Editor's note
Steve Ealy was educated to be a political scientist, which he taught for several years at the college level. But over time, he moved to a broader scope at the Liberty Fund as a political philosopher, analyzing major literary works from the past and tracing their patterns in our times. Hear his views at the Who Gets What? podcast, available at mortonjohn.libsyn.com.
The Indiana General Assembly passed a budget in which it hid a variety of nasty provisions. As usual, about 50% of that budget was for elementary and secondary public education. Those elected self-righteous, self-serving “servants of the people” proudly proclaim their support for education by further weakening what they profess to protect, public education from preK-12 right up through the public universities.

Legislators have the idea that they and parents know what is best for our children. It’s a myth in which the misled majority wallows. It’s like other myths about consumer sovereignty. People know what they want, but they don’t necessarily have the vision, knowledge, or experience to be wise shoppers or parents. That’s why we have public schools, to develop citizens who understand their relationships and obligations to each other rather than just as consumers for whom self-satisfaction is the primary goal in life.

Soon after those budgetary decisions were made, the 2023 national data on education finance in each state was released. Will these 2023 data, or those of any year, have resonance with our legislators?

Before we start to make judgments about Indiana, let’s get this clear. The national data can be misleading. Current expenditures for instruction per student in 2023 for the nation was $9,762 and $7,224 in Indiana, 74% of the national level. But the national level is heavily influenced by the most populous states (California, Texas, Florida, and New York). If we consider the 50 states (without the District of Columbia) as each of equal importance, the median state spends $8,938 and Indiana is 81% of that figure.

Well, if being in the middle of the pack is our goal, being 19% off target is better than missing by 26%. We’re comfortable even when it is noted Indiana spends just $17.88 per $1,000 of Personal Income on instruction or 84% of the $21.22 national level.

But, pause the applause. Think about those numbers. Our $17.88 is 40th among the states. We spend 1.8% of our income on the instruction of our students. If that is half of the state budget, perhaps the state budget is too small.

Hoosier Cheap is not an automobile; it is a way of life. Perhaps a way of life that goes back to the early 1950s when relatively high incomes during the Korean War made Hoosiers very comfortable and comparatively prosperous. Today, the children and grandchildren of those “greatest Americans” are stuck in a mold from which they do not wish to be released. Ignorant of opportunities in the present, they will not provide today’s students with the tools to free themselves from the past.
Morton J. Marcus is an economist formerly with the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. His column appears in Indiana newspapers, and his views can be followed his podcast.

© 2025 Morton J. Marcus

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