by PHIL TROYER “I’m afraid there are too many pigs for the teats.” This was Abraham Lincoln’s retort when confronted with the constant demands of citizens seeking federal patronage jobs. That same quote could be attached to lawmakers today who clamor for long-since-spoken-for tax revenues to fund their latest Utopian schemes, or, to continue the swine theme, outright pork-barrel projects such as certain retirement systems. Lawmakers at all levels of government are continually searching for…

by MARYANN O. KEATING, Ph.D. “Can I take a federal tax deduction for mortgage interest?” (Yes.) “For state income and local property taxes?” (Yes.)  “How about municipal bond interest?” (That, too.) “On earned income from wages?”  (That’s a tax credit, and it depends.) “What about employer-provided health insurance?” (Sure.) “Charitable deductions?” (Yup.) “Dinner out and a show?” (Sorry, no.) Tax deductions are subtracted from adjusted gross income, lowering the base on which taxes are calculated.…

“Albert Einstein lived to see moral relativism, to him a disease, become a social pandemic, just as he lived to see his fatal equation bring into existence nuclear warfare. There were times, he said at the end of his life, when he wished he had been a simple watchmaker.” — Paul Johnson in “Modern Times,” 1991, HarperCollins. Look, political idiocy is my friend. I am an editorial writer. I have depended on its existence in…

by Cecil Bohanon, Ph.D. Apple stockholders have had a hard time in the last few months. The price of a share of Apple stock has declined from $700 in September to around $450 today. This is a 36 percent hit. It is not that Apple has become unprofitable — in fact, Apple’s profits are strong. It is just that the meteoric growth in Apple’s sales and profits are slowing down. In 2010, Indiana collected more…

by MARYANN O. KEATING, Ph.D. Economic literacy is increasingly important. Philosophers, linguists and journalists have been conversant with the Gross Domestic Product, the Dow, unemployment statistics and prime interest rates for some time now. Since 1996, however, the Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) Index, published jointly by the Fraser and CATO Institutes, is the new indicator on the block. References to the EFW are increasingly found in business and economic reports. The index uses…

For release Feb. 20 and thereafter (660 words) by Andrea Neal Senate President David Long says he’s trying to be a leader, not a dictator. That’s why he assigned Senate Bill 230 to the Rules Committee, where it won’t see the light of day. The bill to invalidate ObamaCare is unconstitutional, Long said, and to spend precious legislative time debating it would be counterproductive. His action has ignited a debate over democracy in Indiana, with…

by Cecil E. Bohanon, Ph.D., and Tyler Watts, Ph.D.  Our progressive colleagues have been telling us for years that the 1950s were a horrid time. Racial segregation prevailed and women were repressed; conservative cries for family values are naïve and dangerous. Going back to the ’50s is neither desirable nor possible; you can’t bring back Ozzie and Harriet. We agree with parts of this assessment. Going back is impossible. No one wants a return of…

by TYLER WATTS, Ph.D. On the morning of March 3, 1991, Rodney King was infamously beaten by four Los Angeles police. A bystander captured the episode on tape in what would become the first of many video-recorded instances of alleged police brutality. Did the LAPD use excessive force in the Rodney King incident? It’s a tough call on which reasonable people might disagree — after all, two different juries reached opposite verdicts on the charges…

For the use of the membership only (525 words) by ERIC SCHANSBERG, Ph.D. Talk of taxes and tax reform is in the air again. At the federal level, the “Fiscal Cliff” of Jan. 1 was more about political theater and procrastination than effective solutions. Less publicized, the most recent phase of ObamaCare brought some new taxes. In addition, the 2 percent “holiday” on payroll/FICA taxes ended, resulting in much higher taxes for all workers. Politicians…

by Leo Morris Isn’t it wonderful all those shrill “family values” types have knocked off haranguing us about those nasty social issues? How refreshing that we are now free to concentrate our attentions across the aisle only on the pragmatic, quotidian duties of governing and budgeting. Do you feel the love? Me, not so much. I’m feeling – how shall I put it? – carpet-bombed by the progressive agenda. In the short space of one…