Articles

Letter: We can find sin anyplace

After a couple centuries of government support, the Protestant mores that have dominated the American culture are disappearing from the public square.

Omdahl: Oil puts ND in big leagues

State policymakers across the country have always been plagued by undue political influence whenever an economic interest develops a huge stake in state policies.

• Lloyd Omdahl

Omdahl: Tuition drives debt load

At a time when the nation needs to capitalize on the natural talents of all of its young people, skyrocketing tuition and borrowing have become major barriers for young people wishing to get a college degree. Even though a college degree is worth every dime in the long run, the upfront costs are forbidding.

• Lloyd Omdahl

Oil boom requires balance

We welcome the development in the North Dakota Oil Patch and celebrate the benefits that will enrich mineral owners, landlords, community businesses, oil companies and the state treasury.

• Lloyd Omdahl

Omdahl: Leave no North Dakota child behind

Ten years ago, President George W. Bush saw the entrepreneurial leadership of the United States in the world slipping away, with China, Japan, India and Brazil becoming leading players in the global economy.

Omdahl: Postal model obsolete

With the U.S. Postal Service on the edge of bankruptcy, Postmaster General Patrick Donahue – backed by the General Accountability Office – is proposing drastic across-the-board cuts to stabilize the agency.

Omdahl: You are being heard!

While each group consists of divergent motives and opinions, the tea party and Occupy Wall Street have one common thread – the demand to be heard. History tells us that this is not a new complaint.

• Lloyd Omdahl

Tax plan worse than tax

On Nov. 3, a committee of the Legislature received testimony and considered the merits of the initiated measure that proposes to repeal all property taxes in North Dakota beginning Jan. 1, 2012. The legislators were not impressed.

Retail act is about fairness

Chances are good that you have been a tax dodger. Unknowingly, of course.

Omdahl: Place your bets on 2012

Even though it is too early to start placing bets on the 2012 election, John Dwyer, president and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council, wanted the best estimates at the annual meeting of the Lignite Energy Council in Bismarck earlier this month.

Columns

Omdahl: Thus far, it’s not sticking

Help wanted, desperately.

• Lloyd Omdahl

Omdahl: Revenue sharing lessons

If you are holding your breath until the passage of an immigration bill, this saga about federal dispatch may convince you that you will turn purple before anything happens.

• Lloyd Omdahl

Omdahl: A change in style is likely

The election of Sen. Ray Holmberg, R-Grand Forks, a 38-year veteran of the Legislature and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, as chairman of the interim Legislative Management Committee may signal a shift to a more moderate and a more collegial Legislature.

• Lloyd Omdahl

Omdahl: Tax cuts go out of state

The legislative leadership responsible for the big tax cuts is calling them “the largest tax-relief package this state has ever seen.”

• Lloyd Omdahl

Omdahl: Rain on tax cut parade

It is not my wish to rain on everyone’s parade, but the huge tax cuts passed by the recent Legislature are neither wise nor conservative.

• Lloyd Omdahl

Omdahl: Guy had confidence to lead

‘Where Seldom Was Heard A Discouraging Word’ was the title chosen by Gov. William Guy for his summary of personal experiences during his 12 years as the state’s chief executive.

• Lloyd Omdahl

Omdahl: In obesity battle, it’s dine, then swine

Dr. Oz, the television guru on diets, has been touting all sorts of meals and concoctions to curb the obesity epidemic. In spite of his exhortations, Americans are continuing to balloon in their britches, raising the cost of health care for all of us.

• Lloyd Omdahl

Omdahl: Pressure affects behavior

Questions of conflicts of interest are continuing to haunt the North Dakota policymakers involved in the burgeoning oil industry.

• Lloyd Omdahl

Omdahl: Higher ed deep in a hole

Any legislator who didn’t come to Bismarck with a bill to reform the State Board of Higher Education was simply left out of the conversation this session.

• Lloyd Omdahl

Omdahl: Saved by referral, initiative

The authority to initiate and refer laws, often called “direct democracy,” has been a constant irritant to the Legislature but, in fact, it has saved the assembly from some unpleasant job-threatening controversies.

• Lloyd Omdahl