BOHANON: Tax Reform Meets the Guy in the Mirror
by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. Here is a simple federal income-tax reform proposal. All earners report their income based on the current definition of adjusted gross income (AGI). All current tax exemptions, deductions and credits are abolished. Taxable income becomes adjusted gross income. All tax preferences are gone — tax breaks are nada, nothing, nil, not Read the full article…
KEATING: A ‘Pretzel Palace’ of Benefits
by Maryann O. Keating, Ph.D. Gov. Jerry Brown refers to the California state budget, riddled with earmarks and creative accounting, as a “pretzel palace of incredible complexity.” If a governor is challenged by the complexity, what hope does the ordinary resident have in getting a handle on state revenue? There will be a cost, however, Read the full article…
NEAL: Questions Surround ‘Common Core’
(For release June 20 and thereafter, 661 words) by Andrea Neal A battle is brewing on the education reform front over Indiana’s embrace of Common Core — a set of Math and English standards being implemented across the country to govern what is taught and tested from Kindergarten to Grade 12. The debate is half Read the full article…
‘Lost’ Letters to the Indy Star
A Change of Guard The tour of duty of the earring-wearing, socially hip, corporately charmed editor of the Star is over. Indications are that his replacement, Jeff Taylor, understands that it has become easier, not harder, these past few years for government to lie to a newspaper’s readers. (April 10) — That politicians are liars Read the full article…
BOHANON: Top-Down Is not the Way to Fix our Colleges
by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) is encouraging state-supported institutions to: 1) increase graduation rates; and 2) ensure that students graduate in four years. The broader goal is to generate more college graduates in Indiana and more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematical) grads in the mix. As higher education Read the full article…
KEATING: A Short Course in ‘Robinson Crusoe Economics’
by MARYANN O. KEATING, Ph.D. Imagine, if you will, a small island economy; you may call it Pennsylvania, Virginia or Indiana. Assume that the population of the island is steady with 100 residents, two born and two dying each year. Sixty residents are in their prime years, working at home or in town; the remaining Read the full article…
