Carrying a heavy burden during this pandemic are parents of young children. The No. 1 weight on their shoulders is child care — the lack thereof.

The producer price index for final demand slowed sharply to a 0.2% increase in December, undershooting the consensus forecast of a 0.4% increase, and slowing from a 0.8% increase in November. December’s increase was the slowest in 13 months. Holding down the headline increase, final demand e…

Even if you’re unfamiliar with the term “retargeting,” you’ve likely seen the concept in action.

Last month the state’s largest health care firm, IU Health, announced it would freeze prices through 2025. That end date is tentative, and the plan is short on public details. However, there has been enough reporting about the issue that we can begin to understand how financially important t…

Last week in this space, data showed Indiana performed well compared to most other states in the COVID-induced economic decline and rebound of 2020-21. Today, consider a longer period of time, 2007 through 2019.

The property tax is the biggest source of tax revenue for most Indiana local governments, and they were worried about the effect of the COVID recession on property tax revenues.

The end of 2021 must be met with relief by most Americans. It was a grim and dangerous year that needed not have been so awful. As 2020 passed into memory, there were signs of hope everywhere. The miracle of vaccination offered to end the COVID pandemic that gave our economy its worst year o…

Cartoonists again have represented the new year of 2022 as a baby in diapers. More appropriately, 2022 peeks in cautiously, wearing a mask, standing in a circle with a 12-foot diameter, and a certificate of vaccination in hand.

Indiana Republican lawmakers are considering several issues related to public schools for debate during their next legislative session, begins the story in Newsweek, “including potentially adding the choice to be identified on the ballot with a particular political party when running for a s…

Over the past few months, family illness occasioned some marathon sessions of Hallmark movie watching. Since October, their programming has been an endless stream of Christmas movies, often casting the same actors in more or less contemporary movies.

After 2020, we could not imagine 2021 extending the reality of COVID’s evolutionary attack on humanity. But it happened.

Last week Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced the distribution of roughly a half-billion dollars for READI Grant proposals. To many readers, this will seem like governmental inside baseball, or just another big spending program. It is not, at least not yet. The plain fact is that clusters of…

This can be a frantic time around the holidays, hustling to complete projects before the end of the year, and planning for the coming year. And while this is a great time to review your HR policies and employee handbooks, that project often gets put on the back burner. So, with the vigor of …

Those masters of Happy News, the Indiana General Assembly, are preparing to cut taxes as state tax revenues run higher than their forecasts and ahead of collections last year. Two powerful reasons for Legislative Largess, if you are an unreasoning robot.

It is economic forecasting season, so universities and consulting groups are offering their projections for 2022. I did so this week, continuing work from Ball State University that started a half-century ago. Over the last 50 years, a dozen or so Ball State economists have authored economic…

In 2007, 143.2 million wage and salaried employees in the U.S. were paid $6.4 trillion. That averaged out to $44,652. Time passes. Prices rise.

In September of 2020, my company launched the Asher Marketing Podcast, which strives to help marketers tell their story and discuss the challenges in today’s fast-paced environment. Now, more than 50 episodes later, the podcast has an established (albeit small) audience and good momentum as …

Thanksgiving at my home was a delightful affair. We enjoyed a large family gathering, well-seasoned with old and new friends. Nobody spoke of inflation, which is always a welcomed thing. In fact, my advice to anyone whose Thanksgiving table is despoiled by macroeconomics, is to establish har…

2020 will be the missing year. Before and after 2020 will be the years we see as the continuum of our lives. 2020 will be the Great Interruption, a chasm for some and just a dip for others caused by COVID-19.

Thanksgiving is upon us again, bringing to mind the pilgrim story. That is a fine tale of religious refugees, which is probably the most enduring and evocative American experience. But rightly understood, the American Thanksgiving comes to us from Abraham Lincoln. It was made by his proclama…

Normally, I wait until mid-December. This year, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of this weekly homily, I went early for my annual visit with Elvin Elfenhausen at the North Pole. As we downed rounds of Santa Sauce from our tankards in the Polar Pub, we talked about forecasting.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its much anticipated Emergency Temporary Standard, i.e. the Rule, for employers of 100 or more employees to implement a COVID-19 vaccine mandate or testing alternative a few weeks ago. Not surprisingly, the Rule requires employe…

Recently, I searched for a business that moved from one site to another. I drove into the complex of buildings to which I knew they moved, but their name was not to be found on any entrance sign. Hence, I called the firm’s office where a recording assured me my call was appreciated and a ret…

It seems likely the Indiana General Assembly will discuss major tax changes this year. This discussion is warranted for many reasons. First, this is a non-budget session, and these matters take time. So, beginning homework on our taxes is prudent, even if change takes several years. Second, …

In the small forest behind our house, the leaves are falling in showers of color. They return to the earth the nutrients taken from the earth. It is one of the great cycles of nature.

Last month, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation made public all 17 regional proposals for the state’s READI Grant program. Since the program was announced, I’ve been dreading this date primarily because I was confident the program would fall short of even modest expectations. The pr…