by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D.  The 17-century French finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert is reported to have said “the art of taxation is plucking the feathers from the goose with as little hissing as possible.” With this in mind consider a “rich” taxpayer that we’d like to pluck “just a little bit more.” Let’s set up a shill — Linda Bleedingheart a narcissistic popular folksinger who commands $100K for each of her five standing-room-only concerts for an annual…

For release Nov. 21 and thereafter (668 words) by Andrea Neal  It’s ludicrous to equate Tony Bennett’s defeat in the school superintendent’s race with public rejection of a school reform agenda, as many in the education bureaucracy are trying to do. The public wants better schools, which is why Glenda Ritz, the teacher-Democrat who upset Mr. Bennett, must be extremely cautious before trying to dismantle any reform ingredients put in place by Mr. Bennett and Gov.…

by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. The 2012 election is history. At both a national and state level neither party had a clean-sweep. In Washington, the Democrats retained the White House and expanded their Senate majority but failed to take the House from Republican control. In Indianapolis, the GOP got the governor’s mansion and a veto-proof House and Senate but lost the Superintendent of Public Instruction office and a U.S. Senate seat. What can we observe about…

by Tyler Watts, Ph.D. Every scientific field has its annals of ancient, failed ideas. In medicine, there’s blood-letting with leeches. In geology there’s the flat-earth model and astronomy has its geocentric theory. And in economics, there’s mercantilism, which oddly enough had a lot in common with one candidate’s plan for job creation in the recent gubernatorial election. The Democrat, John Gregg, unveiled several specific policy proposals to reinvigorate Indiana’s economy, with a particular mind towards…

Nov. 9, 2012 If you haven’t ordered your ticket, click here to join us this Friday Nov. 16  (ticket sales close at 4 p.m. Nov. 12) at the Charlie Creek Inn for a seminar on how the citizens of Indiana can get their economies running again. The all-day format provides time for discussion of side issues, participation in question-and-answer sessions and one-on-ones with the experts. We are sending a special invitation to freshmen legislators. Session leaders John…

by Jeff Abbott, Ph.D., J.D. There has been an ominous tone developing in this year’s presidential election. No, it is not the ugly personal attacks, negative ads by special interest groups or promises that pander to special interest groups. Those have been part of the fabric of America’s elections for far too long. There is something new and even more dangerous. Some politicians see political gain in demonizing economic success under a free-market economy. Make…

by Eric Schansberg, Ph.D. Happy Centennial to the 1912 “Bull Moose Progressive Party”. This short-lived political party[1] had its most notable connection to Teddy Roosevelt—a former president who was its standard bearer and claimed to be “as fit as a bull moose.” Beyond surviving an assassination attempt[2], Teddy had the best showing for a “third-party” presidential candidate: he is the only candidate to out poll a Democrat or Republican since the Civil War.[3] The most popular…

by MARYANN O. KEATING, Ph.D. The Federal Reserve System (FED) is regularly in the news, and Ben Bernanke has become a household name. But of what importance is this to the ordinary Hoosier household? From high-school U.S. history we recall that President Andrew Jackson was suspicious of Eastern bankers and refused to re-charter the National Bank of the U.S. 75 years later, in 1913, the Federal Reserve was created by Congress to operate 12 regional…

For release Oct. 31 and thereafter (600 words; first of two parts) by Andrea Neal In his first State of the State address in 2005, Gov. Mitch Daniels announced, “Our state’s public finances are in ruins.” Unaware of the coming recession, he made four promises to citizens:To work to strengthen the economy, make government leaner and more efficient, modernize infrastructure and improve public education. On Tuesday, Indiana voters will select Daniels’ successor. In most quarters,…

by David Penticuff The daily newspaper I edit has decided to pursued a formal complaint against the local “growth council,” a quasi-official economic-development group similar to many in Indiana. It wasn’t an easy decision, forcing our management to defend the newspaper against charges it was against investment and progress. But it came down to an obvious matter of simply doing our jobs as Indiana journalists. At the heart of the complaint, denied recently by the…