This weekend has me heading to a conference of economic research centers. As always, the big topic is new research, though given the current economic slowdown, there will be many a forecast. In a time when so much research is available on the internet, I’m surprised how useful it is to meet …
There they go again. A year after northeast Indiana students graduated from college in 2012-13, just over 30% of them were no longer in the region. Three years after graduation, the number was just over 47%. And five years after graduation, almost 57% of northeast Indiana college graduates w…
When news first came out more than 1,100 ballots from the 2018 general election were discovered in late January of this year inside a courthouse storage cabinet, it certainly raised a lot of concerns.
I was talking with a friend the other day about immigration. It’s one of the most divisive issues of our time, and we, too, found ourselves divided. “Our country is full,” he quoted President Trump, who said this back in April. Let’s improve the country with the people we already have, my fr…
Many of our national trials and tribulations — along with our Grand-Canyon-size political divide — could be resolved, if someone could just find “the average American.”
The U.S. House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump is unlikely to sway voters’ positions, according to Indiana University professor of political science Marjorie Hershey.
Health care advocates concerned about coverage
“Who is it?” asked one of my college professors in response to a knock on his office door.
A national analysis of sexual violence by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 15% of high school-age females in Indiana reported having forced sexual intercourse in 2009.
NEW YORK — Large majorities of black and Latino Americans think Donald Trump's actions as president have made things worse for people like them, and about two-thirds of Americans overall disapprove of how he's handling race relations, according to a new poll conducted by The Associated Press…
Critics of predatory lending have long advocated for payday lending reform in Indiana.
You’re probably chuckling already. Seriously? “The joy of politics”?
Economic growth, not recession, is the norm. For every one quarter the U.S. has spent in recession since the end of World War II, we’ve spent eight quarters growing. Of the 75 quarters in this century, only 10 have been recessionary. I’m counting our current quarter as growth, which may prov…
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill has thrown a wrench into what appears to have been an effort by two other state agencies to clear away a little red tape for transgender individuals seeking to obtain a driver's license. He declined to sign off on an administrative rule change that would …
Spending on K-12 education is by far the largest piece of Indiana government. Appropriations for schools make up half of the state’s general fund budget. School budgets are 55% of all local government budgets. Total local school appropriations are $11 billion in 2019. About $7 billion of thi…
What’s the easiest way to overcome a persistent crime?
Natural disasters, such as hurricanes and tornadoes, have economic costs. They also reveal much about market economies, government planning and response.
A wave of protests is roiling Moscow. Millions of people, young and old, have been crowding the streets in Hong Kong. In Britain, members of the Conservative Party took to open revolt over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to sideline Parliament on Brexit. If democracy is dysfunctional and…
Health experts for years have warned about the unknown effects of vaping.
The last Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the assembly line in Puebla, Mexico, in July. The price for the basic 2019 model was $23,940. In 1960, the car would have cost $1,560 — or $12,651, based on the current value of the U.S. dollar.
Kurt Hein was an infantryman in the army of Germany’s Third Reich.
The first set of scores for Indiana’s new ILEARN test has everyone on the same page, at least for a moment, about standardized testing.
July marked the 121st month of the economic expansion that began after the Great Recession. That makes it the longest expansion in American history, surpassing the 10-year expansion of 1991-2001.
A federal appeals court ruling last week upheld the block on a controversial Indiana voter purge law.
Labor Day weekend is always a popular time to talk about work and worker issues. I wish to a put a twist on it and talk about some popular misconceptions about work and capital and the meaning of both. If you’ve been fed a steady diet of anti-capitalist nonsense, or are a diehard capitalist,…
Starting in 1996, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention self-imposed a ban on researching firearms deaths in the United States. The agency had been cowed by the National Rifle Association and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, among others, who accused it of being a…
Sometimes you wonder if the world is doomed to descend into autocracy. Certainly, that’s what the coverage of the past few years suggests. We read about the nations that are already there, like China and Russia, of course, and Saudi Arabia and Iran. Or about countries like Hungary, Turkey, a…
Gov. Eric Holcomb always looks so comfortably stern, like an accountant at tax time waiting for his client’s big gulp of ulcer medicine to kick in.
Soon, Rob Undersander may no longer be eligible to receive food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
It is almost September and classes have begun or are about to start. We detect some reluctance in students, but not in adds for school supplies or with summer-weary parents. Parents and retailers are more than ready. For teachers as well, there is inevitably an autumn bounce in starting anew…
Indiana Legislative Insight, a political newsletter, recently noted a milestone. With Rep. Ann Vermilion's selection by a Republican caucus, the General Assembly boasts a record number of women: 37.
Last week I attended a Muncie City Council meeting on very contentious issues and travelled to Wisconsin to speak to a group of economic developers about the Foxconn debacle. Both events have eerily similar aspects that should anger and frustrate voters.
Mrs. Meeks. Mrs. Leffel. Mrs. Tate.
Democracy’s premise is that ordinary citizens can make solid decisions on complex issues. But this basic principle and the structure of laws and practices erected over the centuries to safeguard it are being questioned as rarely before.
People sure can be funny sometimes, intentionally or, as is more-often the case, unintentionally by just being themselves.
In 1949, the Soviet Armed Forces put a new, deadly assault rifle into general use, the AK-47. The Mikhail Kalashnikov design was soon disseminated around the world as a cheap, effective, durable military and police weapon.
A turbulent week in the economy is a very good time to write about fundamentals. Trade, its origins and its benefits are a timely topic. I must warn readers that these ideas aren’t very hard, but rather shockingly simple. They will challenge what you’ve heard in the media and on the campaign trail.
Small cities and towns have been the worst-hit victims of the property-tax caps. In the decade since their introduction, the caps have forced such communities to either reduce or eliminate services, or burden residents by raising taxes and adopting new user fees in an effort to maintain thos…
Indianapolis officials have announced they will no longer provide tax abatements to companies paying any worker less than $18 an hour. This welcome news coincided with announcements by Kansas City and Austin to suspend tax incentives. Perhaps the incentive fiasco surrounding the Amazon and F…
Out of respect for some families, not talking about child abuse or neglect might seem like the right thing to do. Unfortunately, it clearly is not the right thing to do if a child is endangered. Neighbors, teachers, relatives and passers-by all have a stake in raising a child in a safe environment.
I’ve been struck recently by news coverage of climate change and humans’ degradation of the planet.
On this there seems to be agreement, that no resident of Oaktown likes the changes (or “improvements”) the Indiana Department of Transportation is making to the section of U.S. 41 that runs along the town's east side.
Economic performance has been reduced domestically and aboard
A cliché about violent offenders is that someone often will say what a nice, quiet neighbor the person was before the eruption. A new study of mass attacks in America suggests quite the opposite — and that perhaps more of these rampages can be prevented.
The 9/11 attacks impressed upon all Americans that terrorism was a threat that we could not ignore. It remains so today.
Directives announced last week from Gov. Eric Holcomb are aimed at improving access to tobacco cessation products for Hoosiers.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday told young people a number of falsehoods he's been relating to adults for months and took a misleading swipe at the female Democratic lawmakers he's trying to turn into foils.
A moment of national unity bathed in triumph
Today in History
We're not big believers in public officials being responsible for all the bad things other public officials say or do. It's become a too-common political weapon to ask lawmakers to condemn members of their own party, even for behavior that's not representative of anything more than one perso…
Americans' age, education level and religious affiliation matter greatly when it comes to their opinions on a prospective clergy member's sexual orientation, gender, marital status or views on social issues such as same-sex marriage or abortion, a new poll shows.
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