Troy Talk
Repeating The Insanity Of The War On Drugs
Few clichés have entered the lexicon with such persistence as the one that maintains that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Unfortunately, this cliché survives and it aptly describes United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ proposed sentencing guidelines applied to convicted drug users.
Human Trafficking: Closing Down The Traffickers
In the war against human trafficking, a first-of-a-kind lawsuit against a Philadelphia motel signals a new and important crime prevention tool. In Pennsylvania, this new law allows victims of sex trafficking to sue the hotel or motel where the abuse occurs.
Scrapping "Essential Benefits" May Be Biggest Health Care Change
The conversation surrounding health care in our country can be oftentimes complicated and difficult to grapple with. Trying to decipher the impact of block grants and state waivers, Medicaid and Medicare, and how it affects your financial and physical well being can be overwhelming. Compounding this debate is that health care is a very emotional issue because we rarely think about until we or our loved ones absolutely need it.
Reaching The Golden Years With Confidence
It's a sad truth. Most Americans don't save enough for retirement. Studies by the United States Bureau of Labor show that the majority of workers do not have a retirement savings plan through their employer, and less than 10 percent of all workers contribute to a plan outside of work. It's a discomforting thought, and it's an economic punch that people will have to live with — day by day — during a period that is supposed to be their "golden years."
A National Drug Policy: Focus On The Future, Not The Past
When does a national policy finally reach the point where it is an acknowledged failure, regardless of how well-intentioned it was when we first promulgated it? When does it become necessary to raise the obvious yet fundamental assertion that our efforts to contain and curtail illegal drug use as a major policy approach have been a dismally unsuccessful?
In the medical field, if you test a drug as a possible cure and the results demonstrate its ineffectiveness, a scientist would move on, seeking another solution. We had waged war against drugs for 50 years when the United States glommed onto the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 1961. Ten years later, President Nixon followed with the “war on drugs.”
Are Free Market Forces the Solution for Our Country’s Health Care Woes?
There is no topic in recent times that garners more attention than health care, except for the never-ending debate on higher taxes. Cupped into the debate surrounding health care in our country are the oftentimes competing concerns of cost, quality of service, availability, and who pays for what.