HICKS: Communities must pursue people, not fads
In communities across Indiana, efforts to shore up economic growth often have targeted whatever new bright, shiny object appears to offer hope.
Mike Hicks
Articles
HICKS: New report starkly contrasts jobs polarization
Despite claims that the job market is unambiguously happy, there is real evidence of deepening problems.
HICKS: Today’s mobile workforce flocks to ‘great places’
Richard Florida’s writings popularized the notion of a “creative class” of workers, arguing that the workers held the key to a region’s prosperity and that the policies that attracted them would offer economic salvation.
HICKS: Piecemeal dismantling of liquor laws a bad idea
The regulation of alcoholic beverages in Indiana contains a vast web of laws that apply differently to different types of businesses. Over the past 80 years, firms across Indiana have in good faith made investment and location decisions based upon these laws.
HICKS: Bill for Rockport gasification plant is job killer
Rockport was not a privately feasible operation in 2005, so the state offered a number of energy purchase agreements to support its construction. Suffice it to say that what was a marginally bad idea in 2005 is a profoundly bad idea in 2015.
HICKS: Minimum wage arguments make little sense
It is important to understand what is going on with the minimum wage, especially since a group of Hoosier lawmakers is proposing a 39-percent increase this year. I think both sides are talking past each other.
Hicks: Wages won’t make a comeback for a long time
Wage stagnation has been a central element since the Great Recession.
HICKS: Cheap petrol might lead to full-blown recovery
Because of the gasoline-price drop, businesses might be more profitable and might be able to use the extra revenue to hire more workers or make other investments. If they pass their profits on to owners, this will mean more money for retirees and other stockholders.
HICKS: Hoosier employers experienced a fantastic year
Last December, I forecasted the state to see 57,000 new jobs through 2014, with a drop of the unemployment rate to the low- to mid-sixes. This would’ve been good news, but the reality was better.
HICKS: Need to work on Christmas? You’re valuable
Wages are set by something like auction markets. In these markets, the willingness to pay a certain wage is balanced by workers’ inclination to sell their services. Rare skills in high demand get paid more than common skills.
HICKS: Politics is driving the minimum wage push
Wages are largely determined by labor markets. So, if the minimum wage is set above the market wage, some workers will lose jobs while some will be better paid. There is no disagreement by anyone with a modest understanding of the matter, but low-paid jobs are not the issue.
Hicks: Falling oil prices teach many economic lessons
The sharp drop in crude oil prices has caught many economists by surprise, me included.
Hicks: Worries abound during forecasting season
If everything goes as forecasted, 2015 will be the best year of economic performance since 2007. This is a low bar if ever there were one.
Hicks: Economist’s ‘truthiness’ unmasks Obamacare
Jonathan Gruber’s micro-simulation economic model is highly sought after because it replicates the version used by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office. Thus, it can be used to outwit that organization’s candid assessment of the effects of a policy proposal.
Hicks: Gimmicks won’t solve middle-class dilemma
If excessive government spending and artificially inflated wages offered actual help for America’s dwindling middle class, then east-central Indiana would’ve seen unbridled prosperity over the past half century instead of decline.
Hicks: Pence was right to reject federal pre-K funding
Given my strong support for early childhood education programs, you might suppose I think Gov. Pence mistaken in his decision to forgo some $85 million in federal support for early childhood education. I do not. Accepting this money would have been easy, popular and wrong.
Hicks: Voters are massing to fight bad government
The meme of the 2016 election is becoming clear. For the Democrats, the leftward pull of Elizabeth Warren will exert great influence. For the GOP, the coming two years offer a chance to lay out a pragmatic opposition to the last decade in economic, social and foreign policy.
Hicks: The links among Ebola, soda, school lunches
The U.S. government’s response to the Ebola virus is a case study on some of the central problems of our times.
Hicks: Futures of high-skill, low-skill workers diverging
In recent years, average wages have stagnated. Wages for some workers declined while wages for others rose. Understanding why is important for any policy discussion.
Hicks: We might be headed for another financial crisis
Today’s financial markets offer few good choices for retirement investments, and that is both a symptom and cause of a problem. Stock markets in the United States are hovering at near-record levels. But there is real reason to worry.