Government-run economic development entities are having a difficult time replicating the real thing. News stories from around Indiana point to problems related to creating what I call synthetic economies: The Muncie building commissioner is charged with wire fraud, theft and money-laundering; a Marion TIF district lost $2.5 million on a failed hotel project; Crawfordsville and Montgomery County defunded their economic […]
Eliminating Business Equipment Tax in Allen County As published in the Winter 2017 Indiana Policy Review Journal
In politics, the clock until the next election never stops ticking. While most folks are still licking their wounds or quietly celebrating the recent election results, the political class has already begun the next campaign. Of particular interest is the scramble to name the front runner in the Fort Wayne mayor’s race. Since we’re in the season of making wish […]
In City Council committee chambers on Tuesday the viewing public heard something said that could significantly affect the future of Fort Wayne and the surrounding 11-county area. A seasoned veteran councilman mentioned that there would be discussion at the Fifth Tuesday meeting in January of an RDA tax collected from an increase in the Community Economic Development Income Tax. To […]
I left my recent city council meeting disgusted, having participated in the process of reviewing the compliance of businesses with their abatement agreements. State law requires us to grill companies unable to meet the hiring objectives set forth in their application for the abatement. The abatement process is ludicrous but it is only a symptom; punishing capital formation and production […]
My constituents are scratching their heads. They don’t remember annexation being a topic of discussion during last year’s municipal elections. There was discussion of riverfront development. There were whispers about an arena. But not a word about annexation. It’s difficult, then, for a councilman to gauge citywide sentiment on the issue. Many of my neighbors in the Aboite area of […]
“This is how Liberty dies . . . with thunderous applause.” — Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), “Revenge of the Sith” The excitement over Indiana’s recently announced Regional Cities awards reminds me of the scene in the 2005 Star Wars in which the Galactic Republic is dissolved and is replaced with an emperor. All in attendance responded in a joyous ovation. […]
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