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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Jobs news is negative however you slice it

April 9, 2007

What’s the news on Indiana employment? Odd as it might seem, that phrase is almost a contradiction in terms. For while we do receive very timely, detailed information on how many jobs are carried on Indiana employers’ payrolls each month, the practical challenges in keeping close tabs on the latest zigs and zags in the 3 million-strong Hoosier labor force make the interpretation of the fresh data difficult. Only after the data have sat on the shelf for half a…

Waiting for a sensible transportation plan: Commentary

April 9, 2007

The Indiana Commerce Connector, those 75 miles of concrete through the Indiana countryside, was announced with great fanfare at the start of the 2007 legislative session and recently disappeared with equal aplomb. Thanks to the efforts of state Rep. Terri Austin, chairwoman of the House Roads and Transportation Committee, and the other members of that committee, the citizens of Indiana had ample opportunity to express their opinions on Indiana’s transportation needs. While the governor’s specific proposals for the Indiana Commerce…

EYE ON THE PIE: Whom will the state subsidize next?

April 2, 2007

Last week, I was walking on the Statehouse grounds and I saw some folks with large green pins on their lapels. “What do those stand for?” I asked. “Small businesses need Electronic Gaming Devices” one wearer told me. “That’s for bars,” I commented. The reply I got was not friendly. In the newspapers and on TV during the same week, there were features about horse breeders “needing” more state subsidies from slot machines at racetracks to “keep the industry alive.”…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: How Hoosiers who smoke are hurting state economy

March 26, 2007

For those who have gone through life shying away from anything involving numbers, the demonstration of the principle of compound interest is usually an eye-opening revelation. It’s quite simple, actually. Money set aside today accrues interest, if it is wisely invested. But so does the interest on what you set aside yesterday. Over a long time span, this snowballing of interest on interest can build up to a sizable nest egg. That’s why financial advisers always tell you to start…

MICKEY MAURER Commentary: The power of a single ‘thank you’

March 26, 2007

One of the most enjoyable aspects of my job as president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and secretary of commerce was the opportunity to represent our governor and the state of Indiana on goodnews occasions. On April 26, 2005, I bestowed official state certification on Intech Park, a business incubator that had qualified under the Indiana Certified Technology Park Program. Certified tech parks enjoy the advantage of being allowed to capture and invest in the development of their park…

NOTIONS: How to save lives, money, and still win re-election

March 19, 2007

As a hearing-impaired, diabetic, migraine-suffering cancer survivor, father of a cancer survivor and widower of a cancer victim, I’ve followed my share of doctor’s orders. So I’ve taken two of Monroe’s tenaciousness pills, and I’m calling (well, writing) you in the morning. Since my late wife the non-smoker was diagnosed with a smoker’s cancer, I’ve shared our sad story to educate government officials and citizens about the dangers of secondhand smoke. But let’s skip the emotions this time, abandon impatience…

MICKEY MAURER Commentary: Hoosiers, wake up to the world

March 12, 2007

Don’t rest the chopsticks on your food. Don’t blow your nose during the meal and never pour the soy sauce on your rice. These and other tidbits of Japanese dining etiquette had to be digested before our first trade mission to Japan in 2005. That 74-person mission, led by Gov. Mitch Daniels, was the largest delegation of Indiana business leaders and state and local officials ever on foreign shores. Indiana is the No. 1 manufacturing state in the union. More…

BEHIND THE NEWS: WellPoint succession breeds unease on Wall Street

March 12, 2007

This isn’t the Well-Point Inc. way. The last two times the Indianapolisbased health insurer appointed a CEO-when Ben Lytle took the job in 1989 and Larry Glasscock succeeded him in 1999-there was no drama. The board had publicly, and painstakingly, groomed the new leader. WellPoint did nothing remotely similar this time around. As CIBC World Markets analyst Carl McDonald pointedly observed in a research note, “There’s clearly a gap in succession planning when a company of Well-Point’s size has to…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Turnabout is fair play in evaluating education

March 12, 2007

Much has been made in recent years of the performance of our state’s secondary schools. In particular, the recent revisions made to high school graduation statistics, suggesting that as few as three out of four ninth-graders graduate with their class have sounded an alarm. People are saying something is wrong with K-12 education in Indiana, and they would appear to have plenty of ammunition to support their arguments. But turnabout is fair play in the business of evaluating education. Since…

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: IMA art park is a grand slam

March 5, 2007

Lest we overlook it among the rash of crimes, stock-market gyrations and General Assembly shenanigans reported in the media recently, the Indianapolis Museum of Art deserves some major kudos. Amid the chaos, the IMA announced the names of the 10 artists, artists’ groups and architects who will create works for its Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park set to open in 2009. It was a grand slam. Unveiled in New York Feb. 27, the list includes individuals or collectives…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Fate of U.S. auto industry is controlled by investors

February 19, 2007

On the same black Thursday that Borg Warner announced it would close its 780-worker Muncie manufacturing facility in 2009, the price of its stock surged 6 percent. Are the traders on Wall Street heartless, or prejudiced against Muncie, or do they simply like bad news? In truth, none of these answers is probably correct, although we really have no way of knowing. But the divergent reactions of stockholders and workers and their families to the news that nearly a century…

EYE ON THE PIE: Where are the best-paying jobs?

