The Indiana Policy Review

Category: Indiana Writers Group Archive

  • Income Tax, Property Tax or “None of the Above?”

    Andrea Neal column for Feb. 3 and thereafter (EDITORS: Please note ellipsis should go inside quote in graf 5) 725 words INDIANAPOLIS — Given a choice, which would you rather pay: income tax or property tax? That’s the question posed by House Bill 1008, which would allow county, town and city governments in Indiana to…

  • Do-nothing Session Was a Blessing

    Andrea Neal column for March 10 and thereafter725 words INDIANAPOLIS — Lawmakers left town with few notable accomplishments. Thank goodness. Accomplishments cost money. Indiana is running a billion-dollar deficit. A few months from now, the failure to pass all-day kindergarten will be a distant memory. Instead, we’ll be engaged in budgetary second-guessing. Should legislators have…

  • Time to Shake Up Educational Apple Cart

    Andrea Neal column for Oct. 12 and thereafter740 words Note to Editors: this is the second of three columns analyzing issues in the governor"s race. INDIANAPOLIS –- A bar graph on the Indiana Department of Education website tells better than words the state of Hoosier education: lagging. The graph shows 17 years’ worth of SAT…

  • At Last: HB 1008 Offers Foundation for Tax Reform

    Andrea Neal column for Jan. 27 and thereafter770 words (Editors: Please note spelling of Markt Lytle in graf 3 is correct. Also, date of House vote referenced in lead sentence was Jan. 22). INDIANAPOLIS — House Bill 1008, which passed the House on a 52-47 vote, is the best idea so far to come out…

  • A Day to Honor a few Great Men

    700 words For publication on Monday Feb. 16 or thereafter (EDITORS: PLEASE NOTE COLUMN SHELF LIFE IS LIMITED DUE TO PRESIDENT"S DAY FOCUS) INDIANAPOLIS — As a President’s Day exercise, I asked the 30 students in my 8th grade U.S. history course to write a paragraph on a president of their choice — someone they…

  • Reinventing Government: The Next Governor

    Andrea Neal column for Oct. 5 and thereafter720 words (Editors: This is the first of three columns focusing on issues in the governor’s race. The next two will concern education reform and capitalizing on Indiana as the crossroads of America). INDIANAPOLIS – The author Javier Salcedo said, "Bureaucracy is the art of making the possible…

  • The Risky Business of Car Cell Phones

    Andrea Neal column for Jan. 20 and thereafter790 words INDIANAPOLIS — My definition of road rage: The way I feel when my Ford Escort and I are forced into a defensive maneuver by an Escalade whose driver is changing lanes while talking on a cell phone. Count me in as a supporter of Sen. Rose…

  • Rebuild FSSA From Scratch

    Andrea Neal column for Oct. 22, 2003700 words INDIANAPOLIS — Blow up the child welfare system and start over. That was an idea touted by Republican Steve Goldsmith during his unsuccessful 1996 campaign for governor. A great idea that backfired. Family and Social Services Administration workers took Goldsmith"s suggestion as a personal affront. Their union…

  • Ball State Charters Meeting Diverse Need

    Andrea Neal column for Sept. 14 and thereafter740 words (Note to editors: This is the second in a two-part series).When the Southwest Sullivan School Corp. closed Graysville Elementary School in a cost-saving move, residents got mad. Then they got creative. Concerned citizens asked Ball State University to sponsor a charter school in their southwest Indiana…

  • Gov. Kernan Needs Fiscal Reality Check

    Andrea Neal column for Jan. 13 and thereafter720 words (Note to editors: Publication is especially timely for Tuesday Jan. 13 because Gov. Joe Kernan will deliver his State of the State address that evening). INDIANAPOLIS — Buried deep in a news article about Gov. Joe Kernan’s all-day kindergarten plan was this comment from Republican governor…