Like it or not, the United States is a country where, increasingly, people read different books and newspapers, visit different blogs, watch different television programs, attend different churches and even speak different languages.
When the Legislature is in session, Hoosiers have learned to worry.
Last month, the media and much of the American public fixated on oral arguments in two same-sex marriage cases being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
I continue to be amazed by the pundits and politicians who insist that eviscerating government programs will save money.
If there is one observation increasingly endorsed by conservatives and liberals alike, it is this: American government isn’t working. Not in Washington, and not in a growing number of states.
John Kasich (Ohio), Rick Snyder (Michigan), Jan Brewer (Arizona), Brian Sandoval (Nevada), Susana Martinez (New Mexico) and Jack Dalrymple (North Dakota) are all conservative Republican governors opposed to the Affordable Care Act.
New year, new governor, same song. One of the first official pronouncements from newly inaugurated Gov. Pence was a solemnly delivered promise to stop regulating—to cease issuing administrative rules except when "absolutely necessary."
Well, that certainly didn't take long. As a result of last November's elections, the General Assembly is firmly in the hands of the Republicans, who enjoy super-majorities in both the House and Senate.
The ugly mud-wrestling match that was the fiscal cliff negotiation is over for the time being. Congress has done what Congress has been doing with some regularity the past few years—it has kicked the can down the road a few months.
I am a capitalist. I believe in free markets, in what the economists describe as “transactions entered into freely between buyers and sellers both of whom have the necessary relevant information.” I also recognize that markets cannot function without “umpires” empowered to enforce rules of fair play and protect that level playing field to which we all pay lip service. The most significant challenge to genuine capitalism, I submit, lies in the ability of some competitors to bribe or otherwise influence the umpires.
Equality is one of those principles that almost everyone subscribes to—a concept we can all endorse in the abstract, because in the abstract, we don’t have to decide what it really means.
There’s an old saying to the effect that a politician’s idea of “long term” is the next election. Our system rewards folks who can front-load the goodies and postpone the pain, even when doing so is clearly not in the long-term public interest. Budget deficits are an obvious case in point.
I’ll admit to taking guilty pleasure from two highly significant miscalculations of this year’s election cycle: the infusion of gazillions of corporate dollars to sway voters, and efforts to (ahem!) “true the vote.
Mike Pence has been running a strategically brilliant campaign, taking care to mask his inner culture warrior while displaying a previously invisible interest in economic development and job creation.
In this space, I’ve referenced studies confirming the “instrumental” value of the arts—especially economic growth and better academic performance. A new study from Rand argues for greater recognition of the intrinsic benefits as well: growth in individual capacities such as empathy for other peoples and cultures, enhanced powers of observation, and fuller understanding of the world in which we live.
Recently, all eyes have been glued to developments in the presidential race and to Indiana’s campaigns for governor and U.S. senator. We’ve paid less attention to the folks running for seats in the Indiana House and Senate.
When I was in city hall in the late 1970s, the goal was to make Indianapolis a “world class” city. That wasn’t just rhetoric used by Mayor Hudnut. It was echoed by the City Committee (now long defunct) and by Lilly Endowment, which generously facilitated the goal.
Bowing to the demands of the GOP base, Mitt Romney has chosen his running mate. Paul Ryan is the final confirmation of Romney’s capitulation to the True Believers.
One of the things I try to explain to students is the importance of process. This is, of course, a central principle of civil liberties.
If you’ve been following my columns and blog posts, you are probably tired of my frequent rants about what Americans don’t know about our own constitutional system.
