Opinion

I give a number of public talks each year on changes to the state and local economy. One trick I use to help folks understand these changes is to ask a couple questions. This sets up a great discussion about issues ranging from educational attainment to quality of life to economic development and trade policy.

There was a time when constructive bipartisanship in the United States Congress was routine business practice. Not so today. Hyperpartisanship among lawmakers has produced a bitterness and intransigence that make even the most mundane of matters subject to political warfare.

In 1972, the Clean Water Act was passed with a goal of making all U.S. waterways fishable and swimmable within a decade. But a report by the Environmental Integrity Project in March 2022 found Indiana, 50 years later, was far from fulfilling that objective.

Tribune-Star

America’s populist movements, on both the left and right, are wedded to the notion that our past was better than our present. This nostalgia takes many forms. Some of it is a longing for a time without cell phones, internet or social media. For others, it is a wistful desire to see stronger cultural institutions, such as families, churches, unions and civic groups. Most of us can sympathize with this feeling, even if we don’t wish to return to the past. This longing can even be constructive if we work to create new institutions that survive in the 21st century.

Aim Media Indiana

Business news is filled with new job creation numbers. Every new business with more than a few employees will get coverage in local papers, and larger firms will make statewide news. Typically, reporters will write about the industry growth patterns, why the firm says it chose its new location and often a quote from a local elected leader or economic development official. If it is a really big announcement or unusual industry, the thoughts of an economist might even make the news.

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

When the Indiana Supreme Court upheld the state’s draconian abortion ban, Hoosier opponents of reproductive rights did victory dances.

Anderson Herald Bulletin