Child care costs, accessibility and quality represent a critical challenge for families across America. And an existential threat to a recovering economy, generally reliant on both parents working to sustain themselves and their families. With federal supports given to this industry during the pandemic that have recently expired, early childhood centers–daycare, early learning and the …
Even if you’re not paying great attention to what’s happening to healthcare in your local community, the trends are hard to miss–hospital consolidations, the growth of out-patient facilities affiliated with the hospitals, and insurance company involvement in medical practices and pharmaceuticals, all of which drive up the cost and limit the choices in healthcare. It’s …
A must hear and read for anyone interested in women’s basketball As podcasters go, I don’t generally insert myself into the story line like so many others do. To me, it’s about the guest, their book or their expertise. In the case of this story, I was right in the middle of helping to …
There is no silver bullet when it comes to fixing the crisis we have in providing affordable housing for those who need it. You can look to rising demand with limited supply, foreign ownership of properties in desirable urban areas, restrictive zoning laws, the cost and regulation put on new construction or a myriad of …
It wasn’t so long ago that many political observers thought that the Democrats’ more centrist policies were being eclipsed by wild eyed progressives, like Sen. Bernie Sanders. In 2020, Joe Biden was written off by many after losing in Iowa and New Hampshire, only to make a remarkable comeback in South Carolina which propelled him …
Many shelters and rescue groups have had a hard time finding canines for all the human who need and want them. As social isolation grows, frayed relationships abound and despair about the human condition intensifies, we’ve begun to turn to dogs for companionship and unconditional love. They never seem to disappoint in the way that …
Economics, often called the ‘dismal’ science, may be less akin to science, say physics, than many want us to believe. The neoliberalism of the last forty years was best summarized by Britain’s late Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, who suggested that this brand of economics(call it top down with a helping side of profit maximization)is …
The issues that seem difficult for health care providers everywhere in the US–access, coverage, staffing, cost and quality–are often magnified in rural settings. And rural providers may not be able to provide the whole suite of services that are available in large urban centers. Primary care and women’s health needs are two of the areas …
It seems as if everyone is screaming out for attention in this era given the ease with which people can find audiences for their meanderings, political views, loves and pet peeves. Just jump on line and wail away, with photos, videos and all manner of content. Given this new reality, and everyone living in their …
America was born in rebellion over taxes. Remember the Boston Tea Party? And then hundreds of years later in the 2010’s came the TEA Party, which stood for Taxed Enough Already. However, that has been the mantra of the Republican Party for the last 50 years beginning with Proposition 13 in California, a property tax …