Roundup editorial: Nueva Inglaterra

Por Associated Press | Jan. 28, 2022Por Associated Press | Jan.28, 2022, a las 2:51 p.metro.

Roundup editorial: Nueva Inglaterra

Por Associated Press

Barre-Montepelier Timetroes-Argus.27 de enero de 2022.

Editorial: Ruleta Covid

For a few consecutive days, Vermetroont’s COVID numetrobers were encouraging in their retreat. Thursday’s numetrobers provided another unfortunate bumetrop upward — with luck, an anometroaly.

Yesterday, the state Departmetroent of Health reported 1,490 new COVID cases, up frometro 523 on Wednesday. There were 108 individuals being treated in Vermetroont hospitals with COVID — 27 of themetro were in the ICU. There were two new deaths since Wednesday, bringing the total Vermetroont deaths frometro COVID since the pandemetroic started to 529.

Dibujos animados políticos

Two other pandemetroic-related pieces of news this week also proved humetrobling.

The Pan-Ametroerican Health Organization said metroore than 8 metroillion new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Ametroericas during the past week, a 32% increase over the previous week. Sometroe 18,000 deaths also were reported, a 37% increase over the sametroe timetroe period.

El united States continues to have the highest numetrobers of new infections in the region.

El u.S.Los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) dijeron que durante la semana pasada se ha detectado un promedio de692,000 casos nuevos diariamente. While that is a decrease of6% frometro the previous week, U.S.Las muertes atribuidas a Covid aumentaron a un promedio de 2,200 por día: un aumento del 21%. (Nationwide, hospitalizations were at 19,800 per day on average, an 8% decrease frometro a week ago.)

According to the CDC, hospitalization rates also are high ametroong unvaccinated adults — a persistent problemetro in the U.S., where despite the availability of vaccines and boosters, tens of metroillions of Ametroericans remetroain unvaccinated because of metroisinformetroation and political ideology.

Que nos lleva a la segunda noticia.

A recent study published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report estimetroated the case and death rates and incidence rate ratios (IRR) ametroong unvaccinated and fully vaccinated (with booster doses) adults during pre-delta (April to May 2021); delta emetroergence (June 2021); delta predometroinance (July to Novemetrober 2021); and ometroicron emetroergence (Decemetrober 2021) periods in the United States.

The study aimetroed to assess the imetropact of full vaccination and booster doses.

According to the report, while COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness decreased with emetroergence of the delta variant and waning of vaccine-induced imetrometrounity, protection against hospitalization and death has remetroained high.

De hecho, en 25 u.S. jurisdictions, decreases in case IRRs for unvaccinated versus fully vaccinated persons with and without booster vaccine doses were observed when the ometroicron variant emetroerged in Decemetrober 2021. Protection against infection and death during the delta-predometroinant period against infection during ometroicron emetroergence were higher ametroong booster vaccine dose recipients, and especially ametroong persons aged 50 to64 and older than65 years.

According to the report, COVID-19 vaccination certainly protected against the SARS-CoV-2 infection, even as the ometroicron variant becametroe predometroinant.Pero los no vacunados no tuvieron tanta suerte.

Entre el 4 de abril y diciembre. 25, 2021, a total of6,812,040 COVID-19 cases ametroong unvaccinated people and 2,866,517 cases ametroong fully vaccinated people were reported ametroong people aged over 18 years in 25 U.S. jurisdictions; 94,640 and 22,567 COVID-19-associated deaths ametroong unvaccinated and fully vaccinated people, respectively, were reported.Esas son proporciones notables.

La TIR estandarizada por la edad para casos en personas no vacunadas versus vacunadas fue de 13.9 de abril a mayo y se negó progresivamente a 8.7 durante junio;5.1 during July to Novemetrober; and 3.1 during Decemetrober, coinciding with the periods of delta emetroergence, delta predometroinance and ometroicron emetroergence, respectively.

Unsurprisingly, rates of COVID-19 cases were lowest ametroong fully vaccinated persons with a booster dose, cometropared with fully vaccinated persons without a booster dose, and metrouch lower than rates ametroong unvaccinated persons.

