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Nov. 25, 2009
Daniel Pipes: Islamism 2.0
JWisdom.com: No God … No You! Know God, Know You! with Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (8 minutes)
Nov. 24, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran : The Atheists' unintended gift
JWisdom.com: You are a Philanthropist with Aliza Bulow (5 minutes)
Nov. 23, 2009
JWisdom.com: Actually, it really is all about you with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff
Nov. 20, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: How to make every second of your life come first
Caroline B. Glick: Whither American Jewry
Nov. 19, 2009
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Please Listen to this Godcast (5 minutes)
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity
Nov. 12, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat
JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Feb. 12, 2009 / 18 Shevat 5769

The other Indiana

By Cal Thomas


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | When President Obama visited Elkhart, Ind., on Monday to flog his economic stimulus plan (aka more government spending), he saw a struggling town in the midst of a relatively prosperous state. Had he taken the time to visit Indianapolis and met with Republican Governor Mitch Daniels, he would have seen a different picture.


Indiana has a $1.3 million surplus and a "rainy day fund" made up of contributions that come from a unique concept these days: government spending less than it receives from taxpayers, without raiding its cash reserves.


Among several things that troubled me about President Obama's appearance in Elkhart and his news conference that night was the absence of any call for individual initiative to help get us out of our economic funk. The president and the congressional majority party appear to believe that when one gets a job, he should hold that job all his life and retire with a good pension. Furthermore, that person should never be expected to move (migrate) in the pursuit of better opportunities — and the federal government must address anything that interferes with that scenario.


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Opportunities remain in Indiana, despite the difficulties in Elkhart, for those with the vision and initiative to seize them. According to the governor's office, since January 2005, 647 businesses have committed to creating 80,043 jobs and to investing $18.8 billion in their Indiana operations. In an online search of the Indianapolis Star newspaper on Tuesday, I found links to 2,398 jobs in, or within a 30-mile radius of Indianapolis. There are even help wanted postings in the Elkhart newspaper.


Have we become so indolent, so used to others doing for us, that we have lost the initiative so many of our forebears had, initiative that built and sustained this country through much harder times than this? I suspect many of them would have gladly traded their real hard times for what we have now, which is prosperity squared compared to apple selling, dust bowls and the shanties in which many of them lived.


Because Governor Daniels doesn't see government as a first resource, he has enough revenue to do what government should do — build and repair roads, encourage telecommunication reform, promote research and development, stimulate the manufacture of goods that others outside the state and country wish to buy. (In 2007, Indiana exported to foreign countries a record $25.9 billion worth of goods, up more than 14 percent from the previous year.)


The state ranks first in the Midwest for its business climate (and fifth in the nation), reports Site Selection magazine, Nov. 2008. According to Forbes magazine, Indiana has the lowest business cost index in the Midwest and sixth lowest in the country. And most important of all in this "government knows best" climate, Indiana ranks first in the Midwest and 14th nationally in the Tax Foundation's 2009 Business Tax Climate Index. Other states, like New York, New Jersey, California and Michigan are driving businesses away because of heavy taxation to support expanding government and increasingly oppressive and counterproductive regulations.


Indiana can balance its budget without tax hikes because Governor Daniels doesn't see government as primary, but somewhere down the list behind initiative, risk-taking, personal responsibility and accountability. While all may not start out the same in life, many can overcome whatever handicaps they might have, if they subscribe to certain principles known to every generation. Politicians that tell us we can't succeed without them and, if we do, they will grab increasing amounts of our prosperity, have replaced the stories of those who have overcome.


One of the questioners at the president's press conference expressed concern that he might be "talking down" the economy and causing people to lose faith in themselves and the country. The president brushed off the question, repeating that these are, in fact, tough times.


Where is the "we can do this together" spirit of yesteryear? Maybe everyone should be required to watch the film "Hoosiers" about a high school basketball team beset by conflict on and off the court. With a new coach, the players catch the vision, start to believe in themselves, and manage to win the state championship. Where's our Hoosier spirit?

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JWR contributor Cal Thomas is co-author with Bob Beckel, a liberal Democratic Party strategist, of "Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That is Destroying America". Comment by clicking here.

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