by Mark Franke Now that the primary election season has passed but the November campaigning cycle is not yet up and running, there is time for detached reflection on how our democracy works. Or doesn’t. The past month was an unusual one for us residents of my hometown, Fort Wayne. In the Republican primary there were eight candidates for the Third District House of Representatives seat to replace incumbent Jim Banks, who was running in the…

by Mark Franke “Counterurbanization,” a term new to me, is the phenomenon that Americans increasingly are moving from large cities to rural areas. This reverses a trend in the other direction, one that began with the Industrial Revolution and continued until just recently.  So why the change? And more important, what will its effect be 20 years down the road? The first question is obvious; one need only peruse an Internet news feed to see…

by Maryann O. Keating, Ph.D. President Biden, Ex-President Trump and their advisors view international trade as a nationalsecurity threat. They indicate that unfettered international trade has hollowed out the U.S.industrial base, harmed American workers and allowed China to dominate importantindustries. History repeats itself. In a 1791 Report on Manufacturers, Alexander Hamilton argued for anational economic policy fostering domestic industry. Later, Henry Clay advocated a protectivetariff as the centerpiece of what he called “the American System.” Presently, Oren…

Globalism for All “You can predict the actions of a large government, corporation or institution by imagining it being run by a cabal of its enemies.” — unknown A MANTRA HERE, and thank you for having indulged it all these years, is that we are against higher taxes not only because we can’t afford them but because they allow government to grow so big that the average man can’t figure out what it is up to. There now…

‘Winning’ Is only for Losers YOU REALIZE, DON’T YOU, that this Sunday’s Indy 500 won’t be an actual race? It will be more of an exercise — a spectacle, if you will — in adeptness at fudging rules and regulations to one’s advantage, that and quickness in changing tires and refueling. That’s because there is nary a nut or bolt that isn’t officially specified. The identical 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engines are designed for fairness not victory. As are the requirements…

A Mayoral Statement: Governing by Semaphore AN ECONOMIST FRIEND has introduced me to the contract theory of “Signaling.” Very useful. You are going to need it the next time you hear an important official pronouncement. The most well-known model involves job applicants signaling their ability level to potential employers. They might do this by presenting education credentials or simply dressing well for the interview, any attribute that might be prized by an employer. The concept is applicable in situations…

by Richard Moss, M.D. The Evansville Regional Economic Partnership (E-REP), is an organization that “promotes regional economic development and vitality.” It encompasses four counties, including Vanderburgh, Posey, Warrick and Gibson, and seeks to “drive the region’s economic growth, attract a high-wage and high-skilled workforce and elevate quality of life.” Encompassing the “Evansville Region,” it “thinks regionally – and acts regionally.” Its essential missions include “business growth and retention, attraction of a highly skilled workforce, community development,…

A Forgotten Man and a Forgotten History “We learn from history that we do not learn from history.” — Hegel I AM NOT A BIG SOCIAL MEDIA GUY (too old), but last week I ran across a Twitter thread that is the most succinct description of Arnold Toynbee’s great “A Study of History.” The thread was posted by Thinking West, a group that promotes the study of the western canon, classical approaches to education and commentary on history, philosophy, culture,…

Political Advertising Costs but Doesn’t Pay RUMINATING OVER THE RESULTS of the gubernatorial primary, it is encouraging that the electorate rejected the lavishly funded campaigns of the three economic-development wizards, Brad Chambers, Eric Doden and Susan Crouch. Not, of course, that they dwelled on “economic development” per se, its reputation having been tarnished by a series of scams and failed projects. Rather, they campaigned on the vague promise that government, specifically in the form of an…

by Mark Franke I had been brooding about this for some time now and, in a particularly dark moment, determined to never vote again. It may have been the better side of my nature that eventually overcame my psychological sturm und drang or it simply may have been intellect over emotion that resolved me. I am not normally a negative or pessimistic person but my attitude could not withstand a barrage of negative advertising, the total lack…