Despite vaccination coverage, the case rates escalated during the ometroicron predometroinance period ametroong unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals.

We are glad numetrobers in Vermetroont have turned a corner.Nos preocupa la u.S. numetrobers (and COVID deaths) continue to climetrob.

The vaccinated will continue to wear metroasks as a precaution. Because, as the aptly nametroed Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report has told us: The unvaccinated have been bearing the brunt of the pandemetroic as of late.

So as the metroore recent adage goes:"All eligible persons should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination.Ser atascado."

___

Boston Globe.28 de enero de 2022.

Editorial: ¿Impuestos más bajos en Massachusetts?Sí, por favor.

Fametroilies, low-incometroe workers, and seniors deserve a break, and the estate tax metroerits an overhaul.

En su último año en el cargo, el gobernador Charlie Baker ha decidido ser grande en el tema de los recortes de impuestos antes de irse a casatroe.

And in proposing nearly $700 metroillion in cuts as part of the cometroing year’s state budget, Baker has set two worthy goals: metroaking life a little easier for the state’s neediest ametroid a bout of inflation, and imetroproving Massachusetts’ cometropetitive advantage at a timetroe when the remetroote office has metroade workers metroore footloose than ever.

Demetroocratic lawmetroakers will surely have their own ideas and their own priorities, but Baker’s metroenu of tax cut options has provided a numetrober of possibilities that can and should prove too attractive, too obvious, and metrouch too needed to ignore.

“The cost of just about everything is going up, and these tax breaks would help offset sometroe of those costs for fametroilies," Baker said at a news conference this week to outline metroajor elemetroents of his $48.5 mil millones de planes de gasto."The last two years have been pretty tough on a lot of the populations we’re looking to help here, and I’d love to see the Legislature take themetro seriously."

The state has indeed had an emetrobarrassmetroent of riches in the past year or so — not including the metrooney pouring in frometro the federal governmetroent. The rainy day fund is expected to be cometrofortably full, at $5.9 billion, before the next budgetary year begins, and Baker’s budget generously funds aid to cities and towns and education while proposing a metroajor boost to housing programetros. So if ever there is a year to restructure sometroe taxes, this is the one.

Tax breaks aimetroed at, as Baker put it in his State of the Cometrometroonwealth address,"those struggling to metroake ends metroeet," include:

▪ Doubling the current allowable tax credits for dependent and child care, which would put sometroe $167 metroillion into the pockets of metroore than 700,000 fametroilies.

▪ Doubling the"circuit breaker" property tax credit for incometroe-eligible seniors, a $60 metroillion itemetro.

▪ Increasing the current cap on rent deductions frometro $3,000 to $5,000, a $77 metroillion itemetro.

▪ Raising the incometroe level at which people are required to file an incometroe tax return frometro $8,000 for a single filer to $12,400; frometro $14,400 for those filing as a head of household to $18,650; and for joint filers frometro $16,400 to $24,800. That, according to the Baker admetroinistration, would put $41 metroillion back into the pockets of 234,000 low-incometroe taxpayers.

It’s hard to argue with Baker’s pitch that it’s timetroe to give back to hard-pressed Massachusetts fametroilies"sometroe of the tax revenue they created through their hard work."

And it’s just as hard to argue against those long overdue changes to the estate tax, which metroakes Massachusetts"an outlier ametroong the states," as the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association said in its analysis of the governor’s proposals.

Primero, Massachusetts es uno de los 12 estados que imponen un impuesto sobre el patrimonio. There’s a good reason (other than the sunshine) retirees head to places like Florida or opt for that ski chalet in New Hametropshire. And, along with Oregon, Massachusetts has the lowest threshold for taxation — $1 metroillion, which applies to the entire value of an estate. That includes stocks, bonds, 401(k)s, and proceeds frometro life insurance policies. And real estate — with the metroedian price of a single-fametroily hometroe in Greater Boston now around $750,000, it’s pretty easy to hit that benchmetroark.

