We never thought we’d toss a bouquet to Bernie Sanders, the socialist senator from Vermont and recently declared Democratic presidential candidate. But he has one thing right: The Export-Import Bank should be abolished.
“Negative real interest rates are impossible.” That’s econ-speak for the simple idea that you have to be nuts to pay someone to borrow money from you. Styring would have to be smoking a controlled substance to lend Bohanon $100 on his promise to pay back $99.75 a year from now. He’s better off just stashing […]
All of us want better schools for our kids. But beware of how to get there. More money isn’t the answer.
One big hurdle remains before our legislators can leave by their April 29 deadline: the two-year state budget. As is so often the case, the main budget item up in the air is the school formula, the complex calculations that determine how much money each district receives from the state.
Economic actors are constantly bringing supply and demand into balance, although they are rarely aware of this. However, responding to market incentives tends to undermine discrimination.
One piece of legislation must pass before we can wave the General Assembly bye-bye: the budget.
The widely publicized unemployment rate is one of those chameleon numbers, where apparent good is sometimes bad, and vice versa. All is not always what it seems when you peek behind the wizard’s curtain.
If you indulge in other forms of gambling from time to time, “bracketology” is the smartest bet you’ll ever make. And, you might become a criminal.
What criteria is the public official supposed to use when she is forcing taxpayers to support a private venture? The government’s ability to support private enterprise is limited.
House Enrolled Act 1019, a bill to repeal the wage, is what gives. Few Statehouse junkies thought it would be an issue this time around. But the bill has passed the House and stands a chance of becoming law.
Tax increment financing is sold by supporters as the closest thing to a free lunch mankind ever invented. We differ.
Demand for petroleum products has stagnated because the global economy slowed. Supply, primarily driven by U.S. shale oil, has soared.
Two years into the Pence administration, claims and counterclaims abound about its tax policy. Critics claim the policies shower unwarranted benefits on those who need it least at the expense of the middle class, while supporters claim the policies promote economic growth and prosperity.
I have always thought legislators should be obliged to take the equivalent of the Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm. Most of the major and minor evils of history have been a byproduct of overambitious political leaders intent on “doing something.”
Free-market economists are skeptical of government programs designed to promote economic development.
The Indy Chamber is opposing the proposed state constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriages and civil unions. Fifty years ago—even 10 years ago—such a position would have been unthinkable. This is a remarkable change.
When I read what then-Gov. Mitch Daniels said in an email to then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett about Marxist historian Howard Zinn’s work, my immediate reaction was, “My thoughts exactly!” I take great exception to Zinn’s characterization of American history.
I weep for my Afghan friends and thank God for the relative civility that characterizes Indiana political conflict.
With the Governor’s Mansion in tow and a super-majority in both houses of the Legislature, Republicans seemed poised to impose radical change on the state.
A word I like to introduce my students to is “intractable.” This is a fancy, 75-cent college word that means can’t be solved, can only be dealt with—as in, the problems of homelessness are intractable.
