Despite the enormous toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, child poverty in the United States declined. According to the government’s supplemental poverty measure, which is more accurate than the official measure, child poverty rates dropped almost by half from 2020 to 2021. A temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) was a big reason why. […]
Op-Eds
Opinion columns from the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Hilary Koch: When the laughter turns sour
A performance in Waterville by humorist David Sedaris did not go as expected.
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Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Jim Fossel: Social conservatism must chart a new course in Maine
If hot-button causes are to succeed, support for them cannot come from the Republican Party alone.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
The Maine Millennial: A long-term view on climate requires near-term sacrifice
I’m not satisfied that a green-energy future is a priority of an investor-owned Maine power company.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Trump whines that he’s the victim of a ‘two-tier’ system of law. In fact, he’s its beneficiary
With Congress on its summer recess, we’ve gotten a bit of a break from Republicans’ ad nauseam complaints that Donald Trump is a victim of a “two-tier system of justice” — one that goes after him and others in their party, the other favoring Democrats, who supposedly run the whole caper from the White House. […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Match rhetoric of indigenous sovereignty in Maine with reality
The tribal bill vetoed this year would have done a lot for the state’s tribes, though not enough.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: What does climate change have to do with migration? More than you think
Francis Perez is thinking about coming to America. In the last three years, his family’s coffee farm in Honduras has suffered hurricanes, flooding, and drought. “I feel that I’m stuck. I don’t feel that I can build the future I want here,” Francis told NPR. Francis’s thoughts are shared by many in the world. Climate […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Finding a path to healthy conflict
Spencer Cox, the new chairman of the National Governors Association, is promoting the idea of “healthy conflict.” The Utah governor has become concerned about the growing problem of toxic arguments in society. As the Washington Post reports, Cox wants people to learn how to “disagree better.” We should all try to think of ways we […]
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Commentary: Mainers could breathe more easily with zero-emissions transportation
Maine policymakers have a key opportunity to aid those living with asthma and improve all Mainers’ health by fully adopting the Advanced Clean Cars II and Advanced Clean Trucks rules.
Posted inOp-Eds, Opinion
Douglas Rooks: A president elected by all of us
Majority rule is the basic principal of our representative democracy, and should be applied at all levels.