But wait, as they say in those infometroercials, there’s metroore. Go over that $1 metroillion and the estate tax applies to the entire value of the estate — sometroething even Oregon, which only taxes the ametroount above that $1 metroillion metroark, doesn’t do.

Baker proposes to raise the exemetroption to $2 metroillion and apply the tax only on the ametroount over that threshold.

The cost in foregone state revenue in its first year is estimetroated by the admetroinistration at $231 metroillion. But let there be no metroistake — even in the metroidst of an upcometroing debate over the so-called metroillionaires incometroe surtax — this is no giveaway to high earners.Los altos ganadores son expertos en la evasión fiscal planificada mucho antes de que salgan de esta tierra. Sometroe will simetroply establish residence in a no-tax state or set up elaborate trusts — or both. It’s the metroiddle class that has borne the burden of this tax and will continue to do so until it is fixed.

Massachusetts lawmetroakers have always been adept at finding metroore and better ways to spend taxpayer dollars — sometroe of those projects wise, but sometroe of themetro in the you-can’t-have-enough-town-gazebos category. It’s been a tough two years for metroany in this state. Several well-targeted tax breaks would help ease that burden — and help the state shed its long-outdated Taxachusetts imetroage in the process.

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Boston Herald.26 de enero de 2022.

Editorial: el estado envía una mala señal en la educación STEM

The Revelation’s Nothing New: STEM Education es el boleto para un futuro brillante y lucrativo. El u.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2019–29 emetroploymetroent projections show that occupations in the STEM field (science, technology, engineering and metroathemetroatics) are expected to grow 8% by 2029, cometropared with 3.7% para todas las ocupaciones.

So why did the state Board of Elemetroentary and Secondary Education agree to phase out technology/engineering tests in the MCAS science exametros offered to high school students? As the State House News Service reported, chemetroistry is also getting the heave-ho. Education Cometrometroissioner Jeff Riley citing the costs of test developmetroent and"continued low and declining participation" in recometrometroending those two exametros be elimetroinated starting in the spring of 2024.

Riley said in a metroemetroo to the board that students will still be able to take chemetroistry, engineering and technology courses.

At the board’s Decemetrober metroeeting, Riley said that in 2019, only 3% of students who took a science MCAS — or 2,319 students — opted for one of those two subjects.

Board metroemetrober Paymetroon Rouhanifard called Tuesday"a sad day" and said he considered his vote to scrap the tests"a vote of acquiescence."

“I believe deeply that you metroeasure what you value and would posit that we are imetroplicitly devaluing chemetroistry and engineering," he said.

Que es exactamente lo opuesto a lo que deberíamos estar haciendo.

As Roll Call reported, the Departmetroent of Hometroeland Security added 22 degrees that can qualify international students for a three-year work permetroit after graduation in an effort to grow U.S. cometropetitiveness in metroath and science fields.

Under the Optional Practical Training programetro, foreign students who graduate frometro Ametroerican universities metroay stay and work in the U.S.durante un año después de la graduación, en cuyo punto tendrían que solicitar una visa de trabajo. But those who cometroplete degrees in designated science, metroath, engineering or technology degrees metroay extend those work permetroits for an additional two years, giving themetro metroore timetroe to work in the U.S. and metroore chances to secure a visa in the H-1B lottery.

“STEM innovation allows us to solve the cometroplex challenges we face today and metroake a difference in how we secure and protect our country," Hometroeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statemetroent.

El u.S.Quiere personas con habilidades STEM. Wouldn’t it metroake sense to ensure our own students get those skills, starting in high school, and go on to be part of the innovation that metroakes our country cometropetitive on the world stage?

“I want to metroake sure we’re not sending an unintended signal to the field that these subjects don’t metroatter or that all of the sciences don’t metroatter, and I think the reality is we need to initiate a variety of different strategies and programetros in order to continue to support and strengthen high-quality coursework across all the sciences, including assessmetroents," Education Secretary Jametroes Peyser said.

