WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Farmland assessments for property taxes are going up. So are home, rental housing and business assessments. Property tax misery has a lot of company. Farmland assessments start with a base rate per acre. The base rate is a statewide number calculated each year by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. The …

ANDERSON, Ind. — Manny Diaz Jr. called a proposed advanced placement course in African American studies “woke indoctrination masquerading as education.” Diaz is Florida’s education commissioner, and he has the backing of his boss, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. “What’s one of the lessons about?” DeSantis asked at a news conference. “Queer theory. Now, who would …

I’m predicting the U.S. dodges a recession in 2023 and faces instead what is often called a “soft landing.”

INDIANAPOLIS — Politicians, including those in Indiana, are going down a perverted path believing that consumers should invest in education when the returns (income) on that investment justify the expenditure. The idea that education is an investment has merit, but its value is more than just the earnings it provides. Education is a means of opening choices …

INDIANAPOLIS — The war that begins almost always ends in a dramatically escalated fashion. The American Revolution began with ragtag militias in Massachusetts and ended up with the French Navy forcing the British to surrender at Yorktown. The American Civil War had Union and Confederate forces marching row-by-row into slaughter, particularly with the introduction of …

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Politics can be cruel. The career of a public servant who made a positive difference for 33 years can be trashed in the seconds of a negative TV ad. Rita Glenn, with 33 years of service in the St. Joseph County clerk’s office, 12 of those years as the clerk, wanted …

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s like a virus is spreading throughout the American intelligence and upper reaches of the federal government. “Classified” and “top secret” documents are turning up in Florida, Delaware and now Indiana. Last August, it was the FBI “search” of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort that cranked up the conspiracy machine once again. …

INDIANAPOLIS — How far back should we look to evaluate where we have been and where we are going? What factors should we consider? The wise analyst/consultant picks that period of time and those factors which make the folks paying the bill happiest. Since this column won’t pay me enough to buy a breaded tenderloin sandwich, …

Lawmakers should say no to expansion ANDERSON, Ind. — The headline gets straight to the point. “After two decades of studying voucher programs,” it says, “I’m now firmly opposed to them. Here’s why public money should not be funding private tuition.” The headline appears over an article written by Joshua Cowen, a professor of education …