Michael Hicks

Muncie

Father of 3 marvels. Lucky husband. Parent lottery winner. Ret’d infantryman. George & Frances Ball Dist. Prof. of Econ, VMI '84, UT ‘98, personal account.

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Articles

Most Indiana counties have no market for new home construction | Opinion

4 days ago | indystar.com | Michael Hicks

The U.S. faces three types of housing market problems, with three very different types of solutions. Yet, policy efforts at the city level to the state level treat all three the same. Ironically, this makes things worse across many places — particularly here in Indiana, where our biggest problem is misdiagnosed and mistreated, which ultimately worsens it. NIMBYism isn't the problem in IndianaNationally, the big economic problem is that markets build too few homes in large, highly productive cities.
Trump's tariffs make manufacturing workers more expendable than ever | Opinion

1 week ago | indystar.com | Michael Hicks

Whenever President Trump’s tariff fiasco comes to an end, we will turn attention to the lasting impacts. It is not a pretty picture. One of the many contradictory explanations of the Trump tariffs is that this will bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. That is asinine. The dominant effect of the Trump tariffs will be to raise production costs on almost every American manufacturing firm. This includes many that don’t even know it yet.
Why Trump's tariffs will lead to recession, even after he caved to China | Opinion

2 weeks ago | usatoday.com | Michael Hicks

Judging from email and social media, my last column, which revised my 2025 economic forecast in light of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, seems to have angered a lot of folks. I’m sorry, but Trump has pushed the U.S. into an economic downturn that will be especially hurtful to Hoosiers. The numbers make that clear. So, if you are among the 37% of Americans who approve of Trump’s economic policies, this column is for you. As of Jan.
Trump's tariff recession is here

3 weeks ago | kpcnews.com | Michael Hicks

Three months ago, I released an economic forecast that I called “the best for Indiana in the 17 years I’ve been doing forecasts.” Sadly, I am revising it to what appears to be the worst forecast of the past 17 years — and maybe the worst postwar economic shock to our state. I said in January the U.S. achieved a soft landing — purging inflation from the economy without a big loss of employment.
Plunging jobs, shrinking auto industry. This is Indiana's economy on tariffs. | Opinion

3 weeks ago | usatoday.com | Michael Hicks

Three months ago, I released an economic forecast that I called “the best for Indiana in the 17 years I’ve been doing forecasts.” Sadly, I am revising it to what appears to be the worst forecast of the past 17 years — and maybe the worst postwar economic shock to our state. I said in January the U.S. achieved a soft landing — purging inflation from the economy without a big loss of employment.
Indiana factories are about to speed up automation — and job cuts | Opinion

1 month ago | indystar.com | Michael Hicks

Indiana’s 2025 legislative session offered a valuable pair of economic lessons. The first is that there are no perfectly good or bad policies, only trade-offs. The second is that the cost of anything is measured by what you relinquish to obtain it — its opportunity cost. The session began with Senate Bill 1, a version of Gov. Mike Braun’s property tax cuts. This legislation provides modest tax cuts to about half of Hoosier families — and less than $300 per year for that lucky half.
IEDC needs to get out of the real estate development business | Opinion

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Michael Hicks

Media reports identified significant accounting problems at the Indiana Economic Development Corp. In response, Gov. Mike Braun has ordered an independent accounting audit. Every Hoosier should applaud that order, but the problems with the IEDC are broader than an accounting issue. Indiana is at a point where fundamental questions about economic development policy and the role of the IEDC need a full-throated public debate.
James Cameron thinks VR is the definitive way to watch his movies

1 month ago | msn.com | Michael Hicks

Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
American scientific brain drain is now happening

1 month ago | kpcnews.com | Michael Hicks

As recently as 1900, American colleges and universities educated too few students and did too little research. One way to gauge that is to examine the Nobel Laureates in the physical sciences — chemistry, physics and physiology or medicine. The awards began in 1901, and over the next two decades only two Americans received the prize, one of whom was an immigrant. We won two more in the 1920s, which is a poor showing for a large, prosperous world power. Then things began to accelerate.
Michael Hicks: American scientific brain drain is now happening

1 month ago | kokomotribune.com | Michael Hicks

As recently as 1900, American colleges and universities educated too few students and did too little research. One way to gauge that is to examine the Nobel Laureates in the physical sciences — chemistry, physics and physiology or medicine. The awards began in 1901, and over the next two decades only two Americans received the prize, one of whom was an immigrant. We won two more in the 1920s, which is a poor showing for a large, prosperous world power. Then things began to accelerate.