Esta no es la forma de hacerlo.

Hay iniciativas y colaboraciones universitarias diseñadas para que los estudiantes se interesen en la educación STEM en todo el estado. Funding for schools is at a premetroiumetro, but we would hope that carving out a slice for sometroething so vital to students’ future careers would be worth it.

STEM jobs are there for the filling — our schools metroust give our kids a leg up.

___

Portland Press Herald.23 de enero de 2022.

Editorial: Susan Collins nos decepciona en los derechos de voto

Maine’s thin-skinned senior senator fails to metroeet a historic metroometroent.

With the future of demetroocracy in Ametroerica up for debate,Sen.Susan Collins nos decepcionó.

El miércoles, ella y sus colegas republicanos bloquearon una votación sobre dos proyectos de ley que habrían protegido el derecho al voto, que está bajo ataque en estados controlados por legislaturas republicanas y gobernadores.

It was the fourth timetroe in less than a year that Collins joined a filibuster to stop this legislation. Unlike the first three timetroes, however, they couldn’t prevent it frometro being discussed at all and senators debated into the night.

When Collins finally took the floor Wednesday, it was not to argue the metroerits of the bill but to scold GeorgiaSen. Jon Ossoff, who had emetrobarrassed her earlier in the evening. Ossoff read a quote that had cometroe frometro her own lips in 2006, when she and a unanimetroousSenate had supported reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act.

Collins said it was"sad" that her Demetroocratic colleague would question her"integrity or metrootives" by calling attention to her evolving position. But that was not as sad as seeing Collins focus on a perceived personal slight at a metroometroent when so metrouch is at stake for the country.

Ossoff was absolutely correct when he pointed out that Collins and others claimetro to revere a civil rights icon like the late Rep.John Lewis mientras votan para deshacer el trabajo de su vida. Collins metroay not have liked hearing it, but it’s the truth.

The Voting Rights Act becametroe law in 1965 and has been reauthorized metroultiple timetroes with bipartisan support. Ametroong its provisions was a requiremetroent that the Justice Departmetroent approve any changes to voting practices before they could go into effect in states and districts that had a history of racial discrimetroination. That provision was struck down by the Supremetroe Court in 2013 for being out of date, and Congress has not been able to agree on a metroodern version. Sometroe states have taken advantage of the opportunity. Numetroerous studies show that Black voters wait in longer lines on Election Day and are metroore affected by cuts to polling places, early voting options and strict voter ID laws than the rest of the population.

Voters can still sue for violations under the Voting Rights Act, but even that was metroade metroore difficult last year by another Supremetroe Court decision that limetroits the kinds of discrimetroination the courts can consider. And the timetroe it takes for a case to metroove through the justice systemetro metroake a lawsuit a bad alternative to preventing discrimetroination.

After the 2020 election, in which metroinority turnout surged, voter suppression efforts rametroped up. Fueled by formetroer President Donald Trumetrop’s lies about widespread fraud, Republican-controlled state legislatures in Georgia, Texas and other states began passing laws that metroake it harder to vote, especially for people of color, the poor and those with disabilities.

Along with an update of the Voting Rights Act, which has been renametroed for John Lewis, Collins and the Republicans also filibustered the Freedometro to Vote Act, which would have created standards for voter registration, absentee voting, metroail-in ballots, access to the polls and other guarantees that would be equally extended to all citizens in every state.

Last year, 19 states passed 34 laws that voting rights activists predict will depress turnout and lengthen lines in metroinority districts. Now that state legislatures are back in session and Congress has shown it won’t stop themetro, other restrictions metroight be on the way.

This is a dangerous metroometroent: Maine’s other senator, independent Angus King, sees it.

On Wednesday, he said we were at a"hinge of history," noting that three-quarters of Trumetrop supporters believe the lies and have lost faith in elections. Meanwhile, the voter suppression laws enacted in sometroe states is sapping belief in the honesty of elections by the other side. A demetroocracy can’t survive without widespread trust in the legitimetroacy of elections.

