HICKS: Nutritional poverty plagues land of plenty
It is not sufficient merely to provide sustenance; we need to teach folks how and what to eat.
Economic Analysis
Articles
HICKS: Content expertise best basis for teacher licensing
At a time when we are desperate for science and math teachers, and when several big firms are laying off scientists, we should
be jumping at the chance to get them into the classroom.
HICKS: Families of veterans also serve their country
I have to note that Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. It is rightfully a time we thank those among us who have served.
HICKS: Recession results in ‘great deleveraging’
On virtually every meaningful measure, this recession stacks up as only the third or fourth worst post-World War II recession, but its effects are much more profound in a few areas. One area that will be most apparent is the changes the economy has wrought on consumer credit.
HICKS: Non-market valuation is an important planning tool
One of the more intriguing things economists are called upon to do is what is known as non-market valuation. This is a process for estimating a â??priceâ?? of something that isnâ??t typically bought or sold.
HICKS: Flu season offers prelude to health care reform
This flu season looks to provide us an inkling of the real dangers inherent in large-scale health care reform, most especially
a full-blown national health care option.
HICKS: Labor market woes persist as recession wanes
So, the problem isn’t necessarily a big spike in job losses, but in much lower job-creation numbers.
HICKS: What a third-grader gets about economic policy
Business and people now, and in the future, will choose to locate
in places that have the right mix of taxes and public services.
HICKS: Post-recession policies matter more than theory
There’s a wonderful fight brewing between some of the world’s best-known economists.
HICKS: Card check folly and the demise of unions
This Labor Day sees the American labor movement in serious decline. In fact, U.S. private-sector union membership
has been in serious decline for three decades.
HICKS: Clunkers popularity went beyond consumers
The Cash for
Clunkers program has seriously challenged my high-mindedness. It is time for a bit of soul searching.
HICKS: As classes begin, students have fresh opportunity
Classes start this week at Ball State University, and other colleges and universities across the country. For many, it is
a bittersweet moment, as parents say goodbye to their now young adults, handing them over to professors and scarily youthful
resident hall assistants for safekeeping.
HICKS: Health care experts make poor economists
In almost every place that two or more Americans gather, health care is debated. Because the bills before Congress are
inaccessible, the debate has shifted instead to principles such as the role of government and individual freedoms. I think this a healthy thing.
HICKS: Indiana State Fair offers fun kind of economic stimulus
The Indiana State Fair is a great treat, but there’s a lot more to it than the food and fun. In 2008, more than 859,000 folks visited the fair. According to our estimates, spending at the fair last year led to more than $63 million in total economic activity.
HICKS: Structural unemployment not always a burden
A few weeks ago, a couple of my economist colleagues took issue with the phrasing in one of my columns. In a rare turn
of events, they are right, and I was wrong.
HICKS: What happened in California could happen here
California can no longer sustain its government. This is the lesson for Indiana.
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Stimulus plan must work now … or it never will
The postmortem and dissection of the federal economic stimulus plan have begun in earnest. The president has added to his woes by saying the stimulus will take years, not months, to work, and his chief economist managed to squeak out the headline or two that the worst is ahead of us.
HICKS: Muncie’s status quo is high taxes, poor service
Property-tax caps, as well as a dwindling population and commercial base, have left Muncie in the uncomfortable
situation of cutting budgets. Since the bulk of costs are related to fire and police salaries, few options
are available. The city has turned to the short length of rope the Legislature offered amid the debate
on property tax caps—the Local Option Income Tax.
HICKS: The gift of John Fisher went beyond business
It would be artless this week to write an article on economics and business in Indiana without remarking upon the passing of John Fisher. Much has been written about his legacy over this past week, so I will make do with an anecdote and a lesson I have learned from him.
HICKS: Certain unemployment causes worse than others
Unemployment often is a necessary and natural part of a healthy economy. But job losses that come when workers or even entire
industries become redundant are especially painful.