Wong: Rethinking Amtrak Subsidies
by J.D. Wong Founded in 1971, Amtrak began as an “experiment” to see if passenger trains could make money. Yet, with routes drawn for political gain rather than public need, it has lost money ever since. Instead of throwing good money after bad, Congress should cut Amtrak’s subsidies to zero in the next 180 days. To Read the full article…
The Outstater
Update: Municipal Grocery Stores A CITY-RUN GROCERY STORE in a food “desert” — it seemed the perfect opportunity for our new mayor to demonstrate in microcosm how her economic-development vision could be realized. It was a pity the opportunity was missed. The grocery, small enough for people to see the workings for themselves, Could have taught us all Read the full article…
Snow: A Splendid Little ‘Blackout’
by Nathanael Snow, Ph.D. I just received information of a call for an economic ‘blackout’ on Feb. 28, There is no reason to be opposed to participation in a blackout, but the reasons given for this one have shaky foundations, even in the legitimate context of “voice and exit” in political theory. Voice and exit comes up in discussions of Read the full article…
Franke: Signs of an Early Spring?
by Mark Franke Having just dealt with multiple winter storms in the last fortnight, my subconscious has drifted to thinking of spring. Given northern Indiana’s reputation for unpredictable weather, an early spring breakthrough is not beyond the realm of possibility — that’s possibility, not probability. Still, it got me thinking of spring despite the risk of disappointment Read the full article…
The Outstater
Democracy at Ground Level APPLAUD AS WE DO the preference cascade that was the recent presidential election, a historic validation of the common sense of the common American, but at the local level, ironically, democracy still is problematic. Any Indiana citizen can sign up for a tour of the Statehouse. These are scheduled through your district representative Read the full article…
The Outstater
Build it and They Will Come — Maybe MY CITY has been operating with a “build it and they will come” strategy for a couple of decades now. The thing is we have no independent verification that people are actually coming — or coming in greater numbers than otherwise — so we’re not sure why we Read the full article…
