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School masks spur state fights

As students prepare for the fall semester and COVID-19 cases tick up, school mask rules are fast becoming the latest front in the war over pandemic policy. Lawmakers are proposing state laws to govern mask policy, while angry parents pack school board meetings and clash over rules intended to halt the pandemic’s renewed spread. State officials haven’t issued mandates for students, leaving a patchwork of district policies and clashing bills in Harrisburg. “We believe that parents and legal guardians have the fundamental right to make health and educational decisions that are ...

Restaurant owners still need help

It’s a beautiful Saturday evening in the height of summer, but a banquet room sits empty and restaurant dining rooms are only half full. The pandemic may be coming to an end soon, but the devastating effects on the hospitality industry are here to stay. The Restaurant Revitalization Fund was established in March 2021 to be administered by the Small Business Administration as the last lifeline of support for hospitality industry operations devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of June 30, 2021, the fund officially closed, having exhausted the $28.6 billion it was initially ...

Is the ‘Thank You’ dead now?

Just in case you didn't notice, the world has changed. It's no big deal because it is continually changing if we notice or not. Many of the changes are for the better, and, as you might guess, some are for the worst. If like me, you are still waiting for a "thank you" for a gift given for a recent birthday, graduation, birth announcement, wedding or some other notable event, welcome to one of the worst changes. Now, this is not just a grumpy complaint from a grouchy old man, although I definitely qualify. This is an indication of a much deeper problem within our society. The ...

Infrastructure: More than just concrete

By Thomas P. Foley and Stephanie Nycum Doliveira In the depths of the Great Depression, a new word took hold in the American lexicon. “Infrastructure” would embody an innovative approach to propelling the economy forward by hardening the ties connecting a patchwork nation. We still rely on physical infrastructure to get people to work and goods to market, but language changes, and the “infrastructure” label has flexed to accommodate the 21st century. Since as far back as 1998, leading economists have cited the “care infrastructure” as a key pillar upholding a U.S. ...

UFOs still remain a mystery

When it comes to UFOs, we don’t know the right answer. The truth is still out there. And it may be out there for a while. A new federal government report on UFOs couldn’t explain 143 of 144 military aviation encounters, which the government, never one to pass up the opportunity to create a clumsy acronym, now calls UAP, short for Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. The one explainable encounter? A large, deflating balloon. We didn’t expect the brief, unclassified report to include selfies of a little green guy from another world at a Texas Rangers game. Heck, folks are still looking ...

Big Mac inflation differs from CPI

Inflation is measured by changes in the Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Our Social Security, cost of living adjustments, and many other things are tied to it. Does the CPI do a good job of measuring inflation? Well, that’s debatable. Back in my undergraduate days, I learned that inflation was measured by changes in the cost to a consumer of a fixed basket of goods and services from one period to the next. So, an increase of 5% in the CPI over one year means that inflation was 5% for that year. Not exactly. The BLS makes two adjustments to ...