McGowan: A Word About the Homeless
by Richard McGowan, Ph.D. People who are homeless have recently been the focal point of attention, especially in Los Angeles. Los Angeles City Council voted 11-3 to ban homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and day care centers. Of course, being in California means the action drew a protesting mob that brought city council Read the full article…
Franke: Immigration I
by Mark Frank This is a sad tale but with a happy ending. It is also a fairy tale subsumed in the gothic horror novel that is our immigration mess. It’s about one immigrant who did everything he could legally to become a permanent resident of the United States and was thwarted time and time Read the full article…
The Outstater
Don’t Just Stand There, Join Something HOOSIERS TAKE FOR GRANTED what economists call “social capital.” We have been aswim in it throughout our state’s history, beginning with our pioneers and settlers and continuing into our period of industrialization and innovation. You might assume, then, that social capital is something we can draw upon without additional effort. Read the full article…
Ganahl: In Politics, Losing Isn’t Winning
by Dennis Ganahl, Ph.D. The first time I heard the phrase “Winning by losing” was a couple of weeks ago. A Republican county commissioner enlightened me with a conspiratorial wink. Our group had just lost a vote to freeze seniors’ property taxes. The “winker” had introduced our bill to the county council. I should mention Read the full article…
Indiana Social Capital Scores by County
County Overall County SCI Family Unity Community Health Institutional Health Collective Efficacy Adams County, Indiana 79 94 63 63 -1 Allen County, Indiana 46 43 31 69 32 Bartholomew County, IN 65 67 44 65 62 Benton County, Indiana 73 51 81 69 -1 Blackford County, IN 64 41 57 57 91 Boone County, Indiana Read the full article…
Franke: Air Conditioning — The Cause of All Our Woes
by Mark Frank I have finally figured out the root cause of all our woes — air conditioning. I am deadly serious about this. Consider just two travesties wreaking havoc across our landscape: First, school start dates. My teacher neighbor started the first full week of August and her school was not alone. The school Read the full article…
