Opinion

One of the biggest promises by Republicans in the 2022 election season was that if they won a majority in the House, they would defund the $80 billion that Biden wants to hire 87,000 new IRS agents. But now they are about to agree to a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending deal with President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year.

More Money May Not Be the Answer Affluence is not measured by your annual income. Affluence is determined by how many of your resources you manage not to spend -- the amount of income you keep.

There are media heavies we saw written about, talked about, day after tedious day, month after tiresome month. May the obsession over them fade in 2023.

Dear Annie: My daughter and son-in-law moved from Pennsylvania, where I live, to North Carolina to be close to his family. They moved without giving me any real notice. My daughter had mentioned they might be moving, but I did not find out for sure until the day before they moved.

More Money May Not Be the Answer Affluence is not measured by your annual income. Affluence is determined by how many of your resources you manage not to spend -- the amount of income you keep.

My daughter lost her dad (my ex-husband) to cancer. My best friend’s elderly dog died. Plus, I and many of my colleagues are furloughed this month to satisfy the budget of our corporate employers. Still others have been offered a buyout or were terminated.

WASHINGTON -- It did not take the richest man in the world long to find himself in trouble with the American media. Elon Musk bought Twitter in October for $44 billion, and in no time found himself in the doghouse with the press for suspending writers from CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post. What was the cause of this imbroglio?

When Student Debt Comes Home to Roost and Fast Track Mortgage Payoff Dear Mary: Several years ago I decided to become a medical transcription. I had no knowledge how school loans work and signed a student loan from Sallie Mae for $7,000 with a 12-month deferment on payments. It took 15 months to finish school, so my payments started before finishing. I am still paying $134 a month on the loan wherein the principal has now grown to more than $12,500! I have looked into transferring the balance to a lower-rate loan as we are currently paying 15% variable on this one. But I can’t find anyone to agree to an unsecured loan. Is there another avenue I can pursue or am I stuck with this out-of-control student loan? -- Yvonne D., email Dear Yvonne: My first instinct is to blast any lender that signs up students for loans without fully disclosing all of the ramifications of deferred interest and variable interest rates. And then to warn students to grow up, do some independent research and pay attention to what they’re getting into! It’s a lot easier to borrow than to pay back. But I’ll refrain and get right to your question.

Student writer submission The Adventures of Linda “Listen Linda” is something I constantly have to tell myself because she hardly ever pays attention. Our minds are constantly running, and we are continuously telling ourselves stories.

Dear Annie: You were kind enough to publish my article last year about parents who are grieving the loss of a child during the holidays. Would you be kind enough to republish what I’ve updated? Since this time last year, more children have died from an overdose.