Lynn Schmidt LOUIS — The closure of some St. Louis Walgreens stores is just one of the unintended consequences of the “defunding the police’’ rhetoric and policies as well as the culture of allowing crime without consequence. It also serves as an example that de-policing — or even the idea of de-policing — hurts the very people it is trying to help. A couple weeks ago, … [Read more...] about The unintended consequences of ‘defund the police’
Opinion
Congress needs fixing, but it got some advice from an unexpected source
Bradford Fitch After watching President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, it would be easy to conclude that members of Congress have little interest in, and do not value, civility, bipartisanship, and collaboration as a means to address the challenges our nation faces. But a recent survey of some other folks who were also in the House chamber the same night shows those … [Read more...] about Congress needs fixing, but it got some advice from an unexpected source
Financial literacy is good for Americans, and for the country
Steven Hill As this year’s presidential election gathers steam, there’s going to be a lot of emphasis on getting young people to vote. Since 2020, about 16 million young people have come of voting age, so you can bet that the presidential candidates will make their pitches to motivate these young Americans. And organizations like Rock the Vote will try to engage young voters … [Read more...] about Financial literacy is good for Americans, and for the country
Raising Social Security’s retirement age is the least bad option
Karl W. Smith Republicans in Congress have proposed a plan to shore up the Social Security Trust Fund, mainly by slowly increasing the retirement age from 67 to 69. Despite an immediate objection from President Joe Biden and top Democrats, raising the retirement age is crucial to the long-term health of Social Security. As recently as 2020, Social Security took in more … [Read more...] about Raising Social Security’s retirement age is the least bad option
The Supreme Court tackles abortion again. How much will it hurt Republicans in 2024?
Jackie Calmes To the dismay of Republicans, and the advantage of Democrats, abortion rights remain a high-priority issue for voters nearly two years after the Supreme Court ended a half-century of constitutional protection nationwide. That should come as no surprise. The topic has rarely been out of the news since the Dobbs decision, what with all the coverage of red … [Read more...] about The Supreme Court tackles abortion again. How much will it hurt Republicans in 2024?