The United States of America needs more housing — lots of it. The lack of supply in cities and suburbs in particular is the main force driving up the cost of living for millions, and keeping young people on the outside looking in, their faces pressed against the double-pane glass.

Millions of American workers are surviving, or supplementing their income, in the gig economy. But this means forgoing the benefits attached to full-time employment.

The good news is that business interests are getting support during an election year. The bad news is that the business is crypto. Less than two years after the industry’s highest-profile political donor was exposed as a criminal, the lure of campaign donations from the digital-money crowd is once again proving irresistible.

When I was a white supremacist who had infiltrated the Canadian military reserves, an officer who had spent two tours of Northern Ireland embedded in a British unit told me that the Irish Republican Army had only 75 active personnel who pulled triggers and planted bombs. Behind those combatants were 3,500 people who offered them safe houses and storage for their ammunition. Bolstering them was a much broader community of people who endorsed their efforts.

Before there were immigrant “monsters” to occupy Donald Trump’s hate, there was the Central Park Five. Most people know the case: Five Black kids accused of brutally raping a woman in New York City in the spring of 1989, leaving her brain-damaged, naked and gagged.

Lawyers can own law firms. Bankers can own banks. But thanks to the Affordable Care Act, doctors are effectively banned from owning hospitals. At a time when the rapidly consolidating hospital market needs more competition, not less, keeping this poorly conceived provision on the books makes little sense. Congress should repeal it.

Remember the crinkle of the wrapper when opening a brand-new CD? What about the comforting smell of a bookstore and the satisfying weight of a new paperback in your hands?

Vice President Kamala Harris began to set out her economic agenda last week and will doubtless say more about it when she speaks at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday. Unsurprisingly, her program is shaping up to be Bidenomics 2.0 — which is mostly a good thing. An emphasis on the energy transition and wider economic opportunity is quite right. The question is whether her administration will aim to strengthen the first version or double down on its weaknesses.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz introduced himself to Americans on Wednesday night as a regular guy who knows their pain and frustration because he’s lived it. A former high school teacher and football coach, he knows what it’s like to raise a family on a tight budget.

The United States is founded on the principle of equal opportunity for all. Getting an education, finding a job and getting married are traditionally viewed as crucial steps for escaping poverty and ascending into the middle class, regardless of one’s economic starting point.

CHICAGO — Barack and Michelle Obama resurfaced, with a vengeance.

There are fake champions and there are real ones.

Last month, for the first time since March 2021, the consumer price index— the indicator of inflation — fell below 3% annual increase, hitting 2.9% for July. Among other things, this makes it likelier that interest rates will be cut when the Federal Reserve’s governing board meets in September. We hope that the policymakers, in their joint wisdom, take this step to further stimulate the American economy.

In the weeks since President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, a new narrative about the election has taken shape.

If there’s one thing that wasn’t on my bingo card for 2024, it was this: that amid a national outbreak of bird flu among dairy cows, sales of raw milk would surge.

Since President Joe Biden ducked out of the presidential race last month, Vice President Kamala Harris has made steady gains against Donald Trump in most polls.

The Pentagon is in the midst of an enormously expensive program aimed at building a new generation of nuclear-armed missiles, bombers, and submarines, at a cost of at least $2 trillion over the next three decades. The plan is both dangerous and unnecessary.

Like most universities, UH Hilo has a website for students to consult when preparing to live in our residence halls. Should you bring a microwave or a mini-fridge? Pro-tip: There are community fridges and microwaves in the halls, so if you do not mind sharing, you can probably do without.