by Robert Yadon, Ph.D., and Barry Umansky, J.D. Successful deployment of statewide broadband service is within reach for Indiana. However, the state must take a proactive, leadership stance to provide the necessary incentives to bring public and private resources together to reach this goal. Without a comprehensive state broadband strategic plan, each region would be left to the costly and time-consuming task of charting its own course independently. Within the framework of federal law, and…

The foundation’s white papers are intended to make scholarly research on Indiana issues more widely available to policy analysts and researchers. White papers represent research in progress and are published to invite comment and discussion as preparation for their submission to academic journals and other professional publications. The authors are solely responsible for the content of their research and analysis.   By Robert E. Yadon, Ph.D. and Barry D. Umansky, J.D.[1] Introduction Since 2006, Indiana…

by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. What is the key to prosperity for the state of Indiana and its counties and towns? Economist Adam Smith argued all that is necessary to raise a society to the highest level of “opulence” is “peace, easy taxes and a tolerable administration of justice.” If these conditions prevail, then prosperity will emerge “by the natural course of things.” The quote is from the 1755 lecture notes of his student Dugal Stewart.…

by Andrea Neal James Sidney Hinton, a Union Army veteran and Republican Party orator, was a 19th-century torchbearer for civil rights who became the first African American elected to the Indiana General Assembly. Hinton achieved this distinction during an era of sweeping social and political change – and at a time when blacks in the Hoosier state faced much of the same racial prejudice as those living in the South. Indiana’s 1816 Constitution prohibited slavery…

by Greg Walker What is crony capitalism? Why is this phrase used derogatorily of government schemes to raise capital for investment? Most would agree that governments should serve to raise funds for capital goods constructed to satisfy public interests — roads, bridges, sewers, etc. But the list is too short for some folks. What about national defense? Is that still a public asset, an investment in the public well-being? What about post-secondary universities? Libraries? Policy…

By Craig Ladwig Walking into a metropolitan newsroom in the early 1970s, you were struck by the size of the place — a full city block, or so it seemed. You could look up from the copy desk and see a hundred people at a hundred desks. It was a sociological Petri dish. In that expanse of faces, you could find fewer than a half dozen African-Americans. It was typical — they made up less…

by Bruce Ippel, M.D. Our republic is alive and well. You can tell that most recently by how many fireworks the LGBT (Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgendered) subject is causing without crashing our democracy. But might it be crashing something else? As a doc of many years, I see the consequences of how one does what’s called pair-bonding. With a few exceptions, humanity pair-bonds more intensely than any other species. I remember several decades ago hippies made the case…

by Stephen M. King, Ph.D. I am re-reading Francis Schaeffer’s “The Christian Manifesto,” and I am struck by the accuracy of his prophetic warning regarding civil and social chaos and unrest in the United States. Schaeffer clearly demonstrates how U.S. culture, education and civil government, for example, would deviate from the principles of faith and freedom set forth by the Founders. Modern society, instead of embracing a foundation of justice and morality, has established and…

by Andrea Neal Coal is to Indiana what oil is to Texas. Since the mid 1800s, it’s been the fuel that powers the Hoosier economy. “We get 85 percent of our energy from coal,” explains Indiana Coal Council President Bruce Stevens. “That’s huge because Indiana is the number one manufacturing state in the nation.” A fossil fuel millions of years in the making, coal is essentially combustible rock formed by dead plant material. Some is…

Editor’s note: The author, an adjunct scholar, is appealing for legal help in filing a pro se complaint challenging the Republican and Democrat parties. Members can review his complaint draft elsewhere on this site. by Andy Horning George Washington warned us about political parties. Andrew Jackson waged war on the “den of vipers” central bankers. Woodrow Wilson described the “worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the civilized world.” Dwight…