For release Oct. 12 and thereafter (673 words) “Thanks to an astonishing political transformation, many chambers of commerce on the state and local levels have been abandoning (traditional) goals. They’re becoming, in effect, lobbyists for big government.” — Stephen Moore, the Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2007 It is a question asked routinely — almost reflexively — during the last days of a General Assembly: “Will the Chamber score this?” The answer has consequences for…

For release Oct. 5 and thereafter (665 words) If getting people to vote wasn’t hard enough already, a new Indiana law will further stifle democratic spirit on Nov. 8. The measure removes from the ballot municipal candidates who are unopposed. What’s disturbing is that the idea became law in the first place. In hindsight, key legislative leaders call it a mistake. “I don’t like it,” said Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, who as House Speaker signed off…

For release Sept. 28 and thereafter (581 words) Those of us in the private sector wonder what certain politicians mean when they say they are running things like a business. So I read with interest a recent story in my hometown paper detailing a local politician’s business rationale for disbanding the board of directors in one of our so-called “public-private partnerships.” The political promise was that the board, like a business, could raise private-sector money…

Time sensitive; for immediate release Sept. 19 (699 words) Before we sit down for the next GOP presidential debate, we need to resolve a famous exchange from the last one. The topic was health Care. It involved CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Rep. Ron Paul and the partisan crowd. It begs our most careful thought. Blitzer asked Paul about a hypothetical 30-year-old man who refused to purchase health insurance, got sick and needed extensive medical treatment. Blitzer…

For release Sept. 21 and thereafter (679 words) “My vote doesn’t matter.” That’s how a 23-year-old Hoosier justified his failure to vote in the past several elections. It’s a surprisingly common attitude. According to the first ever report on Indiana’s civic health, Hoosiers register to vote, vote, and talk politics a lot less than citizens in other states. Indiana Chief Justice Randall Shepard, who co-chaired the civic health initiative with former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton,…

For release Sept. 16 and thereafter (588 words) I’m not a big fan of the National Football League (NFL) — I don’t bleed Colts blue — but I do catch a game here and there, and I’ll admit I’m glad the season started on time this year. But according to a recent article in the Indianapolis Star even football haters should be elated: NFL activity is an “economic windfall” without which “billions of dollars would…

For release Aug. 31 and thereafter (765 words) Keynesian economists, especially Alan Blinder and Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman, have been stridently outspoken recently about the notion that federal stimulus could destroy jobs. They are most concerned that this view is a threat to sound policy-making and that public opinion is swinging rapidly and heavily toward this conclusion. Some cite the dubious Congressional Budget Office estimates of at least 1.3 million net new jobs created in…

For release Aug. 24 and thereafter (737 words) “Cursive handwriting has been omitted from the Common Core State Standards, the new curriculum standard that more than 40 states adopted last summer.” ~ the Associated Press Beginning this fall, Indiana’s State Department of Education will no longer require public schools to teach cursive writing. Instead, students will be expected to become proficient in keyboarding, a skill, some educators say, that is more useful in today’s world.…