The Inscrutable Statehouse
For immediate release (496 words)“Indiana Government Has Grown so Complex There Are not Enough Reporters or Even Informed Activists to Stay With its Twists and Turns.” Can anybody anymore know what’s going on in the Statehouse? That is not a flippant question. Our constitutional democracy, if that is any longer the right description, increasingly defies Read the full article…
Hard Times Call for Tuition Freeze at Public Universities
For release noon July 7 and thereafter (669 words) Indiana’s public universities are missing a golden opportunity to help Hoosier students. With the state’s unemployment rate at 10.6 percent and family income at a 35-year low, now is the time to freeze tuition. Instead, the cost of higher education keeps going up. Ivy Tech plans Read the full article…
What if They Gave a Health-Care Seminar and Nobody Came?
For immediate release (443 words) A friend was invited to what he described as a “quite important” academic seminar this week at an impressive Indianapolis address where some of the smartest minds in the nation were to gather to discuss health-care reform. Our friend declined. That decision disappointed many of his political and academic acquaintances. Read the full article…
On the Economics of Earmarking: A Case of Mixed Emotions
For release July 1 and thereafter (572 words) Congressman Mike Pence’s refusal to earmark federal transportation funds for specific projects related to Ball State University has been criticized, not surprisingly, by many in my university community. As a BSU faculty member and homeowner near campus, I certainly do appreciate the road improvements that have flowed Read the full article…
SPECIAL: High Speed Rail Is Just High-Speed Spending
For release June 22 and thereafter (661 words) Last week the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released criteria for applications from Indiana for spending its share of the $8 billion of stimulus money that Congress allocated to high-speed rail. Which raises a question: Would you pay $1,000 so that someone — probably not you — can Read the full article…
In the Capital City, Tension Over Use of the Public Square
For release June 24 and thereafter (700 words) Long before it was fashionable to advocate for parkland and civic space, Indiana’s founding fathers wrote the idea into our Constitution. The framers didn’t want future generations selling off prime public land: the Statehouse, Monument Circle or Military Park, in particular. So in Article 15, section Read the full article…
