For release Jan. 18 and thereafter (670 words) Purdue University’s decision to convert to a year-round trimester system is good for students, good for parents and long-run will be good for taxpayers. The only downside is that it may take 10 years to fully implement. Other state universities should take note. Few taxpayer resources are wasted as egregiously as university campuses in summer. It makes no sense to idle dormitories, classrooms and laboratories when there’s…

State Rep. Jeff Espich Chairman, Appropriations Committee The Indiana Statehouse Dear Chairman Espich: Ellen DeGeneres had a funny bit ready for her acceptance speech at last night’s People’s Choice Awards. She read from a list of “peoples” that she expressly wanted to “un-thank” — a nasty letter-writer from Topeka, Kan., a fourth-grade detractor on her school bus (“you know who you are”). It is time to apply this perverse thinking to your House committee, Representative…

For immediate release (659 words). Goldberg, Rube (1883–1970) U.S. cartoonist; creator of the comic strip character Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts (an inventor of complex mechanical devices to achieve simple tasks). It wasn’t mentioned in his State of the State message, but Gov. Daniels will leave for his successor a frustratingly complex and under-performing pension-management system. That is so even though at first glance the contents of the 2011 annual reports issued by the Indiana Public…

For immediate release (792 words) As want-to-be hippies of the Baby Boom now leaning toward a classical liberal persuasion, my generation has its weak moments. There are times we look to government for an answer. On hurried grocery trips, for instance, I have found useful the federally mandated “total carbohydrates” line item on food labels. And watching college bowl games, it has occurred to me that inanity alone justifies imprisoning those who interview coaches or…

“Hoosiers might never see an automatic taxpayer refund that is unexpectedly near its trigger under a bill filed by the Senate’s fiscal leader (Republican Luke Kenley).” — Jan. 6, 2012, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette I fight it, but more and more I think of my public officials, elected or not, as mandarins. The comparison has become disturbingly apt. They simply don’t behave in ways that bring to mind the brave men and women who founded…

For immediate release (579 words) As the 2012 Indiana Legislative Assembly convenes, January will represent a tipping point for all Hoosiers’ individual freedoms as politicians and big-labor bosses draw battle lines to determine if Indiana will become the 23rd right-to-work state. Common sense should make the outcome of such a battle obvious, as right-to-work ensures that every employee has freedom of choice against compulsory unionism and the right to one’s own property — his or…

For release Jan. 4 and thereafter (670 words) A mile down the street from my home, construction is set to begin on a $15-million parking garage and retail center. Its purpose is to relieve congestion in a trendy Indianapolis bar district called Broad Ripple. Citizens are subsidizing the 350-space garage with $6.3 million in parking-meter revenues. Despite taxpayer questions about using public dollars on a purely commercial endeavor, the city says the project is justified…

For immediate release (679 words). When I teach the economic elements of competitiveness, I use the case of a professional athlete like Albert Pujols, long-time slugging first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals who will be playing for the Los Angeles Angels next year. The skills that make Pujols such a tremendous baseball player — upper and lower body strength, eye-hand coordination and quickness — would undoubtedly make him a phenomenal mower of lawns. Indeed,…

(Jan. 1, 2011) — The thinking here about what is wrong with this Legislature has centered on gambling. That is gambling not in the gestalt but in the specific — state sanctioned, licensed and taxed. And no, this is not a sermon. Moral concerns are only part of it. A citizenry putting its faith in numbers, the flip of cards or the roll of a dice makes for a weak economic, social and political base.…