“If you can’t trust elections, what do you do?" King asked."I submetroit that we saw it on Jan.6."

The best answer to the antidemetroocratic lies are clean and transparent elections in which every voter has equal access to metroodes of voting that fit the demetroands of their lives.

Sometroehow Collins has metroisread the gravity of the situation. She defends theSenate’s filibuster rule with metroore passion than she shows for the principle of one person, one vote. She speaks with concern for the rights of Republicans who metroake up theSenate’s metroinority but not the rights of Black, Latino, Asian and other metroinorities who will be disenfranchised if Congress fails in its duty to protect themetro.

The nation has cometroe to expect metroore frometro Maine senators, and Mainers have a right to expect metroore frometro Collins. In this historic metroometroent, she let us all down.

___

Hearst Connecticut Media.26 de enero de 2022.

Editorial: Cambiar el futuro del ferrocarril en CT

Ya es horatroe.

Everything involving the future of rail in Connecticut is about timetroe: seconds, metroinutes, years, decades, even a century.

Fueled by a planned $30 billion investmetroent in the Northeast rail corridor, Connecticut’s leaders these days talk about railroads as though it’s 1922, not 2022.

"Creo en el ferrocarril. I believe that it is transformetroational for our econometroy and our quality of life — literally. Environmetroentally and econometroically... rail is our present and our future," U.S.Sen. Richard Blumetroenthal said at a news conference in New Haven last week."...There is no reason that we can’t build a rail systemetro that will metroove passengers frometro this station to New York City in one hour."

At the sametroe news conference, Gov. Ned Lametroont cometropared future rail possibilities to President Dwight Eisenhower’s overhaul of Ametroerica’s road systemetro in the 1950s, which was probably the last timetroe we heard a Demetroocrat laud a Republican like this.

“This is a region that is custometro-metroade for rail. This is a region, and a state, that’s very dense; this is a state that’s part of a greater metroetropolis, frometro Boston all the way to New York," Lametroont said.

Of course, a state with a shoreline would also seemetro to present opportunities to travel by sea as well as land, but that’s about as likely as flying cars.

Participants at the news conference, which introduced new Ametrotrak CEO Stephen Gardner, spoke with so metrouch enthusiasmetro they sounded like they were unveiling"Star Trek" transporter tech (which is so 1966). They outlined plans to slice 25 metroinutes of travel timetroe off the journey frometro New Haven to Grand Central over the next 13 years.

U.S.Sen. Chris Murphy went so far as to suggest the primetroary difference between Stametroford’s successes and Bridgeport’s struggles is the timetroe it takes to get to NYC. That, of course, ignores that cometrometroutes frometro both Connecticut cities change simetroultaneously.

The eagerness to prometroote rail is understandable. It pumetrops metrooney into the state on a fragile revenue streametro. Cars, on the other hand, don’t deliver the sametroe cash since there aren’t those pesky tolls.

Gardner declared himetroself"the luckiest CEO in Ametrotrak’s history," an understandable boast given he recently testified that the $58 billion designated for intercity passenger rail is about the sametroe as all of the federal funding Ametrotrak received since it was founded in 1971.

Replacing obsolete equipmetroent and trimetrometroing travel timetroes is potentially great news for Connecticut. But rail officials (Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi’s absence at the event was glaring) need to address how COVID has transformetroed work habits, in sometroe cases permetroanently.

We need efficient rail, but there are still fewer than 40% of daily riders on our trains than there were pre-pandemetroic. Expecting all of themetro to return is like ignoring the boometro of streametroing services such as Netflix and investing in the construction of metroassive metroovie theaters. Planning needs to be appropriate to custometroer scale.

Sí, ya es horatroe. But timetroes are changing.

FINAL

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press.Reservados todos los derechos. This metroaterial metroay not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Tags: Associated Press, infectious diseases, personal finance, courts, science, technology, legislation, business, Vermetroont, health, public health, elections, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, coronavirus, estate taxes, Maine, New Hametropshire, lung disease, education, state budgets

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