by Mark Franke During the 50 plus years of my adult lifetime, world population has been an issue but with a change in perspective. In the 1960s the concern was uncontrolled and unsupportable growth especially in the poorer parts of the globe. The doomsayers predicted mass starvation and other unpleasant outcomes unless the rate of growth was not slowed or preferably reversed. Stanford professor Paul Ehrlich’s “The Population Bomb: Population Control or Race to Oblivion?”…

We’re All Greta Thunberg Now SOME OF US no longer pay attention to opinion surveys. We assume, politics and media being what they are, that the public is too ill-informed to have anything useful to say. One recent poll, though, begs analysis. It finds that a good majority of young Americans are not proud to be Americans. Now, it is wise to approach such a thought assuming the most charitable interpretation. I’ll do my best. A Gallup Poll this month finds that 42…

Meet the New IEDC Board (Yawn) A FRIEND, a former submarine commander now a troubleshooter for a regional manufacturer, shared a management technique: Cancel the company picnic. Please, stick with me; this will explain why Gov. Mike Braun missed a golden eco-devo opportunity. My friend’s experience told him that nobody coming to his office to complain would be able to tell him why the picnic was essential to the plant’s productivity, which was his and their primary job. Most…

by Mark Franke I am grateful these days for the time I can devote to reading. I have always loved to read, with eclectic tastes as to subject matter. Sometimes my reading choices land on disciplines I never took the opportunity to study while in school.  Theology is one such subject area. Having been granted audit student status at Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, I can address that deficiency. These kind folks allow me to…

Auditing Good Intentions FOR ONCE, my mid-sized Indiana city is ahead of New York City fashion — policy fashion, at least. The Democratic nominee for mayor there is promising to build municipal-run grocery stores. Heck, we’ve had one of those for more than two years. It was a political promise of our mayor as well. In both cases, the stated goal is to provide wholesome food options to the deserving. The unstated goal is to counteract vile,…

Journalism ‘by Answering the Phone’ “The next 10 to 15 years in this country are going to be a halcyon era for state and local political corruption.” — David Simon in 2009, crime reporter and creator of HBO’s “The Wire.”  A NEW STUDY warns that without a newspaper your town is more vulnerable to corruption.  Brad Greenwood, a Notre Dame graduate and a former student of our adjunct Barry Keating, has done a masterful job delineating the…

‘No Kings’: A Prologue to Farce We can avoid the cataclysm anytime we choose to, by returning to reality, to reason, to ‘the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.’” — Notre Dame’s Robert Reilly in “America on Trial: A Defense of the Founding” I AM DISHEARTENED that 5,000 of my neighbors in one of the most staid places on earth thought it a good idea to wander out on a cold, wet June Saturday to proclaim . .…

Reimagining Dr. Naismith’s Game “The only thing that is exactly as it seems is professional wrestling.” — Unknown OK, I’M GOING TO SAY IT: The play of the National Basketball Association is unwatchable. Look, I’ve tried, especially this week as the Pacers make a historic bid for a championship.  But the definition of a sport includes standard rules. Otherwise, it is mere physical combat, a melee. That is what I see watching the NBA — huge “athletes” banging into…

Getting Serious About Crime HAVE WE FINALLY REACHED the tipping point on violent urban crime? A Crime Stopper info-commercial playing on the local airwaves is encouraging in that regard. Such info-commercials don’t usually provide much in the way of crime-fighting strategies. They explore root causes, delve into social concerns, making certain to respect all cultures while pleading for cooperation with police, that sort of thing.   But Ken Fries, the northeast Indiana coordinator for Crime Stoppers,…

by Mark Franke If nearly all economists agree that tariffs are bad, why are they so popular? This was the focus of last month’s gathering of my Socratic discussion group. To help us dissect this apparent paradox, we were joined by two academic economists as subject-matter experts. Our guests provided a short primer on the history of tariffs, especially those used and abused by the United States. It began with a reference to Milton Friedman,…