HICKS: What to expect from right-to-work legislation
It would be a long way from simply naïve to suppose that my study would alter any decisions about the divisive right-to-work legislation pending in Indiana.
Mike Hicks
Articles
HICKS: Job prospects should factor into student loans
College education is expensive (mostly due to foregone earnings), but in terms of expenses, paying tuition for state schools is far less than half the cost of going to college.
HICKS: Predictions can be wrong, but analysis valuable
The new year is a time of reflection. For someone who comments on the economy and provides analysis and forecasts, it should be a time to take stock and be honest about where I was right and wrong.
HICKS: An open letter to an elf from an economist
Last year, you brought me coal; this year, could you fill my pickup truck with gasoline instead?
HICKS: Is U.S. economy example of capitalism or free market?
For some time, I have been unhappy with using the term “capitalism” to describe the ascendant form of economic organization. I prefer “free market” to describe the workings of the United States and much of the world.
HICKS: Monetary policy for our times may involve trade-offs
This week, Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and leading contender to replace Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman, visited Muncie to give an important speech on moving the economy past the recession.
HICKS: Black Friday feeds commercialization illusion
Thanksgiving evening into the wee hours of Black Friday saw me visiting three Walmart stores in five hours. This was purely research, mind you.
HICKS: National debt makes long-term challenges clear
We must have a serious discussion over the size and scope of government and how to pay for it. Economically, the answers are clear. We must cut spending, raise revenue and adjust Social Security to the demographic reality.
HICKS: Penn State abuse case offers lessons for us all
The cascading revelations about Pennsylvania State University’s storied football program surely will continue to repulse and sadden us. But within the horror of the events are many lessons, economic and otherwise.
HICKS: Schools, taxes, services on voters’ radar
It is easy to make promises while campaigning—and quite another thing to carry them out when confronted with the fullness of fact.
HICKS: Schools and leadership keys to community growth
Fixing schools, paving roads, building sidewalks, sprucing up parks and cutting government waste are hard, long, inelegant and thankless tasks—but they are the ones that really matter.
HICKS: Lessons in macabre taxes and ghastly fiscal policy
Halloween is the time when the Hicks kids learn about taxes. As a loving father, I combine the safety examination of their treats with a lesson on the effect of marginal tax rates on productivity.
HICKS: Human capital, income inequality and our future
Since at least the 1960s, economists have been warning that the link between human capital and economic growth was growing.
HICKS: Is the Occupy Indianapolis crowd on to something?
There’s something in the Occupy Indianapolis protest for most of us to appreciate. Among these is the real and persistent influence from both corporations and unions that distorts our tax system. The reality is astonishing.
HICKS: Competing theories agree on nation’s economic woes
Both explanations suggest that the large stimulus and enormous government spending deficits are in part to blame for the continued ill performance of the U.S. economy.
HICKS: Some long-dead economists worth a listen
It is a bit too early to tell what this recession and recovery will do to the reputation of the many economists who prognosticated through it. But one thing is for certain: It has provided much publicity for many long-dead economists.
HICKS: Defining and understanding poverty in America
How much poverty we have and how bad it is remain elusive questions. The causes of poverty are better known.
HICKS: Efficacy of the American Jobs Act questionable
In my professional judgment, President Obama’s proposed American Jobs Act is as fair an attempt at stimulating the economy as is now possible. Whether or not it is good policy or will work are other questions.
HICKS: A solemn reminder of the value of shared sacrifice
On this anniversary of 9/11, I think we would do well to acknowledge that we have relinquished too little of ourselves in the years since the attacks.
HICKS: Lessons to glean from Keystone Towers demolition
The demolition of a vacant apartment building is common fare in American cities. It is part of the urban renewal that is much needed in many U.S. cities.