Sandy Golden

Don't stop people from going about their business



Protesters need to think harder. When you block roads or bridges, when you prevent people from going about their business, who are you winning over to your cause?

Not the worker who can't be tardy to work one more time or they'll be fired. Not the person trying to rush their ailing pet to the veterinarian. Not the parent rushing out to buy baby formula.

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The lessons of tobacco policy

Smoking was once common in the public square - in restaurants, on airlines, in parks, everywhere. Then the health risks (not just to the smoker but to others around the smoker) were made public. After that, smoking was banned everywhere, because it is a public health hazard. The author...

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Democrats have had opportunities to affect housing since Reagan era

Nancy Braus seeks to blame Ronald Reagan for the current housing situation, from unaffordability to lack of options. Haven't we had some Democratic party presidents since Reagan? Haven't Democrats had control of the House and Senate at times since Reagan was president? Don't Democrats run any states, or cities,

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A tragedy indeed, on both sides of the aisle

This piece weaves an elaborate tale of Shakespeare's Othello and draws a comparison to Trump and his insistence he won in 2020. Regardless of how one feels about Trump, let's recall there are others who refused to accept election results. Remember Al Gore vs. George W. Bush, endless court tie-ups, and people saying Bush was not their president? Stacey Abrams never conceded the 2018 Georgia governor's race and filed multiple lawsuits. Hillary Clinton (and many of her supporters) refused to...

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'Someone else's money' simply ran out

It is unfortunate that motel/hotel vouchers are ending, but it is also necessary. Struggling taxpayers cannot be expected to give someone else a “free” (please read: taxpayer-funded) place to live while they can barely pay their own rent/mortgage/ other expenses. Before they were placed in taxpayer-funded motels, all these individuals and families were living somewhere else. It stands to reason they'll go back where they were before: friends, family, other states. The problem with “funding” this program indefinitely is that...

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Look at all causes for rent increases

I read with interest about Brattleboro’s proposed charter change to limit rent increases to 12% per year to avoid throwing tenants out due to rent increases. I propose an addition to this amendment: since rents may not be increased by 12%, property taxes (which affect renters as well as homeowners) may not go up by more than 12% in a year. Let’s look at causes for rent increases ... all causes.

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Solutions to crime start with demands to state lawmakers, not blaming Trump

Nancy Braus writes that the Republican solution to crime is to “lock away all Black men,” which seems to imply she thinks only Black men commit crimes and that skin color matters when police try to stop crime. She also says that arrest and prison, as well as “catch and release,” do not stop crime. She proposes having a private security service -unarmed - to walk downtown at night. Who does she think would want that responsibility and the risk?

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High gas prices are Biden’s campaign promise

As we pay more at the gas pump and consequently more for everything else, let us remember that Joe Biden is only fulfilling his campaign promise. Over and over again, then-candidate Biden promised to “get rid of fossil fuels.” He made this promise to children on the campaign trail. He stated he would transition the U.S. away from fossil fuels and end drilling. I'm not sure what people thought he meant, but Biden is keeping his campaign promise, by making...

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