The Coming Union Crisis
For release noon Dec. 27 and thereafter (701 words) Some years ago a Republican state senator phoned The Indiana Policy Review to ask why the journal was so critical of government unions. “Somebody’s got to represent those workers,” he argued. Well, no they don’t. Compulsory collective bargaining for government workers is relatively new, dating only Read the full article…

A Sure-Fire Plan to Lower Spending
For release noon Dec. 21 and thereafter (660 words) Even as other states face “a fiscal crisis of unprecedented severity” – to quote the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – Gov. Mitch Daniels is crafting a plan to give taxpayers their money back. Not this year or next, to be sure. But if and Read the full article…

Picnics and Property Rights
For release noon Dec. 21 and thereafter (446 words) When I was 12 years old, the Youth of First Christian Church had a picnic at Honor Heights Park in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The good ladies of the church brought loads of potato salad, baked beans and coleslaw but every child knew the real action was in Read the full article…

Indiana’s Envy Tax
For release noon Dec. 14 (709 words) Cash-strapped Indiana legislators, Republican as well as Democrat, will be eyeing easy sources of additional tax revenue this session. This will involve rationalizing Indiana’s so-called “Death Tax” on inherited estates. They should know, though, that although the poor will always be with us, not so the rich. The Read the full article…

The Recession: A Hoosier Feminist Rethinks it All
For release noon Dec. 7 and thereafter (765 words) “Men typically accumulate more continuous work experience and therefore acquire higher productivity in the labor market (in relation to child-rearing women). In fact, the gender gap shrinks to between 8 percent and 0 percent when the study incorporates measures such as work experience, career breaks and Read the full article…

A Chance to Be an Education Leader
For release noon Dec. 7 and thereafter (680 words) Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. As governor in 1984 he pushed into law a school accountability system that rewarded teachers and districts whose students showed the most academic progress. Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin. In 1990, this Republican governor joined forces with a Democratic legislature to devise the Read the full article…

