'Elections should be — and often have been — clarifying'

'An answer will come in November'

Karen Tumulty in The Washington Post

Whenever something shocking happens political leaders insist "this is not who we are," says Karen Tumulty in The Washington Post. Joe Biden said it after the 2017 Charlottesville white supremacist march. Kevin McCarthy said it after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. If Americans put Donald Trump back in the White House despite everything they know about him, it will be time "to quit lying to ourselves" and admit "this is who we are."

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'How many more thousands of Palestinian civilians will die'

Tom Fate in the Chicago Tribune

The war that erupted when "Hamas viciously attacked Israel" has "already decimated Gaza and tens of thousands of Israeli and Palestinian lives," says Tom Fate in the Chicago Tribune. "More than 20,000 Palestinian civilians" have been killed in Israel's ongoing retaliatory offensive. The U.S. has "done little to slow the bombing or diminish the horrific suffering" of Palestinian civilians. "There is nothing left to win. But we might try to stop the spiral of loss."

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'California is forcing restaurants to raise prices'

Washington Examiner editorial board

California, once a job-creation leader, lost jobs in 2023, says the Washington Examiner editorial board, and stands to lose even more in 2024 thanks to a minimum wage hike coming in April. Chains with more than 60 outlets in the state will have to raise wages to $20 an hour from the current minimum of $15.50. This will force fast-food chains to cut staff and raise prices, resulting in "fewer food options" and "fewer jobs."

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'The end of the pandemic dividend will make it harder for central bankers'

Allison Schrager at Bloomberg

America might pull off "that rare achievement known as a soft landing," says Allison Schrager at Bloomberg. The Federal Reserve expects inflation "to slide back down to 2%" without much economic pain. But hold the applause. One reason the economy has remained strong as the Fed hiked interest rates to curb inflation was that households had extra money thanks to Covid-era stimulus checks. But we've spent our "post-pandemic dividend" so the road could get rough.

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