Interest rates should be cut: As inflation cools, Fed has to bring down the rates for borrowing
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.
Voters don’t want to hear Trump and Harris fight over crime. They want to hear the best solutions
In the weeks since President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, a new narrative about the election has taken shape.
Bizarre raw milk trend is putting kids at risk
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.
Harris needs to fill in the blanks for undecided voters
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.
Special interests are pushing a dangerous new nuclear missile
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.
Irwin: Packing your bags, unpacking your mind
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.
Kyiv hits back against Putin
About two and a half years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the latter has turned the tables with an incursion into the Russian region of Kursk — once the site of a pivotal WWII battle — that by some estimates has left it with control of more than 1,000 square kilometers.
Harris signs onto a signature Trump issue, taking pandering to new depths
Pandering to voters is a time-honored tradition in American politics, but Vice President Kamala Harris took it to new levels with her surprising promise over the weekend to seek to end federal income taxes on tips.
So much rides on the farm bill
Raise your hand if you knew that Congress is debating a bill this summer that could slow the pace of climate change, produce cleaner drinking water, restore habitat for endangered wildlife and improve the American diet. No?
Bouncing Bobby off the ballot — Good riddance to a lying candidate who can’t win a single state
We are not fans of restrictive ballot access, believing that candidates with even a modicum of legitimate support should be able to compete for votes. Throwing people off the ballot based on obscure technicalities that New York used to specialize in, like using the wrong color of paper, is dirty pool deployed by party machines to squash insurgents.
Wealthy nations must prioritize the global fight against mpox
The World Health Organization has declared a new global public health emergency for an outbreak of deadly mpox, primarily in Congo. In response, wealthy nations must do everything possible to stop the disease’s spread.
Laughter, where does it exist in Trump’s world?
“Have you ever heard Donald Trump laugh? I don’t even know if he has any joy in his body.”
Power of the carrot — If amnesty gets defeated Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro to step down, so be it
Faced with an election loss, an autocrat can generally take one of two paths: moderate his approach and policies in a bid to continue appealing to the electorate, or crack down to show that he won’t tolerate this dissent.
Don’t confuse the symptom with the problem
It’s time to talk about how President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential campaign is related to our broken political system. This failing system got us to the point where we had the two major party candidates rejected by 70 percent of the electorate, according to most polls.
Pinballing through the presidency
In the gilded, overwhelmingly ornate main room of his Mar-a-Lago resort and estate, former President Donald Trump stood in front of four huge American flags Thursday and pinballed through a press conference unlike anything ever seen in presidential campaigning.
A call for rhetorical civility — Both presidential tickets should stay out of the gutter
On Thursday, Donald Trump gave a classic Donald Trump press conference — by which we mean another nasty, self-indulgent, divisive and lie-filled show that was fine as entertainment but a disaster for anyone with aspirations to lead the most powerful nation on earth.
Is Harris or Trump fighting for workers? The union crowd in Detroit says it all
Igrew up in a union family in Detroit. Health insurance, food on the table, roof over our heads — as kids we took these for granted, but history tells us they were not easily earned, and work stoppages are perennial reminders that they are also hard to keep. As children we were unaware of the constant tension between labor and capital. All we knew was sometimes we ate at Red Lobster on Sundays, and sometimes we were lucky if we ate at all.
Universal basic income fails universally
Free money makes people less likely to work. If common sense doesn’t convince you of that, a new study should.
Presidential debate two-step — The more the merrier
With President Joe Biden now locked in the basement, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are engaged in a two-step over where and when to debate. The standoff reflects poorly on both campaigns and on the state of American politics.
Google the word ‘monopoly’: Federal judge rules against illegal market control for internet searching
Even those of us who Google every day — and that’s the vast majority of us — can and should applaud this week’s federal court ruling holding that the company is maintaining its dominance in internet search through an illegal monopoly. Google search can simultaneously be a very, very useful product (indeed, the judge said it is “widely recognized as the best” general search engine “available in the United States”) and one that might not stay in the digital catbird seat if it weren’t strong-arming competitors.