February 5, 2007

Where is the best place to work if all you consider is money? Where are the wages and salaries plus benefits paid by employers the highest? We have data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis that help us answer the question. The data refer to 2005, the latest year available, and do not include self-employment; thus, only jobs working for someone else are counted. And remember, these data are by place of work, not place of residence. Where are…

SPORTS: Super Bowl has special meaning for diversity watchdog

February 5, 2007

As this is being written, it is uncertain which head coach will grasp the Lombardi Trophy. Those of us here certainly hope it is the Indianapolis Colts’ Tony Dungy. If not, however, Floyd Keith of the Indianapolis-based Black Coaches Association still can’t lose. Because the trophy then would be in the hands of the Chicago Bears’ Lovie Smith. As most of the world knows by now, Super Bowl XLI in Miami was going to be historic even before the opening…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Those from corrupt cultures more likely to ignore laws

February 5, 2007

Do we obey laws because we fear punishment? Or is it simply a habit we acquired to which we don’t otherwise give much thought? Either way, it is a good thing for our communities, our governments and our entire society that so many of us are, generally speaking, law-abiding. One can scarcely imagine the chaos that would be caused if 300 million people lied, stole and murdered our way through the day without giving it a moment’s thought. It’s good…

NOTIONS: Can you look at the world through others’ eyes?

February 5, 2007

For the past few months, I’ve served on a search committee for a large not-forprofit organization. We’re hoping to select and hire a senior public relations executive. During interviews for this position, many finalists have said the same thing: The organization needs to do a better job of “getting its message out.” This doesn’t surprise me. As head of a marketing communications consultancy, my phone rings frequently with prospective clients wanting help “getting our message out” because “we’re the best-kept…

Lottery lease plan has fatal flaws EYE ON THE PIE:

January 29, 2007

Folks I talked to, Democrats and Republicans, liked the governor’s State of the State speech. The fault they found was that the speech was scheduled opposite the Indiana University basketball game with Iowa. Isn’t that an impeachable offense in Indiana? The part of the speech that intrigued me most was the idea about leasing the rights to the lottery to get money to establish scholarships and endowed chairs at our universities. The idea is to slow or reverse the brain…

EYE ON THE PIE: You didn’t know him and now he is gone

January 22, 2007

A quiet gentleman died last week. It did not make the headlines. Ken Miller never did make headlines, but he was part of your life and the lives of all Hoosiers for many years. If you thought of him at all, it was as taking your money, yet all that time Ken was carefully saving you money and modernizing state government. For 14 years, Ken was Indiana’s commissioner of revenue. It was to his office that you sent your income-tax…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Our love-hate relationship with globalization boom

January 22, 2007

Our generation didn’t invent globalization, but we’ve certainly moved it to a new level. Even here in the isolated Midwest, it’s hard to find a product, a job or a community that hasn’t been affected by the high degree of connectivity among customers, businesses, and buyers and sellers of all kinds around the globe. We’ve enjoyed a cornucopia of incredible new products-from cell phones to flat-screen televisions to microprocessor-laden automobiles-that have had many or all of their principal parts made…

BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: Lottery could help education even more

January 8, 2007

Recently, Gov. Mitch Daniels put forth a proposal to privatize the Hoosier Lottery. As envisioned by the governor, a private contractor would give the state an upfront payment of at least $1 billion and pay the state a guaranteed $200 million per year for the life of the contract. Daniels has proposed two uses for the upfront payment. Dollars would be split between a) scholarships for Indiana high school students attending Indiana universities and colleges and b) funding programs to…

EYE ON THE PIE: News flash? Indiana continues to lag nation

January 1, 2007

The U.S. Department of Commerce put two data sets under my tree the week before Christma. On Wednesday, I got personal-income data, by state, for the third quarter of 2006 from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. On Friday, the Bureau of the Census sent me 2006 population estimates for all the states. Could I ask for anything better unless it was the “Complete Works of Alvin and the Chipmunks”? However, my joy may not be shared by those who have…

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Articles

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Jobs news is negative however you slice it

Waiting for a sensible transportation plan: Commentary

EYE ON THE PIE: Whom will the state subsidize next?

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: How Hoosiers who smoke are hurting state economy

MICKEY MAURER Commentary: The power of a single ‘thank you’

NOTIONS: How to save lives, money, and still win re-election

MICKEY MAURER Commentary: Hoosiers, wake up to the world

BEHIND THE NEWS: WellPoint succession breeds unease on Wall Street

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Turnabout is fair play in evaluating education

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: IMA art park is a grand slam

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Fate of U.S. auto industry is controlled by investors

EYE ON THE PIE: Where are the best-paying jobs?

SPORTS: Super Bowl has special meaning for diversity watchdog

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Those from corrupt cultures more likely to ignore laws

NOTIONS: Can you look at the world through others’ eyes?

Lottery lease plan has fatal flaws EYE ON THE PIE:

EYE ON THE PIE: You didn’t know him and now he is gone

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Our love-hate relationship with globalization boom

BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: Lottery could help education even more

EYE ON THE PIE: News flash? Indiana continues to lag nation