ve become a structural threat to price stability. As Romina Boccia and Dominik Lett argue in the handbook’s second chapter, when debt expands faster than the economy, investors begin pricing in ...

COUNTY: Unpaid EMS fees sign of trouble

The OBSERVER’s View

Two Chautauqua County fire districts not paying EMS fees billed by Chautauqua County isn’t a big deal - yet. County officials said in a news release recently that the county is taking steps to resolve unpaid fees owed by the Forestville and Frewsburg Fire Districts for Advanced Life Support ambulance intercepts. If payment agreements aren’t reached, the county may suspend some services provided in the areas. We hope it doesn’t get to that, though county officials said Forestville and Frewsburg fire district officials have hired attorneys after raising “novel constitutional ...

Pen Pals can make great friends

Commentary

I have a pen pal. Her name is Alice Congdon. Alice is the youngest member of the wonderful Congdon clan. This amazing family is made up of Kevin, Megan, Jake, Henry and Miss Alice. I met this wonderful and caring family when Jake and Henry were outstanding student athletes at Northern Chautauqua Catholic School. Miss Alice was often a visitor at NCCS. More times than not, when Alice visited NCCS, we would end up reading a book together in my office. When my cancer diagnosis forced me to leave NCCS , the Congdons stayed in close contact. They sent me cards, letters and treats. They ...

A forgotten war as we aim for Iran

Commentary

Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Presidential candidate Donald Trump said at least 53 rimes in 2023 and 2024 that, as President, he would end the war in Ukraine “in one day.” Now well over 400 days since his inauguration as President, Russia’s war against Ukraine continues. Russia’s brutal, illegal war against Ukraine, illegal under international law as partly developed by Jamestown’s own Robert H. Jackson, Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals, has lasted longer than World War II for the United States (December 7, 1941-Auugust ...

High court ruling was more than tariffs

Commentary

In a decision with sweeping constitutional implications, the Supreme Court shut down President Trump’s attempt to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as a blank check for tariffs imposed in the name of “emergency.” The justices rejected the claim that the statute quietly granted the presidency the authority to impose import duties at will and to reshape the global economy by executive decree. The language of IEEPA contains no such boundless delegation, and the court declined to manufacture one, treating Trump’s theory of power no differently than it ...

Thomas’ great speech on the Declaration

Commentary

Many speeches will be delivered this year about the Declaration of Independence as we celebrate its 250th birthday. However, I think the greatest was just delivered by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on April 15 at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas, Austin. The force of Thomas’ words does not just result from his deep understanding of what the United States is about, and how the Declaration of Independence defines it. The force flows from Thomas’ personal reality. He has lived what the Declaration is about. His words are not just the product of thought ...