EYE ON THE PIE: Take care, the doors are closing in Hammond

By Morton Marcus Times Business Columnist

What do you care if the Hammond buses stop running? Hammond is up there in the northwest corner of the most northwest county in the state. In fact, what do you care if all the public bus routes in the state were closed down?

EYE ON THE PIE: Tie between output and jobs loosened

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

Crusty Crawford joined our lunch table with a pronouncement. "We've always assumed a close tie between output and employment," he said. No one responded.

EYE ON THE PIE: Tools needed to help repair economy

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

My friend is a carpenter. He has two heavy boxes of tools and several other containers with stuff. I recognize some of the tools, but many of them are mysterious to me.

EYE ON THE PIE: Compensation levels did not cause the recession

By Morton J. Marcus

America is still fascinated with "The Price is Right." We watch HGTV to discover the right price of real estate. For many generations economists have searched for the right price, the just price.

EYE ON THE PIE: A book on education worth reading from NWI

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

Rarely do I find a book that I can suggest to all my friends. "College Acceleration: Innovating Through the New American Research High School" by Eric Ban is such a book.

EYE ON THE PIE: Baseball offers opportunity and entertainment

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

The baseball season is here. Basketball and hockey are slipping behind us. Football lies ahead. This is the time to appreciate, to celebrate the excitement and suspense of our great American game.

EYE ON THE PIE: Massive tax gap plagues nation

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

Hoosiers, as Americans everywhere, have prepared or are preparing their 2011 tax returns. These voluntary and timely payments account for about 85 percent of the taxes owed to the federal government. Are you part of the 15 percent not in comp…

EYE ON THE PIE: It's not over til it's over

By Morton Marcus Times Business Columnist

Whenever I tell an audience the recession is over and the recovery is over, they look at me in disbelief. When I say further we are now in an economic expansion, they laugh.

EYE ON THE PIE: Jobs data disputed

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

Congratulations to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development on the following media release from March 13:

EYE ON THE PIE: Vouchers raise meaningful questions

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

I have no inherent opposition to school vouchers. The idea parents should be able to choose what schools their children attend is fine with me, within limits. That the state should pay for education stirs no primitive animosity in my soul.

EYE ON THE PIE: They've gone home; it's safe to think again

By Morton Marcus

Listen. You don't hear them. Instead you hear the birds of spring. They, the birds of the General Assembly, have flown to the corners of the state.

EYE ON THE PIE: Economists' skills can be improved

By Morton J Marcus Times Business Columnist

"Psst, bud," the voice spoke from the shadows. "Wanna earn a few bucks ... easy like?"

EYE ON THE PIE: Putting perspective to unemployment

By Morton Marcus Times Business Columnist

Amid the noise of the Republican primaries and the deafening silence of the Democrats, here are a few words of simple reality.

Eye on the Pie

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

I've been trying to escape the partisan politics now dominating our state and our country. My efforts have not been successful.

EYE ON THE PIE: Yes, unemployment rates are confusing

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

There is a parody going around on the internet of the famous Abbott and Costello routine "Who's on first?" This one concerns the unemployment rate and the fact some people choose to drop out of the labor force after experiencing a prolonged p…

EYE ON THE PIE: Vitality of local economies examined

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

Euturn Wright, the noted economic development specialist, was in Indianapolis for the Super Bowl extravaganza. I talked with him as we stood waiting to climb the stairs for the zip line. This exhilarating 800–foot ride down a cable from a hei…

EYE ON THE PIE: Taxing and spending centralized in Indiana

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

The ongoing trend in state–local government relations in Indiana is increasing paternalism.

EYE ON THE PIE: Don't blame me; the media made me do it

By Morton J Marcus Times Business Columnist

"It's simple," Harry the Hipster tells me. "You guys, and most economists are guys, make this stuff so complicated. So much of this is connected to that, with this exception and that caution, like maybe nobody can understand. You get my drift?"

EYE ON THE PIE: An easy solution to unemployment

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

In case you did not notice, the major problem in the economy is weakness in the construction industry. Although recovery has taken place in most sectors, construction, particularly residential construction, continues in the doldrums.

EYE ON THE PIE: Hurry-up is unnecessary

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

Herbert Humbler, a Hoosier more modest that most, points out a new trend in Indiana. "I'm not sure, but it seems to me," he says, "that we are into an era where ordinary caution so typical of Indiana is being forsaken for accelerated action. …

EYE ON THE PIE: RIght-to-work is the wrong way to go

By Morton J. Marcus Times Business Columnist

The Indiana General Assembly would do the state a service by NOT bringing right–to–work legislation up for a vote. This is contrary to the position of the governor and the Republican leaders who see a political opportunity to stomp on unions …

Hoosier income growth negative, lags the nation

By Morton J. Marcus Times Columnist

The latest data on the Indiana economy were released last week by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis. If any news outlets carried the story, I missed it.

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