Arp: A Council in Economic Oblivion
by Jason Arp At our weekly meeting something completely unsurprising happened: Yet another real property tax abatement was granted by the city to a real estate developer. These have become a regular part of the proceedings of any council meeting. This particular abatement was in the form of a 10-year phase-in of real property tax. The Read the full article…
Franke: My New Year’s Resolution
by Mark Franke It’s that time of year when all insist on putting themselves through the annual ritual of making New Year’s resolutions, resolutions honored mostly in the breach. Instead, I intend to spend my intellectual energy reflecting on the major issues of our day. Why does January 1 get to be the start of Read the full article…
Morris: Bless the Storm’s First Responders
by Leo Morris It was just last week when I announced my intention to embrace the joy of the Christmas season, “wherever I find it, even if I only stumble across it by accident.” Little did I know that it would don a disguise and hide, daring me to find it. My car wouldn’t start Read the full article…
Schansberg: Education Analogies to Real Life
by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. The economist James Gwartney has a thought experiment which illustrates why a system which features socialism and monopoly power is not a good idea. Imagine that government decides to operate all restaurants. Further, your geography determines your restaurant; you will eat at the government (“public”) restaurant in your neighborhood. (To make Read the full article…
Backgrounder: ‘Archaic’ Teaching Is Sorely Missed
by Tommy Franke Andrea O’Neal recently presented data during the Indiana Policy Review’s Winter Seminar that showed precipitous declines in reading and math proficiency in Indiana K-8 schools. The disturbing graphs looked like the marks of someone skiing down the side of Mt. Everest. The sharp decline in scores began around 2000-2010. What happened during this time Read the full article…
Franke: A Contemporary Christmas Carol
by Mark Franke Anne Perry is a popular author of Victorian era mysteries. She writes several series using her stable of inter-related characters. I’ve read some and understand why she has such a fan base. Every Christmas she releases a novella using her regular characters but not in their usual milieu of murder and depravity. Read the full article…
