DANIELS: Minimum-wage-hike proposals aren’t so simple
You can’t increase wages significantly while also erasing the deficit.
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CARTER: Should Indiana raise its minimum wage? In a word: yes
Raising the minimum wage can not only save money on public health outcomes, it can literally save lives.
UNDERWOOD: Upping minimum wage would be more over-regulation
The minimum-wage rate was never intended to feed entire families or be a rate that one worked at his or her entire life.
Lessons unlearned from the ’92 LA riots
We recently marked the completion of the first 100 days of the Trump administration. This milestone also coincides with a very important anniversary. Twenty-five years ago, on April 29, 1992, riots exploded in Los Angeles after four policemen were acquitted after being charged with the violent beating of Rodney King, caught on video for the […]
You’re too busy. You need a ‘Shultz Hour’
When George Shultz was secretary of state in the 1980s, he liked to carve out one hour each week for quiet reflection. He sat down in his office with a pad of paper and pen, closed the door and told his secretary to interrupt him only if one of two people called: “My wife or […]
Crime and different punishments
Last month, the state of Arkansas, which had executed nobody since 2005, put to death Ledell Lee for the crime of murdering Debra Reese in 1993. Why now—11 years after the last execution, 24 years after the crime? Because the chemicals used for lethal injection were about to expire. Reasonable people can disagree on the […]
The president’s degradation of the language
One of the more pernicious and insidious effects of the Donald Trump regime may well be the damage he does to language itself. Trumpian language is a thing unto itself: some manner of sophistry peppered with superlatives. It is a way of speech that defies the Reed-Kellogg sentence diagram. It is a jumble of incomplete […]
This isn’t tax policy; it’s a Trump-led heist
What do you do if you’re a historically unpopular new president, with a record low approval rating by 14 points, facing investigations into the way Russia helped you get elected, with the media judging your first 100 days in office as the weakest of any modern president? Why, you announce a tax cut! And in […]
HALE: Indiana Humanities helps Hoosiers connect, engage
Here in Indianapolis, more people attend cultural events than they do sporting events, generating a stronger economic impact.
SHABAZZ: Kudos to a merit system for picking judges
Under the old system, unless you were the ultimate insider, Marion County voters didn’t have much say in the process.
LEPPERT: Statehouse dramas fit for Netflix
“Intent” is often a funny thing in the Statehouse. It also is often meaningless.
WOLLEY: Trump’s first 100 days leave us wanting
No major legislative accomplishments. Plenty of fights with the judicial branch. Wild accusations and enough scandals to make me feel like I am watching the show “Scandal” rather than the real news.
SMITH: We need some eat-your-peas Republicans
For a burst of bipartisanship-budgeting to have any chance of occurring, let alone succeeding, we need a public with an appetite for change and greater financial frugality.
DANIELS: Ups and downs in a new DOJ administration
Occasionally, something has happened in the new Justice Department administration to give me pause.
RITZ: A common-sense way to college- and career-readiness
Moving away from the passing of high schools tests in English and math and toward demonstrating college- or career-readiness through a graduation pathway gives students many options to achieve an Indiana diploma tailored to their graduation goals.
SCHNEIDER: Time for independence in redistricting is now
Of the 50 senators, 17 had no opponent in their last election and 22 won with at least 60 percent of the vote. In the 100-member House, 27 lawmakers were unopposed in 2016 and 57 won with at least 60 percent of the vote.
LANOSGA: Providing public records is part of public duty
Taxpayers have already paid for the compilation and disclosure of public records.
WAGNER: Ensuring the darkness always gets some light
It was a relief last month when Gov. Eric Holcomb got out his veto pen for the very first time to strike down a proposed law that would have permitted units of government to charge up to $20 an hour to produce public records.
Fight against opioid crisis must be nuanced
Erin Moran died last month in southern Indiana. An early and erroneous report suggested the one-time Hollywood star’s death was the result of a heroin overdose. Her former co-star, Scott Baio, quickly condemned her behavior and that of anyone who takes drugs. He said in a radio interview, “You do drugs, you die.” It turns […]
DELANEY: The long view: Licensing makes sense
The law requiring a gun license is supported by logic. Weapons can be dangerous and attention needs to be paid to who has them and how they are used.