Says Indiana Representative Mike Pence:

“I think, rightly understood, the cap and trade legislation represents an economic declaration of war on the Midwest by liberals in Washington, D.C.,” Pence said in a telephone interview.

Pence says that climate change legislation could cost the average American household more than $3,000 a year in higher energy costs.

“An economic declaration of war on the Midwest by liberals in Washington, D.C.” Really, Mike? With tempered, reasonable language like that, it’s hard figuring why the Democrats aren’t much inclined to work with Republicans like Mr. Pence. (Yes, I know, people can find overblown quotes from Democrats and, therefore, they are all equivalently bad.)

But, let’s ignore the language for a moment, and consider whether carbon dioxide emission caps disproportionately affect the Midwest and whether they ought to. Apparently we burn coal for our power more than in other regions. Our pollutants get blown away from us and on to others. It’s not that this legislation increases the cost of our energy production. Rather, it internalizes the cost so that the cost is reflected in the price. In fairness, we really shouldn’t be permitted to offload our costs in the form of pollution, the consequences of which are borne by third parties who neither produced nor consumed the coal-generated energy.

Nick Werner, of the Muncie Star Press, brings us the story of a civic-minded business owner in Delaware County. Apparently this business owner regards the requirement that he maintain his properties and keep them from becoming a blight on the community as “communism.” Obviously, I only have this story to go on, so maybe Mr. Hicks is being treated unfairly, but from this story it appears he regards civic duty as being a step away from Bolshevism.

The city’s Unsafe Building Hearing Authority on Tuesday leveled $10,000 in civil penalties against Arthur Hicks Jr. for failing to meet clean-up deadlines at the abandoned former American Lawnmower factory at 705 E. 18th St.

Hicks told the UBHA he did not have time to clean up the lawnmower factory because he is under a separate court order to clean up the former Car Doctors auto salvage yard at 1004 S. Burlington.

“It’s just like a damn communist country is what it’s getting to be like,” Hicks told the hearing authority.

He then told the hearing authority to kiss his “ass” and stormed out of the City Hall auditorium before the hearing authority actually took action against him.

The lawnmower factory was one of two Hicks-owned buildings on the UBHA agenda Tuesday.

I have not fully developed my thinking on this one, but this story struck me because yesterday I had been trying to identify what bothered me about protests that government is trampling on individual liberties. I certainly enjoy my individual liberties, so there has to be something else involved. I have tentatively decided it has to do with the feeling that for many, such protests aren’t so much for the freedom to pursue one’s self-interest with minimal government intrusion, but merely a plea to excuse mere selfishness with no regard for civic duty or one’s role in or impact upon the community. Mr. Hicks — as portrayed in this article anyway — was free to open and pursue his various business interests, and was apparently allowed to do so long enough to let his properties become run-down and a problem. His action or inaction with respect to his property has an impact on his neighbors and his community.

A person can and should rise and fall in life to a great deal based upon their own actions. But that is not the entire story. A lot of opportunities available to those here are not available to those in other places; Burkina Faso, say. And it doesn’t matter how hard they work or how clever they are. The opportunities, resources, and other conditions in their communities and countries simply are not the same. The protests of those complaining of overbearing government are frequently devoid of any acknowledgment of this fact, almost maintaining a fiction that these individuals act in isolation without standing on the shoulders of those who came before and in conjunction with those who stand next to them. We are in this together to a larger degree than some of these folks care to admit. That doesn’t mean we should squelch individual initiative in favor of some Borg-like collective. But our interconnectedness needs to be acknowledged. And civic duty is something that ought to be taken seriously.

(H/t Thomas for this link). There is a report on newgeography.com that lists Lafayette as #1 in the nation for its improvement in the “Best Cities for Jobs” rankings.

This year’s rising star is without doubt Lafayette, Indiana with an astounding – and surprising given its Midwestern location – 202-place charge up the rankings from 2008. Like three of the other top five rising stars Lafayette came from a slightly above average position in 2008 to a respectable position in the top 100. These are by no means this year’s best places but their economies are defying the pervasive decline in the national economy.

A visit to the Lafayette Commerce website succinctly tells the tale. “Greater Lafayette wrapped up 2008 with a strong showing.” For Lafayette 2008 was a good year with new capital investments of $600 million, new employment in life sciences industries associated with the Purdue Research Park, and a second new hospital on the way as Greater Lafayette expands its regional healthcare base.

Equally important, Lafayette, like many university and college towns, benefits from the stabilizing presence of Purdue University, the area’s largest employer, which also serves as a force creating new economic opportunities through research, development and access to an educated workforce.

The annual report from Lafayette Commerce concludes by focusing on two key elements of their success. “In Greater Lafayette, we’re choosing not to participate in the national recession by using this opportunity for workforce development and innovation. That’s not to say we have been immune to the troubles of the national economy, but on the whole our community is growing, it’s thriving and improving every day.”

