Columns

By LARRY DeBOER, Guest Columnist

All of a sudden the state has money. The recent December forecast revision increased expected revenues by $516 million for the biennium. It’s been almost 10 years since we’ve seen that much added revenue at the start of a legislative session.

And that’s not all. Suddenly, there’s an added $288 million in state balances, the money in the state’s checking account. That’s in addition to the added forecast revenue.

By LEE HAMILTON, Center for Congress

The failure of the congressional “supercommittee” to reach an agreement on reducing the deficit was not just bad fiscal news. It was a significant failure of political leadership.

Not only did the committee move us one step closer to a genuine fiscal crisis, but also it put the dysfunction of Congress on full display. At a time of great economic stress, its members lost sight of what failure would cost the country in lost economic growth and foregone job creation.

By KEVIN KOELLING, Managing Editor

Some of the news emerging from the Occupy movement makes me want to go to one of their protest sites, walk around and just get some of that stuff all over me.

No, not the pepper spray. The good stuff.

By LARRY DeBOER, Guest Columnist

Just in time for Christmas, or the holiday of your choice, Indiana’s Department of Local Government Finance has released its new Gateway data site. It contains a virtual ton of budget and tax information about counties, cities, towns and other local governments.

You can see it at https://gateway.ifionline.org.

A new toy! Let’s try it out.