BRINEGAR: Indiana is still progressing too slowly
Progress is a word with very positive connotations. The mantra seems to be: If we’re making progress, we can avoid criticism for not taking action.
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MOSELEY: A new way to finance college
We need a fundamentally new approach to financing college education. Price resistance and over-reliance on student loans are not going away.
PHILLIPS: Indiana is lab of life sciences innovation
Indiana is in the midst of a revolution and it’s not what you think. It’s not politics, open-wheel racing or even basketball. This revolution is about creating a sustainable health care model for personal wellness and economic growth.
GUNDERMAN; MUTZ: We’re now worshipping numbers
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” It is difficult to think of an adage more universally endorsed in business, government, not-for-profits and throughout our culture. Every enterprise wants to demonstrate its success through measurable outcomes—whether reduced wait times in the Veterans Administration health system, increased student test scores in the Atlanta public school system, or profits in a business.
MADDOX: Bells toll for Indiana primary elections
It’s time to get rid of primary elections in Indiana. Just because we’ve been using them for every race from dog catcher up to president is not good enough to keep incurring these unnecessary costs while disengaging our voters.
BRENNER: Making Brookside neighborhood the next big thing
A couple of weeks ago, as my 14-year-old daughter, Caroline, prepared for her final days as an Oaks Academy student, she wrote, “The Oaks Academy has taught me to work hard, not because you have to but because you want to.”
MUTZ: Growth is answer to GOP agenda
It’s time for Republicans to stop playing defense on President Obama’s agenda and implement our own pro-growth agenda that solves the country’s biggest problems—the economy and jobs—then reap the political rewards.
HETRICK: The risk of living and learning in silos
Confession: 25 years ago, during my lunch breaks, I began listening to a newly syndicated radio talk show. The host, Rush Limbaugh, was anathema to everything I believe. But while his opinions were outrageous, his delivery was delectable.
GROSS: Toward a more welcoming Indiana
As co-president of Indianapolis Parents, Families, Friends & Allies of Lesbians and Gays, I hear stories of heartbreak as mom after mom tell me about their children leaving because they do not feel welcome in Indiana. We as moms want to be together as a family during important times. However, because our children are moving out at such a feverish pace we miss out on so much.
KEY: End the end-runs around public business
Technology that makes a vast amount of public records available with a few keystrokes can also make monitoring government actions more difficult for Hoosiers.
LEE: A path toward better health care
Lost in all the rhetoric about the Affordable Care Act—website glitches, recriminations and cries for “repeal and replace”—it’s easy to forget the near-universal agreement that today’s health care environment is fragmented and inefficient.
FRIEDMAN: Tax cuts undermine prosperity
State Sen. Brandt Hershman, key sponsor of the reduction in state corporate and bank taxes, is still insisting that more business tax cuts are the way to prosperity.
HENDERSON: Why we should halt tax abatements
It’s time to rein in the tax abaters. If the business plan succeeds only if you can avoid or abate taxes, then it’s a bad plan.
LANNAN: Cash could swing sprawling Fishers mayor’s race
A large amount of money is pouring into the Republican primary election for the mayor of Fishers. Don’t be swayed by the amount of money a campaign has raised.
FULGHAM: Beyond the public school culture wars
It’s time to begin engaging public schools in ways that help ensure all children reach their God-given potential.
LEARNER: Vehicle-miles tax would roll Hoosiers
Indianapolis is striving to become an electric-vehicles center. Gas tax revenue is declining, though, as people drive less and as more fuel-efficient new cars require filling up less at the pump. That saves people money, reduces pollution and lessens America’s imports of foreign oil.
MURTLOW: Business rallied for kids at Statehouse
Education. Work-force development. Quality child care. The war on poverty. Crime. Economics. These are all familiar words and phrases used readily by policymakers, business leaders and child advocates. But rarely have the concepts been more tightly intertwined into good state policy than they were during this session of the General Assembly.
GUY: Don’t run education like a business
Disagreements about education reform result from conflicting models: the business model and the social model. Governors such as Daniels and Pence, reflecting their backgrounds and support structures, tend toward the business model. Superintendent Ritz, with almost 35 years as a teacher/communications coordinator in elementary schools, is more aligned with the social model.
LEONARD: Rooting for a Pence-Sebelius agreement
A medical epidemic is one of the worst scenarios a hospital can face—when a significant portion of the population is suddenly struck with a life-threatening illness.
KOEHLER: Put mass transit to real-world test
An entrepreneur, risking personal wealth, would approach the problem from a different angle.