Opinion
Searching for opinion based articles? Below we'll share opinion news articles on a wide variety of topics.
Justus (sic) is being served
At 1 a.m. on Saturday, April 19, the United States Supreme Court issued an extraordinary emergency order barring t…
What makes housing unaffordable?
For the most part, those of a more progressive leaning push for the government to do something to make housing affordable.
Staying in the know this legislative session
Most Montanans don’t have three months to spend tracking each and every bill, testimonial or budget line-item, but it’s worthwhile to stay updated on the legislation that may impact you and your community. There ar…
Wildlife commission must follow science, listen to input
We are 40 retired state, federal and tribal Montana biologists with a combined 1,280 years of professional experience. We are extremely concerned about the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s conflicts of interest, lack…
Tax relief needed for working and retired Montanans
Government should serve its citizens and they are looking to the legislature to fix this problem on day one by adopting a tax program that is fair to everyone.
The scenery tax
Remember the “scenery tax”? We used to joke that it was the tax we paid in the form of low incomes for living in a place as remote and beautiful as Montana. Well, now we are paying higher property tax because our s…
Watch your wallets
Here we go again. Guess they thought that 2023 didn’t hurt the middle class enough.
There is no simple solution to property taxes
Property tax rates don’t work like income taxes or sales taxes. If you have a 25% income tax rate and you make an additional $10,000 of income, your additional income taxes would be $2,500. Simple. And you get simi…
Don’t say Democrats weren’t warned
“There is one important minority that the Democratic Party is ignoring,” he says, “the white working man.”
Commissioners must address PILT underpayments
For the record, PILT is not a form of governmental handout, it is required by law. Additionally, we believe that legislation is clear that it is up to county commissioners to negotiate with PILT to make certain th…
Embracing Small Business Saturday: Why shopping local matters for our communities
Rural and local businesses face unique pressures. They compete not only with the convenience of online shopping but also with the often lower prices offered by big-box stores.
The value of school trust lands
Montana now has more new residents defined as five years or so than old. That means perhaps that someone should tell the story of what is now spoken of as public lands as different from Glacier Nat
Unwavering belief in the American people
“Before all else, the people have a right to an electoral system free of shenanigans and capable of yielding honest, responsible, and responsive government open to all and shaped to meet the needs of all.” — Mike M…
Here’s how to lower costs for Montanans
If you live in Montana, there’s no doubt you feel the sting of this sobering fact: Montana just surpassed California to become the most unaffordable state in the nation. That’s not political hype; that’s according …
Taxpayers fund party primaries. Why can’t we vote in all of them?
I just got a flier in the mail from the Montana Republican Party asking me to vote “no” on CI-126, that’s the ballot initiative to allow a primary election where the top four vote getters advance to the general ele…
Who is Tim Sheehy... really?
The Billings Gazette has recently run front page articles about the truth of campaign ads by Sen. Jon Tester and Tim Sheehy, opponents in the Montana U.S. Senate race. The articles discuss political crossfire betwe…