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Opinion

Big Cost-Saving Moves Are Not Easy To Make

In Our Opinion

One of former Mayor Eddie Sundquist’s best policy decisions came with trying to move city retirees off of the city’s health insurance policies and onto Medicare. The move was to save about $1.1 million a year, according to Sundquist’s 2021 budget presentation. The idea initially upset retirees, so the initiative was removed from the 2021 budget before finally being implemented after additional time was spent getting retired city employees on board. Costs associated with moving eligible retirees to a Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage plan, and the city then paying for the ...

Let Ukraine Be Ukraine

Local Commentaries

On December 1, 1991, the people of Ukraine voted overwhelmingly 92% to 8% to be an independent country, no longer a part of the Soviet Union (which soon dissolved on December 26, 1991). From December 2, 1991, onwards countries around the world recognized Ukraine as an independent state. For over 30 years the world recognized Ukraine (which had been the second largest Republic in the USSR) as an independent and sovereign nation before Russian President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Putin alleged that Ukraine, in fact, was not a nation but an historic possession ...

Quality Of Life Choices

Local Commentaries

When speaking about an optimal “quality of life,” different people can have very dissimilar definitions. It usually depends on each person’s individual preferences. These days, we often hear people rave about how perfect they think life is in Middle America. They tend to romanticize the lifestyle they envision there. Most are generally referring to a less complicated, stable, happy life lived in a safe, small town. They imagine a place where they can live quietly in a spacious, clean, and healthy setting alongside kind, helpful, and cooperative neighbors who all share their ...

State Steady In Its Love, Hate For Taxes

Editor's Corner

New Yorkers appear to be consistent gluttons for punishment. Not only do many of us understand what is holding back the once great Empire State from prosperity, we also are having a tough time breaking away from it. So says a poll commissioned by the Invest in Our New York Campaign that was ...

Hawley’s Health Care Solution Is Anything But

In Our Opinion

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) thinks he has a new idea: no taxes on health care. He has proposed making all out-of-pocket health care expenses tax deductible, saying that would “ help people immediately.” But would it? Right now, there are already significant tax breaks on health care. The largest is the exemption of employer-sponsored health insurance from income taxes. That exemption didn’t arise because the government wanted to help people pay for health care. It was an accident. During World War II, wages were capped by the government, but health benefits were not. Many ...

Parishioners Work With Holy Spirit

Local Commentaries

JAMESTOWN—Oh, Happy Day. Or maybe we can—under these special circumstances—take the liberty of putting that another way: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum.” Those are the words—“I announce to you a great joy”—with which a cardinal standing on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City heralds the election of a new pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Such words also apply to the Dec. 6 announcement that Jamestown’s Holy Apostles parish—which includes Saint John Roman Catholic Church and Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church—will not merge into ...