MARCUS: Happy news is the remedy for reality
The elderly woman sat before me nervously straightening the seams of her dark gray stockings.
Eye on the Pie
Articles
MARCUS: Changing roles cause conflict
Americans are uncomfortable when responsibilities between the public and private sectors shift.
MARCUS: A feast of perceptions about health care
Lots of people are
without health insurance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they go without health care. Others have insurance that
doesn’t cover their needs. Either they don’t get the care or they go broke in the process.
MARCUS: Economic slump inspires platitudes galore
If the problem is that consumers and businesses
are not spending because banks aren’t lending, then government making it easier for banks to lend and consumers to spend
is a good thing. The stimulus plan is right on target.
MARCUS: Will children make good leaders?
As a quiet person, I am not likely to intrude when I run across egregious wrongs. Most often I let dastardly deeds go without
comment. Someday, I hope, I will overcome this character defect and stand up in opposition to wrongdoers.
MARCUS: Men, women use time differently
On an average day, nearly 83 percent of women, but only 64 percent of men, spend time engaged in household activities, according to a recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Plus, when women engage in household activities, they average two hours and 35 minutes per day while men average two hours and one minute.
MARCUS: If not taxes, how about user fees?
“Most people hate to pay taxes,” Gregory Goad said. “They don’t appreciate the services taxes support,
they don’t understand why taxes are necessary, or they don’t like to help people in need.”
MARCUS: Budget made by rudderless Legislature
If we are lucky, by the time you read these words the Indiana General Assembly will have passed a new budget. Democrats use
tarot cards and Republicans chicken innards to determine how much to spend. There are alternatives.
MARCUS: Grouch finds good in the economy
To use a gardening metaphor, have the courage to prune back in a tough economy, and plant new seeds before the weather improves.
EYE ON THE PIE: Watch your pocket; someone may pick it
The unexpected move of NCR Corp. from Ohio to Georgia illustrates how even the best corporate citizens can show a fickle streak.
MARCUS: Urban entryways deserve attention
We need not have an arch to rival St. Louis, but more communities could copy work done on the north side of Bloomington and
the west side of Columbus to welcome visitors and bolster the pride of residents.
MARCUS: We all helped kill the auto industry
There are nearly no innocent parties to the conspiracy that brought the Big Three low, from greedy executives to combative
labor unions to elderly uninformed stockholders.
MARCUS: Let’s reassess reassessment
The process of assessment could be simplified and performed uniformly and inexpensively.
General Assembly heeds public mayhem, not public policy
Which group should make the spending decisions? Consumers or elected officials?
Author’s work may go unfinished
There are four main points I want to cover directly and simply: oil prices, the obsession with homeownership, the usual desire
for more, and the need to understand economic history.
Indiana wages now well below average
Last week the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released its estimates of county personal income and all the detail comprising
those data.
Is poor management Indiana’s problem?
Hoosiers identify many factors contributing to our state’s long-term economic difficulties. It is fashionable to blame our
workers. It is easy to decry a lack of natural amenities: no mountains, no coral reefs. Our public schools are inferior and
perhaps our higher education is overrated. Our taxes are too high but we have substandard government services. We ain’t got
no culture. Rarely do we hear anyone say that our problem is management.
EYE ON THE PIE: General Assembly is shame of Indiana
Most of the 150 men and women who sit in the Indiana General Assembly are fine people. This column, however, is too short to detail how they become a collective disgrace. They continue to vote along strict party lines. Virtually every Democrat and Republican is in lock step with the caucus leadership. Even their Web […]
Taxes, fees should be determined case-by-case
If an honest case for the general good cannot be made (as in the case of most education services, and, sports, entertainment and tourist facilities), government revenue streams should not be used to support private enterprises.
Commuting shifts $87 billion in Indiana
Fully 40 of Indiana’s 92 counties derived more than half of their earnings from commuters bringing back their compensation from somewhere else.