For release July 18 and thereafter (665 words) by Andrea Neal Call it Mitch Daniels’ gift to the next governor. While 31 states are still struggling to close budget shortfalls blamed on the recession, Indiana is touting the largest surplus in its history: $2.15 billion. Some will be put aside for a rainy day. $360 million will be applied to our unfunded pension liability. Another $360 million will be given back to taxpayers under terms…

For the use of the membership only (448 words) The author, an intern at the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, is a sophomore at DePauw University majoring in political science. Miss Hang La is a native of Hanoi, Vietnam, where she was winner of the A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) scholarship. Most recently she was awarded DePauw’s President’s Award for Excellence to study here. She is pursuing a career in public policy with an…

by Craig Ladwig Up until 15 years ago Indiana had something special. It was the single-class state basketball championship. But Hoosiers, despite the iconic movie, never understood what was so special. So they lost it. Last week, the Indiana High School Althletic Association (IHSAA), announced that the public and the experts had spoken for good: multi-class basketball will be the rule. “While there still exists a segment of Hoosier citizens that would support a return…

If you’ve ever wondered where the line is between extreme and reasonable in the Indiana political discussion this gubernatorial election is going to draw it for you. Don’t expect, though, to learn much about the issues themselves. We’ve been writing lately about the importance of an independent mass media as an honest arbiter of the public discussion, the kind envisioned by the Founders as they searched for ways to keep raw democracy within constitutional bounds.…

by Andrea Neal Visalia, Calif. — In Sequoia National Park in California, tall trees beckon one million visitors a year. The tourists come from all over the world to see something exceptional: the largest living things on earth. Rangers don’t think twice about marketing the park’s uniqueness. Brochures in multiple languages brag of “big trees, high peaks, and deep canyons in North America’s longest single continuous mountain range; superlatives abound amidst glorious scenery.” If only…

by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. Here is a simple federal income-tax reform proposal. All earners report their income based on the current definition of adjusted gross income (AGI). All current tax exemptions, deductions and credits are abolished. Taxable income becomes adjusted gross income. All tax preferences are gone — tax breaks are nada, nothing, nil, not there. AGI from $0 to $32,396 is taxed at one percent. This is the income level in 2009 that defined…

by Maryann O. Keating, Ph.D. Gov. Jerry Brown refers to the California state budget, riddled with earmarks and creative accounting, as a “pretzel palace of incredible complexity.” If a governor is challenged by the complexity, what hope does the ordinary resident have in getting a handle on state revenue? There will be a cost, however, if Hoosiers ignore what went wrong in the Sunshine State. California’s state deficit is projected to grow from $3.4 billion…

(For release June 20 and thereafter, 661 words) by Andrea Neal A battle is brewing on the education reform front over Indiana’s embrace of Common Core — a set of Math and English standards being implemented across the country to govern what is taught and tested from Kindergarten to Grade 12. The debate is half policy, half politics. On both counts Indiana officials’ defense of the Core is perplexing. Leading policy experts on standards and…

A Change of Guard The tour of duty of the earring-wearing, socially hip, corporately charmed editor of the Star is over. Indications are that his replacement, Jeff Taylor, understands that it has become easier, not harder, these past few years for government to lie to a newspaper’s readers. (April 10) — That politicians are liars should not be news to a journalist, of course, but neither is it mere polemic. It can be statistically demonstrated:…

by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education (ICHE) is encouraging state-supported institutions to: 1) increase graduation rates; and 2) ensure that students graduate in four years. The broader goal is to generate more college graduates in Indiana and more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematical) grads in the mix. As higher education is state-supported, such mandates from the overseers of higher education seems appropriate — he who pays the piper calls the…