Letters No welfare ever

Why can't people learn from history and realize it is not the role of government to "provide" for the poor? When the government confiscates from taxpayers, which is mandatory, to give to the less fortunate, everyone loses. There is no volunteer charitable element in this. It's a "Robin Hood" approachrob the haves to give to the have-nots. We know anything done ...

Immigration reform overlooks asylum-seekers

"Work authorization is not meant to get you rich, it's to let you live," said an Egyptian asylum-seeker who fled to the United States after a radical group beat him and tried to kidnap his wife and daughter. After fleeing persecution in their home countries, asylum-seekers like this man in New Jersey face a new type of maltreatment in the United States: The U.S. government ...

Bad bills keep comin’

Beacon Hill seems to have entered its "don’t just stand there, do something" season.The problem is that most of the "somethings" are the kind of micro-managing that state government just shouldn’t be doing.First case, two bills that would needlessly burden ...

Editorial Its time for the $10 newsstand umbrella

Photo credit: Angela Gaul Council Speaker Christine Quinn last week announced a plan to double -- from $5 to $10 -- the price cap on items that can be sold at sidewalk newsstands. Her proclamation amazed more than a few New Yorkers: Who knew that streetcorner newsstand owners have to petition the City Council to sell a useful $10 umbrella -- instead of the water-soluble $4 version -- here in ...

Editorial State legislators shouldn’t delay budget work

LEGISLATORS in Olympia show every sign of delaying agreement on a two-year state budget until the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council releases its revenue forecast on June 18. The feeling is that the economy is improving, revenue collections are up, so the revenue forecast for the coming biennium will be up, too. It may well be. The extra money, however, is not likely to be all that much. The ...