Higher education institutions and hospital systems are similar in many ways. Both provide people with vital services. Both anchor local economies and communities. And unfortunately, both too often leave people in debt.
While the politics of debt forgiveness differs markedly between higher education and health care, both sectors urgently need pragmatic approaches to addressing the high prices that lead to widespread indebtedness.
Approximately 45 million Am...
Opinion
Retribution, isolation and deportation: What to expect from a second Trump term
Less than two months out from the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, former President Donald Trump seems well on his way to securing a third consecutive Republican nomination for president.
And, with public polling increasingly showing Trump leading President Biden — including by 6 points (53 percent to 47 percent) per a recent Messenger/Harris X poll — the question of what a second Trump term would look like must be seriously considered, especially in light of recent comment...
Matthews: Trump’s right, ObamaCare sucks: Here’s why
Donald Trump recently asserted on Truth Social “Obamacare sucks!!!” He’s right. The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) has failed to achieve any of President Barack Obama’s vaunted promises. Democrats know it, and yet they complain about the U.S. health care system’s problems and costs without ever acknowledging that’s ObamaCare. As we approach the law’s 10-year anniversary — it passed in 2010, but most insurance reforms started in 2014 — let’s revisit some of its failed promises...
Puerto Rico deserves statehood now
How long is too long?
Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory for 125 years. During that time, our fellow U.S. citizens on the island — currently 3.2 million — have remained disenfranchised and unfairly treated as second-class citizens.
Unless Congress ends Puerto Rico's territory status, Puerto Ricans' only option for full rights and democracy is to move stateside. Everyday island residents struggle with the thought of feeling pushed to leave to pursue ful...
3 reasons big GOP donors might pick Haley over Trump
Presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley scored a big endorsement this week, winning the backing of Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP), described as the “largest conservative grassroots coalition in the country.” AFP is led by Charles Koch, has millions of members and is capable of fielding thousands of activists to knock on doors and encourage people to vote.
It was a big win, but it’s not the only reason for optimism inside Haley...
Biden turns ‘Godfather’ on prescription drugs
They say that wherever government gets involved, there are unintended consequences — results that most people who had initially cheered on government action hadn’t considered. But the cynic in me believes there are few truly unintended consequences — that most proposals are not goals, but only a stop along the way toward a larger objective.
As a former health policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, and as someone whose mother’s life was extended and improved by prescriptio...
How democracy dies, right here in America
The Republican-dominated North Carolina legislature recently approved a bill redrawing the state’s 14 congressional districts. The map makes it quite likely that, in a state almost equally divided between Democrats and Republicans, the GOP will win 10 or 11 House seats in 2024.
“There is no doubt the congressional map that’s before us today has a lean toward Republicans,” Destin Hall, the GOP chair of the redistricting commission acknowledged. Former Attorney General Eric Hold...
Speaker Johnson, want to learn from an expert? Look across the aisle.
The position of Speaker of the House has seen its fair share of turbulence not just in recent weeks, but in recent years. Whether it is John Boehner’s 2015 resignation, Paul Ryan’s 2018 decision not to seek reelection, or Kevin McCarthy’s 2023 removal, instability has been the theme.
But there’s one recent Speaker whose experience in the position was radically different: Nancy Pelosi’s tenure as Speaker was not only stable, but she was also able to leave her mark on American p...
Nikki Haley’s path to the nomination: stand up to GOP antisemitism
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley can overtake Donald Trump and win the GOP presidential nomination. Here's how.
With the news dominated by Hamas’ brutal attack against Israeli civilian targets, Haley can stand out by standing up to antisemitism in her party.
For decades, there has been a deep vein of antisemitic innuendo in Republican and conservative politics in the U.S.
Pat Buchanan, the former contender for the GOP nomination, famously said in 1990...
We need a public option for pharmaceuticals
America is currently facing dual public health crises of record drug shortages and skyrocketing prices. Several critical medicines are in short supply, including at least 14 essential generic cancer drugs, ADHD treatments, antibiotics, and even children’s acetaminophen. Americans also spend more on prescription drugs per capita than people in any other country. A quarter of adults surveyed in 2022 said that they or a member of their household have not filled a prescription, cut pills in...