Backgrounder: The Teacher Shortage
“Our country’s worst enemy could not have designed a more effective system for keeping smart, qualified people out of public-school teaching and administration.” — Economist John Wenders, writing on the subject of public-sector collective bargaining by Craig Ladwig Reading news reports this week of “dueling studies” on the teacher shortage, you might assume that a Read the full article…
Bohanon: Trump and the Numbers
by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. Yes, he is crass. He is a protectionist, a mercantilist and anti-immigration. The GOP political class/intelligentsia uniformly condemns him. The Dem political class/intelligentsia love to hate him because they figure they can “tar” their ultimate opponent with his opprobrium. When he was at 15 percent — an amusing anomaly; at 20 Read the full article…
Indiana at 200 (60): Amish Thriving in Northern Indiana
by Andrea Neal In an era of declining church membership for most Christian denominations, one group of believers is experiencing healthy, unprecedented growth. In 2014, the estimated Amish population in Indiana exceeded 50,000, according to the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. That’s bigger than the cities of Columbus, Jeffersonville or Read the full article…
A Chart Your Councilman Doesn’t Want You to See
THE FOUNDATION asked John Kessler, who teaches economics at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, to design a chart that would help the membership determine whether a public expenditure before their city council was economically sound. No, that’s not exactly true. Our impetus came from a couple of decades of frustration listening to self-proclaimed fiscal conservatives slipping Read the full article…
The Outstater: The Timidity of the Indiana GOP
by Craig Ladwig This being both football and election season, a gridiron analogy for the Indiana GOP seems apt. It has long been said that Republicans here play politics “between the 40-yard lines” — these days, “stopped dead at midfield” is more like it. Rare is the Indiana Republican willing to articulate the difference between Read the full article…
Cummins: The Catch Phrases of a Sham Government
By Ryan Cummins My experience on a city council, in business and as a taxpayer tells me to beware when the government action being proposed is “for public safety,” “for the children” or “for economic development.” When you hear those words, grab your wallet and hold close your liberty; there is a hidden agenda. Another Read the full article…
