For many Americans, including me, the attraction to the exhausting news surrounding Great Britain's royal family is dumbfounding. The mere existence of a "royal" family is so antithetical to my view of our culture, I usually open my participation in any conversation about the Windsor's with an eye roll, not a bow.

Elizabeth II's passing last week led to Charles III's ascension to the throne, a change that has not occurred since February 6, 1952.

The throne is inherited. So is Indiana's budget surplus.

That's just a silly comparison, right? Not to me it isn't. In August, at the prodding of Gov. Eric Holcomb, the Indiana General Assembly approved a program to send $1 billion of what is approximately a $6 billion surplus back to Hoosiers. It is a move that most economists believe would only exacerbate the thing it was trying to mitigate — inflation. I appreciate the effort, though my preference would be to either refund it all or do something unquestionably good with it.

There is no good reason to simply continue keeping it. Unless one is interested in the inheritance.

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