Commentary

COMMENTARY

Paid family and medical leave needed for all Hoosiers

BY: - November 16, 2023

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee recently held its first full hearing on paid family and medical leave, an issue that has seen increased attention in recent years given that most Americans support paid family and medical leave. Additionally, 14 states (plus Washington, DC) have enacted comprehensive paid family leave legislation. Although similar bills have been introduced in Indiana, […]

COMMENTARY
population

Like an island, Indiana is surrounded, and it’s gonna cost us

BY: - November 14, 2023

With a few vital exceptions across America, the 2023 election was scheduled to deal with local government. Tip O’Neill famously coined the phrase, “all politics is local.” Oh, if the former Speaker of the House, who held the gavel for virtually all of the 1980’s, could see the America we are living in today.  O’Neill’s […]

COMMENTARY

The obscurity of obscenity

BY: - November 13, 2023

When Justice Potter Stewart famously proclaimed, “I’ll know it when I see it” in regards to obscenity and pornography, the errant assumption was that such matters would be the social deviation rather than the norm. While he passed away long before the internet was invented and our own cultural mores shifted, Justice Stewart would be […]

COMMENTARY

Ballot initiatives coming to Indiana? No chance.

BY: - November 10, 2023

The biggest news from Tuesday night’s elections was Ohio’s passage of two ballot initiatives: one legalizing recreational cannabis and another enshrining a right to abortion access into the constitution. The moves makes Indiana an outlier among surrounding states on both topics. But even more interestingly, it appears to be prompting Indiana Democrats to grab onto […]

COMMENTARY

Tax task force can ensure Indiana competes through thriving Hoosiers

BY: - November 9, 2023

Revelations from the latest hearing of the Indiana General Assembly’s State & Local Tax Review Task Force showed that ideas floated by legislators to replace the state personal income tax could actually backfire and put a greater burden on the Hoosiers who already pay the largest share of their income in taxes. But national experts […]

COMMENTARY

This Veterans Day, everyone is a partner in veteran suicide prevention

BY: - November 8, 2023

Friday, November 11, is Veterans Day — a significant national holiday dedicated to honoring and showing appreciation for all military Veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Originally known as Armistice Day to commemorate the end of World War I on November 11, 1918, Veterans Day was established on June 1, 1954, and […]

COMMENTARY

Republican treasurers pander to Israel with retirees’ money

BY: - November 7, 2023

This one surprised even me. Indiana State Treasurer Daniel Elliott announced last week the state would purchase $35 million of additional Israel Bonds, a 55% increase of the $65 million Indiana already held.  Not announcing the purchase would have been suspicious. A quiet announcement with no additional commentary would be equally so. Either of these […]

COMMENTARY
bills

Balancing tax reforms and public investment in Indiana

BY: - November 6, 2023

It’s something of a paradox that over the summer, while debating the need for increased public investment in child care access, transportation infrastructure, public employee retirement benefits, and Medicaid reimbursement, legislators also considered proposals that could dramatically reduce the revenues needed to finance those priorities. Appointees to the State and Local Tax Review Task Force […]

COMMENTARY

Lack of child care is holding Indiana back but lawmakers can change the game

BY: - November 3, 2023

Many parents can’t afford child care. And, if they can, there aren’t enough slots. That’s because staff aren’t paid enough, and turnover is high. But if providers raise pay, then they must raise prices; more parents can’t afford child care. The chicken-and-egg predicament is real, and even worse in Indiana. The Economic Policy Institute ranks […]

COMMENTARY

Polls have value, even when they are wrong

BY: - November 2, 2023

An ABC News/Washington Post poll in September 2023 generated outrage among Democrats. The headline on the story, “Trump edges out Biden 51-42 in head-to-head matchup: POLL,” appeared designed to attract clicks rather than accurately portray where the race was on that day – or where it was headed. Below the headline, the news organizations’ analysis […]

COMMENTARY
pence

Pence exits presidential race and confirms the end of conservatism

BY: - October 31, 2023

Las Vegas specializes in making money off of people who just can’t walk away. But on Saturday in Sin City, that’s exactly what former Vice President Mike Pence did. An ironic place for the most pious politician I’ve covered to announce what will likely be the end of his political career. It was a long […]

COMMENTARY

Vaping is hurting, not helping, Indiana’s fight to be nicotine-free

BY: - October 30, 2023

Hoosier adults smoke cigarettes in greater numbers and with more frequency than people in most other states, a cause for alarm because smoking is the No. 1 cause of preventable disease and death. Indiana’s smoking rate isn’t a new development, though, as our state has ranked among the worst in the nation for most of the last decade. Those relative figures disguise some significant progress, […]