Jared Council: Emotional dam breaks for black community, including black journalists
As black people progress in society and climb new heights in media, business and more, it brings a false sense of accomplishment that the work is done. Far from it.
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Jon Laramore: Indiana needs plan to prevent tidal wave of evictions
Unless resources can be found to help renters pay current and past rent, Indiana is likely to face a tidal wave of evictions, and the worst consequences will fall on families of color. Some
Jim Scheurich: IPS board and Indy Chamber perpetuated systemic racism
Systemic racism doesn’t just hurt communities of color. It hurts the entire community by damaging racial relations and thus lowering the quality of our community. In truth, what hurts communities of color hurts white people, too.
Jim Dora: City has history of bold action in challenging times
For Indianapolis to return to economic normalcy, we must work harder than ever to mend our differences, address long-neglected problems and coalesce around an inclusive, strategic plan for renewed growth.
Marshawn Wolley: Black community needs partners in its quest for change
It is too hard being black in this city, and black people are tired.
Deborah Daniels: After a weekend in crisis, city has huge challenges to confront
The most significant theft that has occurred is not that of liquor or merchandise; the looters, by their actions, are stealing the credibility of the good people peacefully protesting a lengthy history of opportunity denied to people of color and those without means.
Erica Wells: We need proactive leadership, rather than reactive decisions
Decisions are impossible to make when leadership fails to listen to the community; fails to communicate a comprehensive plan; and falls into a reactive, not proactive, stance on protecting our community.
Vop Osili: Riots must shake us out of the status quo
We can and will address the concerns of citizens and business owners grappling with the damage to public and private spaces caused by last weekend’s violence. But we cannot do so without simultaneously wrestling, and besting, the historically tolerated race disparities that lie at the heart of that violence.
Perspectives: How we got here—and what comes next
It’s hard to find words for the horror that is the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, just as it is hard to comprehend how the anger over that death—and too many others—led to so much destruction in downtown Indianapolis. But IBJ asked several community leaders to give it a shot. Here’s what they wrote.
Tom Guevara: Communities need to plan now to rebuild after COVID-19
But drawing on my federal agency experience helping economically distressed areas and now leading an institute helping communities make better economic decisions, here is how leaders can create an economic recovery plan.
Chris Watts: Consumer spending, sales taxes show Indiana’s budget challenge
If sales taxes continue to fall in tandem with income taxes, the results would be crushing for Indiana; we collect more than half our general fund revenue from sales taxes (the 50-state average is about 31%).
Marina Hadjioannou Waters: Communication—with all communities—is critical in a crisis
We must provide as many people as possible access to health and safety information in their primary language. Failure to do so threatens the health of every one of us.
Kenny Blickenstaff: Pandemic helps explode the investment diversification myth
Reality seems to echo Warren Buffett, who famously stated, “Diversification is protection against ignorance. It makes little sense if you know what you are doing.”
FRAN QUIGLEY: Holcomb team’s warnings to unemployed are inaccurate
Indiana law is clear that unemployed workers are not required to accept offers of employment or reemployment if conditions are not “suitable.”
KEVIN BETZ: Indiana should follow cautious approach of surrounding states
We now have a five-stage tangled web of differing and undefined “capacities” that are all voluntary and admittedly unenforceable and will quickly be seen as entirely optional.
MATTHEW NEFF: Deft supply chain management helps determine who wins wars
Hotel Tango hand sanitizer can now be found in Navy shipbuilding yards in Wisconsin, shoe retailers around the country, shipping companies that handle packages as an integral part of their business, as well as military ships and bases around the world.
Sheila Kennedy: Constitutional tax caps limit governments’ response
When Daniels and the Republicans in the Statehouse told Hoosier voters they were “protecting taxpayers” by putting tax caps in the state’s constitution, objections by mayors and warnings by fiscal and tax policy experts were pooh-poohed. Politics won. Prudent and informed policy lost.
Mark Rosentraub: A hopeful (and realistic) plan for college sports
Going without college sports pales in comparison to the sacrifices made at hospitals every day, but the absence of normalcy weighs on everyone.
Laura Holzman: Arts play an essential role in challenging times
It’s no surprise that those of us who see the arts as a core part of our identity are finding ways to connect with creative expression even when we can’t gather in theaters, in the studio, on the street or in the gallery. We stream performances, collaborate remotely or document life at home.
Michael Chartier: Gov. Holcomb is rethinking the way Indiana protects public health
To overcome this crisis, we need to balance regulations that protect Indiana’s health with the freedom of private individuals to develop indispensable solutions.