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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Taking the ultimate step in K-12 accountability

June 4, 2007

Everyone in business today knows that customers have choices, and that making and keeping customers happy with your product has always been a big part of the game. These days dissatisfied customers have many more options than simply walking away-they can go online and blast your product in cyberspace, attacking the image and reputation you may have spent a lifetime trying to build. That’s the daunting prospect American businesses face every day. Yet as difficult as that sounds, here’s one…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Scoring political points can cost state in long run

May 28, 2007

Perhaps the best thing that can be said about economic cycles-the boombust patterns of everything from housing to commodity prices-is that they keep economists and forecasters gainfully employed. John D. Rockefeller tried to eliminate them by controlling production and distribution. Franklin Roosevelt tried to cut them short by using the federal government checkbook. And Alan Greenspan, and now Ben Bernanke, keep trying to talk and cajole financial markets in the direction they think they should go. It hasn’t worked. Or,…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Wireless world making research more difficult

May 21, 2007

If you’re thinking of getting a job as a researcher, you should know it is a lonely life we lead. The world outside our offices sees issues in black and white that appear to us as infinite shades of gray. And when we occasionally emerge from our cubicles to deliver our results to the public, we are told either that we have a stranglehold on the obvious or that we have no concept of the real world. But the world…

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: A word to the generally assembled

May 14, 2007

Like everyone else who’s interested in these sorts of things, I have my opinions about the recently completed 2007 session of the Indiana General Assembly. Considering how long it took lawmakers to get on track, they accomplished some reasonably important business when it got down to the wire. Aside from the all-important balanced budget, tops on my list is the 44-cent increase in the cigarette tax. It should’ve been higher, but this will do for a start. For all you…

NOTIONS: Hoosier college presidents teach a liberal arts lesson

May 14, 2007

Last Monday morning, my work took me to West Lafayette. When I learned that Purdue University would name a new president that afternoon, I decided to stick around for the festivities. Hundreds of people gathered in the Loeb Playhouse for the one-agenda-item trustees’ meeting. The vote was unanimous. The introductory speech outlined an “out-of-this-world” resume. And out from behind the curtain emerged 59-year-old France CÃ³rdova: astrophysicist, university administrator, creative writer-someone Purdue board chair J. Timothy McGinley called “truly a Renaissance…

EYE ON THE PIE: Can Big 10 show us more than sports?

May 14, 2007

There is an issue of greater importance than gay marriage, abortion or the tragedies of Iraq and Afghanistan. State regulation of interior designers is a matter of such public concern that the Indiana Senate supported it by a vote of 44-5 and the House, 62-34. Then, when we finally had the public protected from the inappropriate placement of sofas, the governor goes and vetoes the bill. Mitch, the spoilsport. Well, there is always next year. The governor could not stop…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Employers hope to save by promoting healthy living

May 14, 2007

“Mandates are a form of love,” a state legislator once said, explaining a vote that added requirements to privately funded health insurance programs statewide. And our governments evidently love all of us-businesses, individuals, and even other governments-very much. Our legislatures tell us the lowest wage we can pay our workers, the questions we can and cannot ask during job interviews, and how many gallons of water we use to flush our toilets. To the admittedly narrow-minded thinking of an economist,…

Commentary: A plea for bio-focused policies:

May 14, 2007

Commentary A plea for bio-focused policies On April 2, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that carbon dioxide is a pollutant under the Clean Air Act and can be regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. While the ruling acknowledges the obvious, it offers a compelling rationale for Indiana elected officials to create an economic development strategy that leverages Hoosier intellectual capital and one of the state’s greatest assets, our farmland. With the scope of the twin challenges…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Signs of economic trouble are beginning to surface

May 7, 2007

There is a character in an old Hunter S. Thompson novel who shows up in every scene sweating profusely. Halfway through the book, he finally explains it-sweating is normal. It’s when he stops sweating that the alarm bells should sound. It’s a little like that with bankers. Except it’s not literally sweat, but worry. Bankers are always worried-about loan quality, interestrate spreads, renewed inflation, you name it. After all, the banking business is really business in general. How we collectively…

EYE ON THE PIE: Earnings per job up, but not all is well

May 7, 2007

Economic development is all about gaining jobs and increasing earnings per job. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) just released county level earnings and employment data for 2005. “Who cares?” you say. “You should,” I say. “These are the most comprehensive reports for more than 3,000 U.S. counties. They help explain how county economies are performing and the dynamics of change.” “But they’re old data,” you say. “First, 2005 has to end before we can have data for the…

MICKEY MAURER Commentary: The classy dame is still classy

May 7, 2007

“Pat Miller is a classy dame.” Michael S. Maurer, Indianapolis Star, Dec. 13, 2005 The above response to an Indianapolis Star reporter on the occasion of Pat Miller’s resignation as secretary of commerce was meant with all sincerity to be complimentary but was morphed by Indianapolis Star columnist John Ketzenberger into a slur on the order of Don Imus or Howard Stern. The Star piled on with a letter to the editor from someone who does not even live in…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Does growth in health care drive our state’s economy?

