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Politics is upstream of culture, too

Politics, my mentor Andrew Breitbart famously stated, is downstream of culture. By that, Andrew meant that culture shapes and embodies our values as a society; we then vote based on those values. From church to music, from movies to television, we are affected by the things we see and hear — and we then enshrine our culture in the instruments of government. In truth, however, there is another side to the coin: Culture is upstream of politics, but politics shapes culture as well. The relationship between culture and politics is more cyclical than linear: Culture affects for whom we ...

Greed, profit motive make our world a much better place

Politicians bash businesses. “Stop the greed!” shouts Sen. Bernie Sanders. Many Republicans are equally ignorant. When some Florida businesses raised prices in response to sudden demand during a crisis, Attorney General Pam Bondi called that “sickening ... disgusting ... unacceptable!” Now she’s U.S. attorney general. Sen. Josh Hawley attacks airline CEOs for charging different people different prices. “You make it clear,” he sneered. “Money is your bottom line ... “ Well, yes, Senator. That’s the CEO’s job. Sadly, bigshots trained as lawyers rarely ...

Strategies dedicated to a vibrant Valley economy

Ohio, including the Mahoning Valley and surrounding area, has experienced generational economic growth since 2020. Strong state and local leadership combined with cohesive cooperation with private sector leaders has paved the way for this expansion. Now it’s time to take our prosperity to the next level by addressing our growing pains. The best places to focus on to make the biggest impact are Ohio’s eight metropolitan regions, including Youngstown/Warren. Ohio’s eight metros account for 4.4 million jobs, 76% of the state’s population, 82% of its GDP and 80% of the overall ...

Strategy can stabilize, strengthen Valley housing market

The housing complaints come with increasing frequency. They come from employers whose workers reside an hour away in places like Cranberry, Pa., and Solon. They come from company executives who live in places like Chagrin Falls and Hudson. That means the jobs we work so hard to create here — jobs for which we devote community resources such as tax incentives and workforce programs, jobs that require local infrastructure investments — are resulting in growing the tax base, growing school enrollment, growing volunteerism and philanthropy elsewhere. Recently, we began changing that ...

New tax would make employer-provided health plans unaffordable

Ohio's dismal 44th place in national health value demonstrates a harsh reality: We face higher medical expenses and poorer health outcomes compared to most other Americans. And things will get even worse if Congress adopts a new federal law to tax employer-sponsored health plans as if they are ...

Regional Chamber presents its goals for 2025

According to research conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s Community Development team, the disconnect between where jobs are and where people live continues to grow. And, according to Fed research, our region’s slow post-Great Recession housing recovery means that some homeowners, because home prices have remained lower here, are unable to use home equity as a tool to build wealth. This data, and other studies, reassures us at the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber and our partnering agencies that our strategic economic development priorities are the correct ...