by David Penticuff It is frustrating to see elected officials line up in unity to hand over more than $3 million in tax money to assist a company that in my city, by all appearances, does not truly need the money. But it’s not really about Central Indiana Ethanol (CIE). When asked why we are doing this, the elected officials involved just say the company’s past TIF was “one of the good ones” out of…

“For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.” (Hosea 8:7 ASV) by Mark Franke The prophet Hosea was warning the people of his nation, Old Testament Israel, that their actions had consequences, consequences that would be much worse than they could possibly expect. Think wind. Then think whirlwind. As our public discourse somehow manages to get worse and worse almost daily, one can’t help but wonder if a whirlwind is in the…

by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. The university admissions scandal “Operation Varsity Blues” is interesting on many levels: rich people working the system; corruption and bribery in institutions of higher learning; elite, liberal universities sullied by scandal and greed. But as an economist, the episode brings other comparisons to mind. First, consider how the scandal resembles both “legacy admissions” and “Affirmative Action,” two other strange aspects of university admissions. In all of these cases, students are able…

by Leo Morris My sense of privacy has eroded a bit every year since I got my first cellphone. I’ve become so used to the loss that it usually doesn’t even bother me. My real fear is that there will be a tipping point at which so much of my privacy is gone, I won’t care when the last of it is threatened, or perhaps even notice. I was reminded again last weekend of how…

by Norman Van Cott, Ph.D. What if I told you that immigrants who offer their services in say, raspberry production, at wages lower than the prevailing wage for American raspberry workers raise overall U.S. living standards? Many, if not most of you, would probably respond with something along the lines of “Van Cott, that’s ridiculous.” Well, that’s exactly what the following argues. Does it make any difference whether the immigrants are legal or illegal? No.…

by Mark Franke If this were Maoist China, I would be headed directly to a reeducation camp. Then again, our progressive thought police may have that in mind for me anyway. My crime? Spending a week in Europe where I was force-fed a continual dose of sights and descriptions that would certainly infuriate those who are hell-bent on purging our own national consciousness of any and all that fails the ideological purity test. First, one…

by Leo Morris I don’t hate hate. I don’t know if that makes me an oddball, but it probably marks me as a member of a small minority. Hating hate, in fact, might turn out to be the one issue that can finally bridge the bitter tribal divide afflicting America these days. For proof, just consider recent actions by Republicans in the Indiana General Assembly and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. If those…

‘In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.’ — George Orwell As some of us become more discerning in the chaos of a fragmenting media, we guard our time by passing over articles in print and on line that are weighted with epithet and calculated narrative. Rather, we are desperate for accurate description, any fact-based information to help us determine what is around the political corner. Our quarterly journal tries to…

by Leo Morris I hate to admit it, being a member in good standing of the Vast Rightwing Conspiracy, but I tried marijuana in my younger days. More than once. And I inhaled. Furthermore, I enjoyed the experience. It left me in a dazed and happy stupor, free of the anxieties that gritty reality often sends to gnaw at our contentment. And without the unsavory side effects of alcohol numbing, especially the falling down part…

by Norman Van Cott, Ph.D. Tom is in the market for a used car. Harry is interested in selling his car. Tom and Harry meet and agree on a price of $7,500. Tom gets Harry’s car, and Harry gets Tom’s $7,500. Tom presumably values having the car more than anything else he can do with the $7,500. Likewise, Harry values what he can do with the $7,500 more than his car. Tom is better off.…