For immediate release (667 words)   (Jan. 28, 2011) — Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) are collective-bargaining agreements that establish terms of employment for a specific project. PLAs typically require a contractor to hire workers through union halls and to follow union rules on pensions, working conditions, and conflict resolution. Non-union workers are usually required to pay union dues during the project. Obviously, PLAs make it more difficult and costly for non-union contractors to bid on…

For release noon Jan. 25 and thereafter (782 words)   Last weekend we observed “Religious Freedom Day” in the United States. The celebration commemorated the same day in 1786 when Virginia passed its “Statute of Religious Freedom.” Written by Thomas Jefferson, it protected what would later be enshrined in the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights. Government should neither “establish” a religion nor “prohibit the free exercise” of religion. Today, most Americans value religion,…

For release noon Jan. 18 and thereafter (663 words) A public school teacher I know makes the claim that teachers would consent to performance pay for their profession if state legislators accepted merit pay for theirs. As a practical matter, the two careers aren’t comparable. Teachers work full-time and can be assessed on results achieved by students in individual classrooms. Legislators are part-time and their work product comes from majority rule. But the idea got…

For release noon Jan. 11 and thereafter (549 words) One of Indiana’s most respected Republican politicians, a conservative by the popular measure, acknowledged recently that he had made a “whopper” of a mistake in public policy many years ago. Alas, one man’s mistake, if he is powerful enough, is another man’s disaster. This particular one abided a collective-bargaining system that now cripples Indiana finances even as it thwarts reform across the full spectrum of state…

Editors: For release noon Jan. 4 and thereafter (675 words); column is tied to Jan. 6 event in Congress. Note date reference in graph 6 Naysayers have dismissed the Republican plan to read the Constitution aloud at the start of the 112th Congress as “cosmetic,” a “media event” and “meaningless political theater.” Similar objections have been raised to a new House rule requiring every piece of legislation to include a statement from its sponsor citing…

For release noon Dec. 27 and thereafter (701 words) Some years ago a Republican state senator phoned The Indiana Policy Review to ask why the journal was so critical of government unions. “Somebody’s got to represent those workers,” he argued. Well, no they don’t. Compulsory collective bargaining for government workers is relatively new, dating only from the 1970s. The resulting decline in both Indiana finances and our democratic processes keeps the more thoughtful lawmakers awake…

For release noon Dec. 21 and thereafter (660 words) Even as other states face “a fiscal crisis of unprecedented severity” – to quote the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – Gov. Mitch Daniels is crafting a plan to give taxpayers their money back. Not this year or next, to be sure. But if and when the economy improves and the state’s structural spending deficit disappears, Daniels wants to make sure lawmakers don’t resume their…

For release noon Dec. 21 and thereafter (446 words) When I was 12 years old, the Youth of First Christian Church had a picnic at Honor Heights Park in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The good ladies of the church brought loads of potato salad, baked beans and coleslaw but every child knew the real action was in the sack lunch mom had packed with their favorite delight. Our mom had fried some chicken. That was a real…

For release noon Dec. 14 (709 words) Cash-strapped Indiana legislators, Republican as well as Democrat, will be eyeing easy sources of additional tax revenue this session. This will involve rationalizing Indiana’s so-called “Death Tax” on inherited estates. They should know, though, that although the poor will always be with us, not so the rich. The wealthy come and go on the whim of tax law. And whether they live on Long Island or in Zionsville,…

For release noon Dec. 7 and thereafter (765 words) “Men typically accumulate more continuous work experience and therefore acquire higher productivity in the labor market (in relation to child-rearing women). In fact, the gender gap shrinks to between 8 percent and 0 percent when the study incorporates measures such as work experience, career breaks and part-time work.” — Dr. June E. O’Neill, professor of economics at Baruch College, Nov. 16, 2010 When the women’s movement…