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.
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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.
RYERSON: Justice center belongs downtown
I wasn’t prepared for what greeted me when I walked into Denver’s Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse a couple of weeks ago for jury duty.
ZOELLER: The rule of law is underappreciated
The Pirate Code made famous in the series of “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies established rules to avoid the heightened opportunity for chaos among 18th century pirates. In some respects, all laws are established by societies to bring certainty in an uncertain world.
MADDOX: Wolves are still at Gramma’s door
In the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Jordan Belfort, disgraced broker and owner of the now-defunct brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont, is portrayed by Oscar-nominated actor Leonardo DiCaprio as over-the-top good looking, witty and motivational. Belfort, if we are to believe what we see in the film, is a phenomenal salesman—a self-made man committed to making lots of money for himself and his friends.
SULLIVAN: Rural areas stick it to Indy again
Many years ago, a legislator told me it was “country bankers” who killed Indiana banking. They and their lawmakers carried the day in the 1970s and 1980s with regulations against buying banks across county lines. The big Indianapolis banks were thus held in check.
LATZ, VANAGS, DAVIS: Trade is crucial to Indianapolis’ future
Over the past two decades, Indianapolis has become a vibrant metropolitan area, powering growth throughout Indiana. The next phase for the Indy region requires not just statewide progress, but global integration.
GIGERICH: The amendment would hurt the economy
There have been many heartfelt and thoughtful positions both in support of and in opposition to same-sex marriage. I have friends who are equally passionate and respectful on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate.
SMITH: Business thrives in pro-family Indiana
Among the more mystifying arguments against a constitutional amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman is the claim that having such a conversation creates an intolerant tone that hurts Indiana’s business climate. It’s mystifying because as we have respectfully debated this issue, Indiana’s economy improved remarkably.
MERRITT: Reconsider nuclear energy
Renewable or reliable? That is the unavoidable choice when debating energy policy. For Indiana, you can have one, but not the other.
YORK: Indy doesn’t shrink from ‘ambitious’
We have seen what this city can do when it pulls together, focuses on a big goal, and works hard to make it happen.
PERRAS: A lump of coal from the state’s high court
If you’re a natural-gas customer in Indiana, the Indiana Supreme Court last week delivered a costly blow to your pocketbook.
HENDERSON: Love can trump constitutional missteps
The fatwa on gay marriage must end. The state Constitution is no toy for the disengaged to manipulate real love. I’m hoping the Legislature does the right thing: reverse the hatred and disinformation that makes us appear like Iran on an evil day.