Lafayette went from #287 in 2008 to #85 in 2009. I didn’t dig around too much in the site to see if this information was provided, but I wonder when the data is through. Recently Lafayette has had its share of economic bad news with Caterpillar and Wabash National, in particular, having tough times. But then, I suppose other areas of the country are taking their lumps as well. From recent news reports and my own experience working the local collection beat, I’m surprised to see Lafayette doing so well, comparatively, on the job front.

Just some randomness from my trip down to Indianapolis this morning. I took the kids down to drop them off at their grandma’s and then, on my way back, I grabbed a 6 mile run on the Monon Trail.

#Once again, the Monon is an excellent facility. People were out in full force, running, walking, biking, rollerblading, and just generally enjoying being outside. I hope Tippecanoe County’s trail system eventually grows into something comparable.

#The grifters and pan-handlers were also out in full force. I stopped a a gas station and was approached by a guy with a quick sort of patter that reminded me of about every guy who ever lied to me in court about why they didn’t have any money. When his quick talking got to the subject of money, I interrupted him by saying, “I’m not going to be helping you.” I thought of offering excuses, but then it occurred to me that I didn’t owe him an explanation.

#I have a serious love of Skyline Chili. After my run, I stopped and got a 3-way and a coney. About 1.5 hours later, I’m still happy about it.

#I have demented radio habits. Pretty much the entire way home, I listened to the American Family Radio Network to get my fill of right-wing conservative Christian crazy paranoia. A commercial urging parents to teach their kids to respect authority was followed by a talk show host distressed by a DHS report that suggests that right-wing militants might be characterized by a violent opposition to government authority. He suggested that the government ought to be less worried about political speech and more worried about Islamic speech.

Elbow deep in papers today. Litigation kills trees. Dead.

SB 492 caught my eye because of its expansive scope. The bill title is: “A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning trade regulation, property, and courts and court officers.” It might as well be entitled “A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning laws.”

Article 4, section 19 requires that “An act, except an act for the codification, revision or rearrangement of laws, shall be confined to one subject and matters properly connected therewith.”

That said, the courts aren’t going to overturn anything both Houses of the General Assembly agree to and isn’t vetoed by the governor on the basis that a bill covered too much ground. In this case, the bill addresses gift cards, foreclosures, and licensure of those engaging in mortgage transactions. Mostly, the gift card issue is the only thing that seems not to mesh very well with the rest of the bill.

Following up on an incident I blogged about a few times in the past, Terry Record plead guilty to a Class C felony of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, causing death. He was drinking at the Brass Flamingo before striking Jimmy Cash with his car and killing him.

Record faces two to eight years in prison at sentencing June 2, though Indiana law allows the judge to suspend all or part of the sentence.

Lesley Stedman Weidenbener has an article discussing the Senate debate over how to allocate education dollars. Senate Democrats offered an amendment that would have allocated more money to the poorer and more troubled schools. Senate Republicans thought this unfair and promoted a formula that was more equal in terms of dollars-per-student. The real negotiations will probably take place at the conference committee stage.

This is one of those situations where I’m glad others are making the hard decisions. On the one hand, I can see where students who start further behind might need more resources to get them on an equal footing with their peers elsewhere in Indiana. And, fixed costs play a factor in making “per student” funding approaches less than ideal. On the other hand, I’m leery of sending piles of money to ineffective money-pits.

The Lafayette Journal & Courier has a couple of articles about how the recession is affecting people’s health. Basically, the dynamic is that people are short on money, they skimp on medicines, and the lack of medicine affects their ability to work. Nasty cycle.

Dorothy Schneider has an article about the recession’s affect on those with mental health problems while Linda Johnson, for the Associated Press, has an article about the recession’s affect on diabetics.

People skimping on medicine up front also increases the nation’s overall health care bill. They don’t take their medicine because they can’t afford it. Then, they get really sick and get treated in the emergency room which, often times, is an order of magnitude more expensive than the medicine would have been. (Mental health has a similar “emergency room” dynamic — with the decline of readily available resources for the mentally ill, chances increase for the mentally ill to cross paths with the law at some point, at which time, their treatment becomes much more expensive and less effective in a correctional setting than it would have been in a medical setting.)

On the other hand, some of the failure to take medicine may have to do with poor decision making. I came across this quote in the diabetes article:

“By December, people were making decisions in terms of, ‘Do I fill this prescription or … buy Christmas presents for my kids?”‘ Lasky added.

If it’s truly a choice between these things, pretty clearly, you fill the prescription. It makes you wonder what purchases folks are making a higher priority than their medicines. Food and shelter go above medicine, but after that, medicine probably has to be one of the first priorities. Diabetes isn’t something to mess around with.

Happy Easter everyone. Not being a religious guy, my appreciation of the holiday is based on the themes of renewal and Spring. That’s where the eggs and bunnies and whatnot come from, and these are not specifically Christian. In other words, you don’t have to believe in the divinity of Jesus in order to be happy that winter is over, the sun has returned, and life is more common than death.

The Resurrection is probably where I break from Christianity most significantly. I believe Jesus lived, taught some very important moral lessons, and then died on the cross. I don’t believe he was a God, came back from the dead, or was otherwise magic.