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Fed needs to hold course for now

At this point in the economy’s recovery from COVID-19, the concern needs to be stagnation, not inflation. Good for Federal Reserve officials for recognizing that. Central banks are looked to for help in situations such as that facing the economy today. By holding down interest rates, they can prime recovery pumps. Low interest rates in the United States are a legacy of the “Great Recession.” Unfortunately, just as it seemed American businesses had roared back into action, with historically low unemployment rates, the coronavirus epidemic hit. Mass closures and slowdowns in ...

Public health officials still hiding behind HIPAA

With public schools in many states either reopened or ready to become so within the next few weeks, it is virtually inevitable that there will be COVID-19 outbreaks in some classrooms. That will result in calls to school officials from worried parents and guardians. “Sorry,” many of them will be told. “We can’t give you any details. HIPAA, you understand.” HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a federal law that, among other things, severely restricts the release of information about health care patients. The idea was to protect their ...

V-J Day debate doesn’t negate gratitude

One wonders how many Americans know the significance of this Wednesday. It is the 75th anniversary of Victory over Japan, or V-J Day — and the end of the most horrific conflict the world has ever seen. Though Japan’s surrender was announced on Aug. 14, 1945, the official observance in this country was set at Sept. 2. It was that day that Japanese and Allied dignitaries signed documents that officially ended the hostilities. For many years, V-J Day has been an occasion for soul-searching among many Americans. Some contend the United States never should have used atomic bombs on ...

Initiatives to feed children should continue

Behind the unemployment statistics — between 16 million and 18 million Americans without jobs, many as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic — are the children. Millions of them are in homes where the coronavirus continues to make it difficult to put bread on the table. Now is not the time to cut back on initiatives meant to help keep them fed. As the economy began throttling back because of the epidemic, many public school districts shut down, too. To their eternal credit, officials in many of them seem to have determined their responsibility to children went beyond open ...

Keep your eyes on the road this school year

It seems every year we write reminding readers of the importance of being aware and driving carefully as school starts up again. Though there is nothing normal about this year’s return to school, one thing remains the same: It is, as ever, important to remember there are kids headed back to schools again. Changes make it even more important to be aware constantly, rather than just in the school zones with which you are familiar. “Just because there isn’t a school bus in one part of your neighborhood doesn’t mean there isn’t going to be another in the next school ...

Loughlin and Giannulli were cheaters

Virtually all of the rich and powerful parents caught in the federal probe last year of cheating schemes meant to get their children into prestige colleges and universities have insisted their hearts were in the right place. They just wanted to help their children. What mom or dad cannot understand that? But there is more to it, as the case involving entertainer Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli demonstrates. Last week, they joined about 30 others who have pleaded guilty to federal charges in the college admissions scandal. Working with an admissions ...