Please excuse slowness at this end; vision is hampered in the morning by a corneal condition that is awaiting corrective surgery.

But that's small fry compared to the state's property tax nightmare, which everyone is talking about -- even out here in the boondocks of Putnam County. True, nobody is hollering here in extrmis like they are in Marion County, where property taxes have doubled and tripled for some. But as the capital goes, so goes the state. The rural environs and little towns are not doing so hot as it stands; since moving to West Central Indiana in 2000, we've seen numerous small and big business failures, as well as the ongoing struggles and continued slow growth of what I call the shadow economy -- that's code for flea markets and bartering.

That said, property taxes are not killing us out here, yet. For 91 acres and a 2600 square foot custom home, we pay $3,152.08 a year -- what some people in Butler-Tarkington and Meridian Kessler are paying for much smaller plots of land and much smaller, older residences. This is hardly gloating; if my kids and friends in the city's core are suffering, so am I, and so are we all.

Everyone knows the property tax system was broken, and many agree that Indiana has been undertaxed for years, in contrast to other states with more vibrant economies. But what is happening right now is brutal. Everyone who votes this year should look hard at their incumbent in the Statehouse and consider tossing that person out; something has to give.