by T. Norman Van Cott, Ph.D. Whether one is a . . . churchman or a heathen, it is useful to know the causes and consequences of economic phenomena. — George Stigler (Nobel Prize in Economics, 1982) “Forgive us, Lord, for we eat food harvested by people working for starvation wages.” So spoke the leader of the congregational prayer at my church. Taken literally, it meant that each congregant’s mealtime bounty (including mine) traces to…

by Leo Morris I did not attend my college commencement because, at the time, it did not seem that obvious a demarcation in my life. I’d split my post-secondary time between two schools, with military service in the middle. I still lived with my parents for the first phase at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne and commuted from 45 minutes away for the second one at Ball State University, so I never had that “bonding with a…

by Leo Morris It’s amazing how so-called professional journalists can report the bare facts and somehow miss the bigger story right in front of them. Here is the news report from KOB-4 out of Albuquerque, N.M.: Two girls in Roswell had a plan to get a message to their grandparents in Heaven. Shayla and Haylie Chaves wrote a letter, put it in a sealed bag and tied it to a balloon. The letter eventually landed…

“To be attached to the subdivision, to love the little platoon we belong to in society, is the first principle (the germ as it were) of public affections. It is the first link in the series by which we proceed towards a love to our country, and to mankind.” — Edmund Burke A FAVORITE HOOSIER, Kurt Vonnegut, wrote in a letter to a fan of his book, “Palm Sunday,” an autobiographic collage, that there is…

THE FORT WAYNE JOURNAL GAZETTE treats journalism as a magic show where key facts are hidden from subscribers trying to match reality with what they read at election time. It is to be expected, then, that the newspaper would keep its show on the road after Tuesday’s primary. Its May 9 editorial pulled this rabbit out of the hat: “ . . . but (Tim Smith) will have to alter his approach this fall as…

by Mark Franke I have been looking for something, anything, that I can find as common cause with the progressive neo-socialists, and I think I may have found it. A petition was recently circulated among Google employees to disband a professional advisory board focused on the ethics of artificial intelligence development and application. The board’s egregious sin? One of its members was Kay Cole James, president of the Heritage Foundation. Now the Heritage Foundation is…

by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. I’m not comparing government to dinner, but I could. Meatloaf the meal is a decent metaphor for government. It contains a mish-mash of ingredients. It can be pretty good, but only if it’s done just right. And like government, meatloaf is often mediocre and sometimes rough. Unlike government, meatloaf probably won’t kill you with a drone strike. It won’t take your money and give it to poor people or politically connected…

by Leo Morris I’m reluctant to make political prognoses because I’m so bad at them. But I’m going to ignore my misgivings and go way out on a limb, not with a prediction but a bit of whimsical speculation. I’m thinking of a potential Democratic presidential candidate – so far professing zero interest in the job, not on anybody’s radar – who could pretty much clear the field and have the nomination just by declaring.…

by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. Stephanie Zepelin of WISH-TV in Indianapolis just aired a report, “Changes Made After I-Team Examines Millions in Lost State Property,” based on a database of state government assets that have gone missing. Her efforts help shine a light on a common problem for all levels of government. Let’s start by acknowledging that this is also a problem for business. There are at least three key variables in play. First, with more…

by David Penticuff No, there is no escaping our political divides these days. Everyone is a villain or hero. No one is just a teacher, reporter, preacher or, in this case, just a vice president. We simply can’t tolerate people who don’t agree with us and so we set about to make one another’s lives more difficult, more argumentative and less peaceful. Vice President Mike Pence is coming to my county later this month to…