by Leo Morris I am the oldest of the three children who lived. Between my younger brother Larry and my younger sister Judy were the twins, Darryl and Dianne. I always assumed they were stillborn, so my thoughts rarely dwelled on them specifically but centered mostly on those left behind. The unbearable sadness my mother must have felt. How all our lives would have been different with a pair of mischievous twins weaving through them.…

by David Penticuff Fifty years ago the great character actor Strother Martin uttered what could be the epitaph for the relationship of my city council and the city administration. It was in the movie “Cool Hand Luke.” Martin, who played a prison warden, knocked prisoner Paul Newman, wearing chains, down a tall hill after Newman’s character sassed him. “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate,” Martin slowly delivered in a memorable southern drawl. The line became…

by Craig Ladwig There were howls of anguish when a proposal was made to change municipal bidding practices in Indiana to limit the influence of campaign donations. One mayor called the plan disrespectful. A development official took umbrage that anyone would use the word “corruption” in connection with his city. Today, though, David Penticuff of the Marion Chronicle-Tribune reports that a civil suit there alleges that part of the millions in public money provided to a developer…

by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. Death and taxes may be inevitable, but there’s no need to make them any more painful and unjust than necessary. Taxes are required to finance government spending. (The types and the extent of government spending are important too, but those are topics for another day.) Revenues can come through various taxes. The winds of change are blowing for federal income tax reform, so let’s focus our attention there. (Corporate income taxes…

(For the use of the membership only; not for publication, distribution or reproduction.) “As Indiana universities tout their diversity awards, initiatives and inclusiveness, some black faculty members are bringing lawsuits saying they were denied opportunities because of discrimination. — Dwight Adams, the Indianapolis Star THE STAFF of the Indianapolis Star in connection with its ongoing campaign “End the Hate” is intent on an ever-more-refined definition of “diversity.” Please know that these are well-meaning men and women,…

In this media frenzy it is not certain who elected or appointed Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts and one of the princes of the National Football League, as the philosophical interpreter of American exceptionalism. The appointment has been made, nonetheless, and his words must be taken seriously;  indeed, they must be compared with other philosophical work. Here is Irsay’s dictum on this weekend’s “taking of a knee” at NFL games and how it defines…

 by Craig Ladwig Mad Hatter: “Why is a raven like a writing-desk?” Alice: “What’s the answer?” Mad Hatter: “I haven’t the slightest idea.” ONLY FOOLS AND THE CORRUPT say democracy in itself will save us. Like a bad riddle, the question of why today’s political representation, even at the most local level, is unresponsive to the average citizen bedevils the political discussion. It is discouraging that the question has to be asked at all. It is…

“Weighing Third Term, Emanuel Relies on Campaign Donors Who Get City Hall Benefits” — Sept. 8. Chicago Tribune, Jeff Coen and Bill Ruthhart  by Jason Arp Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is receiving attention this week after an investigation by the Chicago Tribune found that over 60 percent of the millions raised for his re-election bid come from vendors to the city of Chicago. While it may not be shocking news to Hoosiers that there are foul…

by Fred McCarthy We’ve written all too frequently about the outrageous financial agreement the Capital Improvement Board (CIB) has with the local basketball team. The team claims inability to operate in the black, despite favorable circumstances wildly surpassing the dreams of almost any other business owner. Team management comes before the CIB and, as nearly we can tell without presenting any valid backup paperwork, makes its claim and receives additional millions of taxpayer dollars. The CIB…

by Maryann O. Keating, Ph.D. Most agree that similar legal entities be treated fairly. Note, however, in Figure 1 below that the number of U.S. corporations is in decline as compared with other firms; this raises a serious concern regarding bias, but, more importantly, about the flourishing of U.S. corporations at home and abroad. The combined U.S. Federal and State corporate tax rate (38.9 percent on average) is the highest among developed countries. This “highest”…