Navigating Public Policy, Technology, Health, Data, and Innovation for a Fairer Future
Tariffs are back, louder, sharper, and more lucrative than they’ve been in decades. As of mid-June, the federal government has collected over $72 billion from tariffs in 2025, an 81 percent increase from the same period last year. That kind of growth would turn heads in any revenue stream. But when it comes to understanding Read More “When Revenue Rises but Stability Slips”
Every so often, Congress confronts a decision that seems technocratic on the surface but reveals something deeper about our national character. The current debate over Medicaid funding for rural hospitals is one of those moments. At issue is a provision tucked into the Senate’s sweeping budget legislation. It would lower the threshold for provider taxes Read More “What Happens When Washington Forgets the Heartland”
Last year, I wrote about the mounting risks of student loan delinquency. It was bad then. It is worse now. The American promise was simple: work hard, get educated, and you can build a life. That promise is breaking. Student loans were never just debt; they were the toll you paid for entry into the Read More “The American Dream Is Collapsing Under Student Debt”
It starts the same way every time. You open a browser to check the weather, and seventeen clicks later you’re accepting cookies from a Croatian fishing blog, muting a video about luxury bathtubs, and trying to close an ad that has cleverly disguised itself as the article’s scroll bar. This isn’t the open web we Read More “Every Click You Make: The Slow Decline of the Internet (and the Hidden Cost of ‘Free’)”
Sheila Kennedy, one of Indiana’s sharpest public thinkers, just dropped a masterstroke of modern commentary. Her post, AI Talks to Trump, isn’t just clever, it’s necessary. The premise is simple but profound. What if ChatGPT could summon the rhetorical spirit of Thomas Jefferson, Jesus of Nazareth, and Ronald Reagan, then ask them to speak candidly Read More “AI, Trump, and the Voices of History”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has never lacked influence. But this is the first time she’s trying to wield it like a blade. Her endorsement of Assembly member Zohran Mamdani in the 2025 New York City mayor’s race marks her debut on the political stage not just as an icon, but as a kingmaker. This is the first Read More “The Crown and the Vote: AOC’s First Kingmaker Moment”
The United States pays more for prescription drugs than any other country. That is not a function of better drugs or better care. It is a result of a deliberately engineered system that protects monopolies, encourages price discrimination, and stifles competition from the very products that could save the system billions: biosimilars. Pharmaceutical companies insist Read More “Biosimilars Are the Billion Dollar Solution We Keep Ignoring”
They say when the economy contracts, it takes a while for the layoffs to reach the surface. But in Indiana, they’ve arrived. Ivy Tech, our statewide community college system, just announced the elimination of over 200 jobs. Most people will read that and think “budget tightening.” But if you’ve worked in public education or research, Read More “The Bridge We’re Building”
Some of the smartest people I know are working three jobs, and none of them are full time. A startup CEO I met last month described his team this way: a fractional CFO from Chicago, a part-time brand strategist in Portugal, a contract developer in Vietnam, and a virtual assistant in Indianapolis. The only person Read More “Fractional Work Is Eating the Org Chart”
Modern economies reward efficiency, not reflection. Our institutions—schools, platforms, governments—are calibrated to deliver outcomes, track progress, and benchmark success. In this landscape, the arts are often treated as indulgences: budget-line luxuries, extracurricular distractions, or marketplace novelties. Yet this utilitarian bias misses something profound. The arts are not ornamental. They are infrastructural. They construct emotional intelligence, Read More “Art’s Journey to Wisdom Travels the Path of a Public Good”