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Norm Fruchter, an education activist whose unique intellectual and organizational abilities led to major change for the New York City school system, died in early January from injuries sustained after being hit by a car in December. His special significance was recognized in a New York Times obituary. Norm’s contributions weren’t just about school funding,…
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Political forecasters like the Cook Political Report and FiveThirtyEight.com predicted the Republican Party would win the House of Representatives in the midterm, but it was a surprise they only eked out a tiny 222-213 victory, a mirror image of the Democrats’ current majority. It was especially galling for New Yorkers to lose four Democratic seats…
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Election Day is in less than two weeks in what I’ve called “The Ruthless Midterm “ in three articles in August, April, and January 2022. Democrats’ tiny majorities, five seats in the House, and 50-50 in the Senate (with the VP as tie-breaker), are under severe challenge. Major political forecasting firms like the Cook…
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OCTOBER 20, 2022 I published this article a few days after the Electoral College voted on Dec. 14th, 2020, to send Biden’s victory in the Presidential election to Congress. I looked at the polls showing the vast majority of Republicans did not believe Biden had won the election and remarked at how troubling that seemed-…
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The Federal Reserve Board’s aggressive interest rate increases have put the nation and New York on notice that an economic downturn is a serious possibility. The Board is determined to wring inflation out of the economy, and forecasts higher unemployment but no recession. Nonetheless, New York’s leaders need to brace for one. The nation has…
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The United States Census released the following: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/educational-attainment.html College attendance is far from elite in the United States. The most recent figures show nearly 38% of Americans 25 and over had a four year degree, 10.5% had an associate degree, and 14.9% had completed some college but had not gotten a degree, or about 64%…
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As the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the nation and the world in March of 2020, former Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered a major lockdown of business activity in New York State, the nation’s epicenter at the time of the frightening and deadly disease. The upheaval also caused fear of disruption for the nation’s elections, with many states’…
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Election Day 2022 is November 8th and I’m worried about the fate of the Democrats in the House of Representatives. Two major national political analysis organizations, the Cook Political Report and FiveThirtyEight.com, are predicting the Republicans will win the House. I’ll put those miserable prognostications right up front before talking about how the Democrats…
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California concluded its state budget with Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature on June 30, choosing a different path than New York to provide its residents a break from inflation. California chose to provide modest relief to nearly all its residents through an income tax rebate this October. The Governor’s press release described the state’s action by saying, “Global…
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The State adopted its budget on April 9 with substantial investments across the board in helping New Yorkers, from big increases in school aid and child care to homeowner rebates, gas tax relief for motorists, more funding to avoid evictions, bonuses for health care workers, and relief for hospitals and the health care system. Governor…