Nov. 20 was one of the stranger days in the stock market that I have seen for some time. On the surface, it came and went like any other business day, with the Dow Jones industrial average ending up a decent 50 points. However, if you had told me the stock prices of both the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. and the Federal National Mortgage Association would collapse 25 percent that day even as the Dow rose, I would have…
Judging from the many yard signs I’ve seen, a repeal of property taxes is a popular sentiment in the state. Too bad, because that would be an uncommon departure from Hoosier practicality and wisdom. Like most states, Indiana taxes income, consumption and wealth. We use these taxes to fund different levels of government. Critics of Indiana’s property taxes are right to be flummoxed. I’ve even argued that many of the consequences of Indiana’s property taxes are worse than most critics…
It happened on the day that does not exist. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is not a good news day. This year, we got an extra serving of admonitions about obesity from the Centers for Disease Control. Beyond that, we heard the usual stories of indignation and indigestion, miracle recoveries from swallowed wishbones, and promising/disappointing retail sales. Also on that day, Gov. Mitch Daniels deferred for another year his proposal to “privatize” the Hoosier Lottery. Last year, the state…
Silverback Consulting Group Consultant helps clients navigate tech jungle Silverback looks to diversify health care, bank business In the jungle that is today’s business world, businesses can’t survive without information systems. And if they need help finding their way through all the technological underbrush, a local consulting firm wants to be the 500-pound gorilla that clears a path for them. Silverback Consulting Group was founded in 1997 to help businesses upgrade their internal computer and phone systems. Its consultants plan…
The Hoosier Lottery has rejected all bids for the creative part of its advertising account. Most of the
bidders were local, and the agencies involved are miffed that they were passed over.
In this weekendâ??s IBJ, reporter Anthony Schoettle…
Carmel tech entrepreneur Scott Jones is finding himself in the middle of a political debate he didnâ??t ask
for and doesnâ??t want.
The spokeswoman for the Indiana Democratic Party is questioning whether Jones needed the $4 million in grants
that two…
The effort to put high-speed trains into service in Indiana and eight other Midwestern states sometimes seems as fanciful as the first manned flight to Mars. There have been years of talk and countless meetings. And it will be many more years before a vehicle is fueled-and-ready, if ever. In the 13 years since the Indiana High Speed Rail Association was formed in Highland, the closest thing to high-speed rail Hoosiers have seen is an occasional speedy European locomotive brought…
On Veterans Day this year, retired U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Robert Flores didn’t attend parades or reminisce with friends. Instead, he worked from open to close at his Little Caesars Pizza store at 11530 Westfield Blvd. “I’ve been here every day since we opened,” Flores said, who debuted the Carmel shop Oct. 31 after receiving assistance from a Little Caesars program created to help veterans become franchise owners. As part of the program, Flores, 45, received a discount of…
It’s strange, but we don’t know who will be the mayors of our Indiana cities for the next four years. Ah, yes, you and I read results in the newspapers and saw jubilant winners on TV congratulated by humbled losers. But how do we know for sure until the state tells us? I didn’t find the latest results on the secretary of state’s Web site. It does have the May 7 primary election results, which provide fascinating information for those…
Lawmakers returned from their respective districts across the state for Organization Day activities Nov. 20, with many already weary of having their ears bent by constituents frustrated over property taxes. Instead of finding some respite in Indianapolis, they were greeted at the Statehouse by protests from both citizen activists and organized interest groups-such as the Indiana Farm Bureau-seeking substantive property tax reform and not simply another round of short-term property tax relief. The Libertarian Party of Indiana even bought Indianapolis…
Last Saturday, my wife Cherà and awoke to a beautiful fall day. Having no o b l i g a t i o n s , w decided to take spontaneous trip to Orange County, to see the restored West Baden Springs Hotel Despite the rash of stoplights on State Road 37 and a flurry of pre-game traffic for the Old Oaken Bucket clash, the drive was a breeze. Cherà had never been to West Baden Springs. So the beautifully…
Susan Brooks seems to have returned to her roots in her new role with Ivy Tech Community College. The former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana began Oct. 1 leading the post-secondary educational institution’s work force and economic development functions, as well as becoming its general counsel. Brooks spent her growing-up years in Fort Wayne watching her father, a high school teacher and football coach, push his students and players on the football field and in the classroom….
Ten times a year, for 24 hours, a select group of executives leaves the comforts of career to embark on an experience meant to mold the participants into better leaders. They gather on Thursday evenings for dinner, bunk overnight at a hotel, and spend the following day listening to the likes of Dennis Perkins, author of “Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition.” Or, they may travel to Saint Meinrad in southern Indiana…
Few economic topics get more complicated than those about the U.S. dollar. The interrelated causes, effects and ramifications of changes in the value of the U.S dollar can make anyone’s head swim. Because the dollar has been the “reserve currency” for the world-the currency held in store by foreign central banks and used to settle economic trade in things like oil-the prolonged slide in the dollar’s value is of concern to many around the world. For example, the greenback has…
Students complained about Greg Ballard when he taught college business courses. The man they called “the Colonel” had strict
rules and high expectations. Frustrated, undergraduates sometimes tried to go over his head. His boss, Indiana Business College
administrator Marc Konesco, encountered them in his office. But students never got far. Konesco refused to overrule the Colonel’s
decisions. “I always said, ‘That’s his classroom,'” recalled Konesco, the college’s vice president of marketing and enrollment.
“His style was one where the students…
What started as Jim Brothers’ search for an assisted-living facility for his mother could end up as the region’s most comprehensive retirement “resort.” The president of The Bradford Group, an Indianapolis residential developer, has been working several months to get the zoning he needs for Copper Leaf. The 177-acre community on the east side of McCordsville would be home to 400 to 600 residents and sport a nine-hole public golf course. About 30 acres would be set aside for restaurants,…
In this column 10 years ago, we told you that, typically, our “short” electionyear legislative sessions are swift and relatively sweet. With the biennial budget the priority of the long, odd-year sessions, significant fiscal matters are usually untouched in the short, even-year session. Major issues that threaten to divide often are left undebated as the two major political parties avoid issues making them look bad in the eyes of voters. Only a decade ago, lawmakers prepared to enter just such…
Like a lot of people-which is to say, most Indiana residents-I have long greeted going to the license bureau with the enthusiasm customarily reserved for dental surgery. The difference, of course, is that you get drugs for your root canal, but not even a double helping of nitrous oxide could make a fun afternoon out of getting new license plates. Well, hold on to your hats. I had to go to the license bureau twice last month, once for a…
Recent results from an annual survey show health services remains the most popular career choice among Indiana high-school juniors planning to go to college. The questionnaire was administered by Learn More Indiana, an effort to promote college and career planning supported by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, as well as a few other state agencies. Learn More Indiana has existed for about 20 years, but had been known as the Indiana College Admissions and Placement Center before the arrival…
With new mayors and council members in many of our cities, it’s time to drag out some previous suggestions for fiscal reform. First, it’s time to reconsider propertytax abatement. But we can’t understand property taxes and their abatement if we don’t understand assessment practices. And, it is not clear what is happening these days with property assessment. For example, does a property’s assessed value change automatically when it is sold, or does it change only in line with the trend…
