A Zoning Kerfuffle: Picking Pockets in Bloomington
by Craig Ladwig Bloomington is a town full of itself. It imagines it’s Portland, Oregon, on which its civic posture is modeled. That is, Bloomington governs itself – especially in matters of zoning — as if there were an unlimited supply of persons wanting to live and invest there. That posture, though admirably boosterish, runs Read the full article…
Eminent Domain: Ahab and Jezebel in Muncie?
by T. Norman Van Cott, Ph.D. Once there was a king who coveted a vineyard owned by one of his subjects. It was a good vineyard, but more importantly it was close to the king’s palace. So the king offered to trade another of his vineyards. “No deal,” said the owner of the coveted vineyard. Read the full article…
Affordable and Effective: Reading 20 Minutes a Day
by Andrea Neal Before lawmakers throw money at the thorny issue of early-childhood education they should consider an experiment underway in Richmond aimed at getting parents to read to their children daily. K-Ready, the brainchild of two literacy activists, Victor Jose and Rick Ahaus, has one goal: “reducing the number of children entering kindergarten not Read the full article…
Grade Inflation in Indiana Higher Education
by T. Norman Van Cott, Ph.D. A little over a year ago, Clarence Deitsch and I published “Too Many Rhinestones.” The article pointed out the grade inflation that had occurred at Ball State University (BSU) in 24 out of 26 entry-level courses between fall semesters 1990 and 2009. For example, 52 percent of the students Read the full article…
Bohanon: The Ethical Case for Right-to-Work
by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. How many different restaurants do you patronize? In my household the number is in double digits ranging from fast foods to fine dining.Now suppose a bare majority of the eateries in your town forces all the others into a dues-imposing “restaurant association” that fixes prices, hours and terms of service for Read the full article…
Schansberg: Social Security and ‘the 47%’
by ERIC SCHANSBERG, Ph.D. Social Security turned 75 this year, having paid its first beneficiaries in 1937. It was conceived under the Social Security Act of 1935 and was established to provide an income to those who had worked and were at least 65 years old. Since then, Social Security has expanded to make payments Read the full article…
