Op-Eds
By Congressman Steve Israel of New York
I am a Member of the United States Congress who may find myself in the position of having to vote on whether to authorize the use of force in Syria. My grandparents were born in Russia, so for me, the relationship between our countries is not just about policy; it is about my family history.
BYLINE: Bob Keeler
DATELINE: December 18, 2012
For many months, in the debate over raising taxes on higher-earning Americans, Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) has been saying over and over that the threshold of wealth that has been bandied about, $250,000, is grossly out of whack with reality on Long Island.
Democrats say that people who did exceptionally well over the last few years and are now paying historically low effective tax rates should pay a little more. Republicans in the House have said raising revenues from the rich to rebuild the middle class is off the table.
Over the last decade, we've read hundreds of obituaries for American manufacturing. We're told the jobs are headed to cheaper labor markets overseas, and with low-cost shipping and production we just can't compete. We're told America has become a service economy and that manufacturing jobs are gone for good and not coming back. But reports about the death of American manufacturing have been greatly exaggerated.
We take for granted that our parents and grandparents have access to health care. Before Medicare, seniors who could not afford it or seniors who were ill were unable to get health care and paid a terrible price: They had to choose between food and medicine. Medicare changed that. Tuesday night, in Upstate New York, a long-shot Democratic candidate won a deeply Republican seat after a vigorous debate on the Republican plan to end Medicare to pay for tax subsidies for Big Oil and tax breaks for millionaires.