“The General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens.” — Indiana Constitution, Article I, Section 23. by John Pickerill The state of Indiana no longer follows its own Constitution. It routinely passes laws violating it, specifically when it comes to state election laws. Hoosiers have stood by and allowed our General Assembly to grant special privileges…

by Tom Charles Huston Third-party campaigns can have an effect in national elections. The Populist uprising west of the Mississippi cost the Republicans control of Congress in 1890 and Benjamin Harrison his bid for reelection in 1892. The Progressive insurgency in 1912 which led to a three-way race among President William Howard Taft (R), New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson (D) and former president Theodore Roosevelt (R) gave the Democrats their first presidential victory in 20…

UNDER WHAT CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE or democratic theory is it legitimate to deny political opponents access to the public forum? How do you conduct democratic elections if political rallies are shut down and candidates are silenced by partisans of the other party? The answer from the Left is that some candidates simply don’t have a right to speak if what they say, in the opinion of the shut-them-up crowd, discomforts or disrespects constituencies of the Democratic…

THE MIDDLE CLASS is in the news. Analysts say it is ignored by Republicans and misread by Democrats. It is thought to be the critical factor in winning the 2016 presidential election. Good. What is meant by the term, however, is less than flattering. It seems to be code for average, undistinguished, perhaps even low informational — not exactly Zombie-like but that is the useful image. Anyone who has spent any time in Indianapolis or…

by Andrea Neal Long before Adolf Hitler espoused his ideas about a master race, Hoosier scientists advocated selective reproduction to improve the gene pool. Indiana Gov. J. Frank Hanly signed the nation’s first eugenics law in 1907, mandating sterilization of certain “criminals, idiots, rapists and imbeciles” in state custody. Thirty states followed suit. “Today they couch it as a pseudo-science, but that’s not the way scientists saw it at the time,” says Jason S. Lantzer,…

IT IS DIFFICULT for outsiders to follow the logic of a legislative session. There are decisions and votes that would make perfect sense — or so we are told — if we knew the backstory. Even so, comparing the history of two issues this session, both known by their acronym, one summarily killed without discussion this morning and the other a matter of seeming eternal Statehouse debate, raises the question of whether we are sending…

by Tyler Watts, Ph.D. Demagogue politicians love to play on popular fears that low-wage foreigners are “stealing” good paying American jobs by way of outsourcing and globalization. The claim is made by nativists and protectionists of all political stripes, whether leftists complaining of a “rigged economy” or rightists speaking of other countries “beating” us economically. A sound economic analysis of the claim about job losses due to international trade should address two questions: First, is…

The federal grant application for a rapid-transit system in Indianapolis was most interested in whether the construction of high-density housing near new bus stations could be subsidized. by Randal O’Toole IndyGo’s $96-million Red Line rapid-transit line is supposed to improve mobility and provide more sustainable transportation. In fact, it will do the opposite of both. The Indianapolis agency wants to turn street space now used by cars, trucks and buses into exclusive bus lanes that…

Does Indianapolis Need Dedicated Bus Lanes? by Randal O’Toole The Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation (IndyGo) has proposed to start a 37.5-mile bus-rapid transit service from Westfield, due north of downtown Indianapolis, to Greenwood, which is due south. Phase 1 of this route would start at 66th Street north of downtown and go to Hanna Avenue south of downtown, covering a distance of 13.6 miles. Battery-powered electric buses would operate on this route using dedicated or…

by Andrea Neal In 1904, the directors of the U.S. Steel Corporation made a monumental decision for the future of northwest Indiana. After considering locations in Illinois and Pennsylvania, they voted to build a steel plant on the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Easy access to water and rail and proximity to Chicago made it the obvious choice for what was to be the world’s largest steel mill. Before property owners in the area knew…