April 30, 2007

Indiana households, businesses and governments spent more than $33 billion on health care products and services in 2004. We don’t have current data yet, but you can be sure the amount is higher today. That’s because growth in health care expenditures in the state has averaged a whopping 8.6 percent per year since 1980. In 2004, spending on hospital care, physician services, prescription drugs, nursing homes, and every other kind of health care product or service gobbled up 14.4 percent…

EYE ON THE PIE: Bullying behavior beyond the playground

April 30, 2007

Bully: “a blustering browbeating person; especially: one habitually cruel to others who are weaker” (Merriam-Webster’s On-line Dictionary). I don’t want to overstate the case, but much of the news lately has been about bullies. Without any psychological qualifications, I see bullies as those who view themselves as weak persons or victims of abuse. They then use intimidation or violence to compensate for the injustice and indignity they perceive being imposed on them. The Virginia Tech massacre appears to have been…

EYE ON THE PIE: For sale: an American house of cards

April 23, 2007

A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage. Herbert Hoover never said those words, but they were part of his presidential campaign literature in 1928. Should they be the goals of American politics? Should we subsidize the price of chicken to keep poultry and grain farmers happy while consumers pay less at the grocery? How about lowering the cost of owning an automobile by allowing automobile interest payments to be refunded as tax credits? Along with these…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: State’s growth in incomes is still lagging the nation’s

April 23, 2007

It was 1980 when then-presidential candidate Ronald Reagan asked audiences whether they were better off than four years earlier. It was smart politics-1980 was a recession year. But politics aside, it’s always a relevant question. For if the economy is not growing the pie that we all share, then those who manage it, not to mention those in political leadership roles, have cause for concern. But how do we answer such a question? With the due date for tax filings…

EYE ON THE PIE: A useful program for Indiana’s future

April 16, 2007

I could see she was mad when I walked in the coffee shop. State representative Roberta Righteous was adding packet after packet of sugar substitute to her extra large macho mocha. As I sat down with my cup of regular, she blurted, “Your column last week was another cruel attack on the General Assembly. All criticism, all sarcasm, but no constructive suggestions for progress.” “You want constructive ideas,” I said, “I’ll give you some. “First, Indiana abandons partisan redistricting. When…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: The Great Society meets fiscal reality

April 16, 2007

Someone wise in matters of politics once said programs for the poor are poor programs. It remains true today-initiatives aimed at helping the most vulnerable in our society, be they privately or publicly funded, seem to be perpetually starved for funds. And so the genius of those who created the Social Security system-originally aimed at older Americans whose assets were devastated by the Great Depression in 1935-was to make the program available to all, regardless of income. In a few…

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Why ‘profit’ is a sturdy word

April 16, 2007

Sometimes we need to be reminded of the simplest, most basic things. Like the value of profit in a capitalist society. In a week where I was hard pressed to find the time to write a column, my friend Roland Dorson submitted an unsolicited piece for our consideration. I’ve known the president of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce to be a witty man with a clever way with words. Here, he deftly summarizes a notion to which I and IBJ…

NOTIONS: Job-seeking 101: Most applicants don’t pass course

April 16, 2007

Every few years about this time, I offer free job-seeking advice for collegians. Judging from the resumes deluging my company, it’s time to hum this tune again. The first line of the first song in the musical comedy “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” is “How to apply for a job.” That’s also the name of a course I’ve long proposed to colleges and universities. While more colleges are doing that, there’s a frequent flaw: waiting until the…

EYE ON THE PIE: Time to stop being timid and tell the truth

April 9, 2007

The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show that Indiana ranks 33rd in per capita personal income. Fifty years earlier, in 1956, Indiana ranked 17th in the nation. Our state is in long-term economic freefall and we suffer with representatives who piddle away their time on raising revenue through gambling. Per capita personal income in Indiana has not been on par with the nation since 1966. We have a record of ongoing decline, interrupted briefly from time…

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Articles

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Taking the ultimate step in K-12 accountability

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Scoring political points can cost state in long run

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Wireless world making research more difficult

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: A word to the generally assembled

NOTIONS: Hoosier college presidents teach a liberal arts lesson

EYE ON THE PIE: Can Big 10 show us more than sports?

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Employers hope to save by promoting healthy living

Commentary: A plea for bio-focused policies:

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Signs of economic trouble are beginning to surface

EYE ON THE PIE: Earnings per job up, but not all is well

MICKEY MAURER Commentary: The classy dame is still classy

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Does growth in health care drive our state’s economy?

EYE ON THE PIE: Bullying behavior beyond the playground

EYE ON THE PIE: For sale: an American house of cards

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: State’s growth in incomes is still lagging the nation’s

EYE ON THE PIE: A useful program for Indiana’s future

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: The Great Society meets fiscal reality

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Why ‘profit’ is a sturdy word

NOTIONS: Job-seeking 101: Most applicants don’t pass course

EYE ON THE PIE: Time to stop being timid and tell the truth