Here is the most recent data by the state of Indiana showing children receiving school vouchers-
This school year, 29,148 students received vouchers, or 2.6 percent of the total state student population, according to the Choice Scholarship program’s annual report released in February. IDOE paid those private and Christian schools nearly $116 million in the 2014-15 school year.
Just Facts Daily posted the following question:
In the U.S., what portion of all trash (measured by weight) is recycled, burned for energy, or composted?
Answer: 46%
You can read more facts on trash at JustFactsDaily.com
Indiana teacher unions have gained some members since their big drop off in 2011. EAGnews.org first reported numbers in 2012:
According to internal sources at the Indiana State Teachers Association, membership has dropped by more than 20 percent – from 50,032 in 2010-11 to 39,922 in 2011-12.
The ISTA (Indiana State Teachers Association) now boasts membership at 45,000 which means membership has gone up.
Some districts are still losing union membership. Tippecanoe School District, gave a glimpse in how much the drop off is. Reporting via jconline.com:
The Lafayette Education Association saw a 17 percent drop in the past four school years; membership decreased from 400 members, or 67 percent of Lafayette School Corp. teachers, in September 2011 to 332 members, or 56 percent of teachers, in September 2014.
The Tippecanoe Education Association saw a 26 percent drop during that same time period — dropping from 420 members, or 67 percent of Tippecanoe School Corp. teachers, to 310 members, or 46 percent.
Nationally union membership has dropped double digits the last 30 years.
In 2014, about 49 percent of teachers — or about 2.5 million — were union members. That’s down from 53 percent just a decade ago, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 1984, teachers union coverage was at 64 percent.
Former Florida Congressman Lt. Colonel Allen West recently posted a scathing piece denouncing stereotypes military recruits face in segments of American society. Within the piece he outlined some interesting stastitics the Army faces in recruiting future soldiers.
Here is the breakdown:
The recruiting pool for the U.S. Army is individuals between 17 and 24 years old. 71 percent would not qualify to join the Army.
What are the major disqualifiers? First, some 31 percent cannot join because of multiple felonies and other moral issues such as drug use or other law violations. The other major category that disqualifies 17 to 24-year-olds is lack of fitness/obesity and other medical issues.
Only two percent can’t qualify for the Army now due to aptitude/academic issues, so the major disqualifying points have to do with moral and physical standards.
Here are the numbers broken down of the qualified applicants:
Now understand, of the 29 percent who could qualify, here is the breakdown that LTC Patton and his staff shared with me. Only 15 percent of individuals age 17 to 24 have any interest in joining the military.
Smoking marijuana is a big topic of the day. While the use of this product doesn’t offend me the talking points are downright absurd. I have more respect for people if they just say they want to use it to get high than some of the things I’ll comment down below.
My [Insert Person I Know] Got Multiple Years in Prison for Just Having Marijuana
This is the most common thing I hear in the legalization of marijuana debate. I can tell you from my past and current experience in the law enforcement arena that having a small quantity of marijuana never puts someone in prison for 50 years. In the year 2000 I was a rookie cop and riding along with my FTO. We pulled a car over and smelled marijuana with the driver fully intoxicated from marijuana. (LEGAL NOTE, marijuana field tests were evolving by the minute during this time period) I asked if they had been smoking and they said yes. Upon search of the person we found two marijuana joints. I looked at my FTO in trying to judge how we were to precede. He told the driver to put both joints on the ground and stomp on them. The guy obliged. We had him call for a ride and had his vehicle towed. Please note we didn’t send him to a maximum security prison. I asked my FTO why we didn’t make an arrest. He explained the courts were already swamped with wife beaters and bad check writers, a judge wouldn’t want to deal with “two joints”.
I do come across the stories of people knowing someone who went to prison over marijuana. The stories are compelling and usually critical parts are left out. Most of the time it takes a very basic search of someone’s criminal past to understand why they went to prison for just having marijuana. “But my uncle having marijuana is a non-violent crime and now he sits in a prison”. Well, after looking up your uncle I found he also did multiple stints in prison for robbery, car theft and selling drugs within a school area. I guess the whole “following your parole/probation criteria” is thrown out because selling weed is a non-violent crime.
Marijuana Will Bring in Tax Revenue
Bringing tax revenue to the church of government absolves a lot of sin in American society. When the marijuana debate took off and Colorado instituted legalization, the tax revenue claims were touted by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper of $100 Million year tax revenue (read “COLORADO’S POT REVENUE GOES UP IN SMOKE”) 
Some would see this as just a financial prediction, but it really was a societal claim that all the marijuana smokers would come out of the shadows and purchase weed in a proficient way. Through many conversations I had with people who believed this I emphatically stated that if you’re currently getting good weed from Frank the dope dealer, what would compel you to drop him and go to a marijuana shop to purchase it at a higher price?
Marijuana supporters usually come back with a defensive posture of some tax revenue is better than none, even if the financial analysis is way off. So be it, but just remember, government doesn’t make tax revenue projections for nothing. They usually make the projection and already spend the money and let the chips fall for when revenue actually comes in (surplus or deficits).
MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS
These guys are the main players of supplying most of the drugs in America. They control the entire country of Mexico, have supply routes that make UPS and FedEx blush and are deliberately let in on a constant basis by the United States Federal Government through lax border security. So how does this relate to the legalization of marijuana? Because many Americans believe once you legalize, these drug cartels will simply disappear. No they won’t and will only get more brutal and switch to different drugs (heroin is going into Chicago and being dealt right here in Indiana). The cartels operate in almost 1,300 cities and in sworn testimony September 2014 the DEA said Colorado legalizing only make them send more drugs. The cartels sent more weed there because the black market on marijuana would grow due to prices skyrocketing in legally approved shops. Cartels are also beginning to shakedown shop owners. Just like a scene out of Sopranos collecting neighborhood taxes, the cartels are walking into the shops and saying, “Monthly fee will keep the fires away”. 
What is the solution? Marijuana activists should become friends real quick with the philosophy of the US Military enforcing the border. You set up an aggressive strategy of the military standing on the border and you cut off easily 80% of all drugs coming from Mexico and South America. State and federal governments are coming with regulations on the selling and chemical makeup of marijuana, once this happens legal marijuana sellers will be undersold by the cartels. They are much more organized than Johnny the dope dealer with a permit. Only way to give legal sellers a chance to survive and lessening violence law enforcement see with cartels will be closing off the border.
Edited by SJ Himes
Entering the arena of “predictions” is tricky. When making a prediction you must have valid evidence that something is about to happen or is just happening along with a time frame. Environmentalist and their followers take it to another extreme. They had a nice run in the early to mid 2000’s but more and more evidence grows that a lot of the data they showered the public with was very manipulated.
The bloggers over at Economic Policy Journal put a post up having a little fun of the dire predictions from environmentalists over the dedcades. Here is the full write up but I’ll post some of the predictions below.
In 1971, Stanford University professor Paul Ehrlich, who is perhaps best known for his 1968 book The Population Bomb, said in a speech at the British Institute for Biology. “By the year 2000 the United Kingdom will be simply a small group of impoverished islands, inhabited by some 70 million hungry people,” he claimed. “If I were a gambler, I would take even money that England will not exist in the year 2000 and give ten to one that the life of the average Briton would be of distinctly lower quality than it is today.”
In 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted in its global-warming report, that the planet would see “warmer winters and fewer cold spells, because of climate change.”
In the years. 2007, 2008, and 2009, Gore publicly warned that the North Pole would be “ice-free” in the summer by around 2013 because of alleged “man-made global warming.”
Univeristy of Notre Dame is raising their tuition again. Get ready to pay according to the Indianapolis Star:
The University of Notre Dame is raising undergraduate tuition by 3.7 percent to $47,929 next school year.
The university says with average room and board rates of $13,846, the annual cost of attending Notre Dame will be $61,775.
The school said the 3.7 percentage increase in tuition and fees is the lowest at Notre Dame since there was no increase in 1960. Tuition had increased 3.8 percent for three straight years.
For the “there is no inflation” crowd, in just the last four years tuition has now increased 15.1%.
This is just one example of political correctness having an actual cost associated with it. Story courtesy of College Fix:
PUBLIC UNIVERSITY SPENDS $16K ON CAMPAIGN TO WARN STUDENTS TO WATCH WHAT THEY SAY
‘Inclusive Language Campaign’ debuts at University of Michigan
Dozens of posters plastered across the University of Michigan caution students not to say things that might hurt others’ feelings, part of a new “Inclusive Language Campaign” at the state’s flagship public university that cost $16,000 to implement.
Words declared unacceptable through the campaign include “crazy,” “insane,” “retarded,” “gay,” “tranny,” “gypped,” “illegal alien,” “fag,” “ghetto” and “raghead.” Phrases such as “I want to die” and “that test raped me” are also verboten.
University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald told The College Fix in an email the campaign aims to “address campus climate by helping individuals understand that their words can impact someone and to encourage individuals to commit to creating a positive campus community.”
You can read the rest here.
Wall Street Journal is showing a growing trend of high school students entering college still needing remedial help.
In the last 12 years, students needing at least one remedial course has risen 160%.
When The Ohio State football team hoisted their BCS football trophy in the air earlier this month, students back in Columbus also got a boost from merchandise sales. Here’s more from The Columbus Dispatch:
Winning the first national championship in the new playoff system is a gift that Ohio State University officials expect will keep giving — and one that ultimately will benefit students.
They expect a $3 million bump in royalties over last year from licensed merchandise sales, based on anticipated revenue of $17 million in royalties this year.
Just how is the merchandise money divided at the university?
For every dollar that goes into the licensing office, 55 cents goes to academic affairs, which handles scholarships, libraries, ongoing programs and the university’s 14 college units; 15 cents goes to the athletics department; 15 cents goes to the alumni association; and 15 cents goes to the student life program and its 1,000 student organizations.
You can read the rest of the article here.
Hoosier Econ 