For release noon Tuesday Dec. 22 (670 words) When Tony Bennett was chief of Greater Clark County Schools, he made $130,000 in salary, paid $1 a year for his family’s health care and got a free car. He speaks from experience when he says there’s room for cutting K-12 education budgets. Now as state superintendent of public instruction, Bennett is convinced $300 million can be trimmed without a teacher losing a job.            School corporations should…

For release noon Tuesday Dec. 15 and thereafter (665 words) “The evidence suggests that (estate, inheritance and gift taxes) actually cost states more in lost revenue than they generate, that they negatively impact smaller firms disproportionately versus larger firms and that they promote the concentration of wealth by preventing small businesses from being passed on to heirs.” —  Antony Davies, Ph.D., “Myths and Realities Surrounding the Estate Tax” A tycoon of the late 19th century,…

Let’s Get Heritage Agency in Place Quickly For release noon Tuesday Dec.  and thereafter (675 words) “Good ideas are not adopted automatically,” Admiral Hyman Rickover once said. “They must be driven into practice with courageous patience.” Rickover’s counsel is an understatement when it comes to the idea to create a Department of Indiana Heritage. A proposal to combine Indiana’s diverse history-related offices into a single agency has been percolating for over a decade with support from…

For release noon Tuesday Dec. 1 and thereafter (619 words). “If someone wants to play golf, get a ride to the store, build a building for their business, watch a sports event or attend the local symphony, it is not a denial of their rights to expect and demand they pay for it themselves.” “Revenue reduction” — those are words striking fear into the hearts of municipal bureaucrats and politicians across Indiana. And the immediate…

Giving Thanks for Indiana’s Natural Wonders For release noon Tuesday Nov. 24 and thereafter (685 words)by ANDREA NEAL (Note to editors: This column is written for publication on Thursday, Nov. 26: Thanksgiving Day. If published prior, please use alternate opening graf found at bottom of column) My children and I woke up this morning in tents pitched along Bright Angel Creek at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It is our first Thanksgiving away from Indiana,…

For release noon Tuesday Nov. 17 and thereafter (598 words) “STATE SAYS SCHOOL FUNDS IN JEOPARDY: Indiana’s school chief warned school superintendents Thursday that declining state revenues could force cuts in public education spending, education officials said.” — Associated Press, Nov. 6, 2009 The Indiana Policy Review Foundation has released the results of an 18 month research study of the administrative central office and school board costs of all 29 public school districts in the…

For release noon Tuesday Nov. 10 and thereafter (670 words)Indiana voters are getting a taste of direct democracy thanks to a 2008 referenda law, and so far so good. The law lets the electorate approve expensive capital projects and certain tax rates at the school and local government level. Early results show voters can and do discriminate between what they think is nice and what they think is necessary – and that’s exactly how public…

“These soldiers (Vietnam veterans) were not the decision-makers who involved the U.S. in the Vietnam conflict,” said state Rep. Dale Grubb, author of a unanimous Indiana House and Senate resolution on Vietnam Veterans. “They served our country bravely and faithfully, and their sacrifice should be honored — even 35 years after the conflict ended.” by CRAIG LADWIG As a veteran, I dread Veteran’s Day. I recoil at the postured talk about our “sacrifice” for our…

“In reality, we had no idea if the numbers state agencies gave us were accurate. There were no audits, and once the agencies figured out the whole effort was really a political gimmick they often just gave us self-serving nonsense. Nonetheless, the numbers were pawned off on the public because they served political ends.” — Tad DeHaven, a former deputy director of the Indiana Office of Management and Budget. by TAD DeHAVEN I have been…

Property Taxes Are Back In the News as Bills Arrive Indiana Writers Group column for release at noon Oct. 27 and thereafter (829 words)Editors: Column body is 602 words; list of property tax hearings is 226 and may be cut Expect property taxes to be back in the headlines now that November bills are due. Some homeowners are understandably dismayed their property values are rising at a time when the housing market is struggling. One…