Bohanon: Downton Abbey and Political Labels
by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. I persistently characterize my political philosophy as that of a classical liberal. This sows some confusion. Those who share my deep skepticism about the redistributionist tendency of a modern welfare state are usually characterized as conservatives. So why muddy the water? A short political history is in order. For those who Read the full article…
Cummins: How to Deal With a Public-Employee Union
by Ryan Cummins An Open Letter to Indiana City Councils The problem: A public-employee union has no check, no market mechanism, to temper its power. The solution: You, the councilman. A free market theoretically provides a check on private-sector unions except that government so often steps in to establish special rules. Couple that with a Read the full article…
The Outstater: Hispanics and a Phony Baloney GOP
For the use of the membership only (759 words) “On average (since 1995), 69 percent of nonwhites have identified as Democrats or said they were independents who leaned Democratic, and 21 percent have identified as Republicans or leaned Republican.” — Gallup Politics, March 24, 2014 THE REPUBLICAN PARTY has a crisis. No, it isn’t Read the full article…
Indiana at 200 (21): Gov. Jonathan Jennings
by Andrea Neal In the rough-and-tumble world of frontier politics, Jonathan Jennings experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Indiana’s first governor, Jennings was credited with pushing Indiana from territory to statehood, defeating an old guard loyal to William Henry Harrison and insisting that the 16th state would not have slavery. By Read the full article…
Quick Hit: Political Apologies
Do politicians ever apologize? Should they? And when? What would happen if one said, “I thought my law would do this, but it actually did that, and at great expense to my constituents. I am deeply sorry”? The question occurred to me while listening to my U.S. senator give a stirring speech this week on Read the full article…
Keating: ‘Jobbers’ and Reviving U.S. Manufacturing
by Maryann O. Keating, Ph.D. In 1960, garment workers in a four-story walk-up factory in Philadelphia await the return of the shop’s owner-manager from New York. If the fashion industry, headquartered in New York, anticipates a good season, the owner-manager returns with a pattern and stacks of cloth to be assembled by cutters, machine operators, Read the full article…
