Recent editorials published in Indiana newspapers

The (Munster) Times. June25, 2017

You get what you pay for in taxes, fees

You get what you pay for, and there's a significant difference between frugality and allowing our best assets to deteriorate to a state of functional ruin.

Both of those observations justify the most important tax and fee increases enacted by the Indiana General Assembly in 2017.

No one wants to see shrinking finances, and it's entirely appropriate for everyone to watch proposed government tax increases with a questioning eye.

For years, the Indiana Legislature has been a skeptical steward, resisting tax increases as fixes to state needs, and that's admirable.

It's much like a family trying to get as many years out of a home's roof as possible before replacing it. Eventually, though, leaks spring, the roof begins to fail, and putting off the expense is no longer an option if the family wants to keep their heads and important home assets dry.

The same can be said for the bulk of some 45 new tax or fee increases Hoosiers soon will pay following the 2017 legislative session.

Most important are new taxes we'll pay - along with anyone else who buys fuel while traveling Hoosier roads.

We've heard some critics balk at the 10-cent-per-gallon fuel tax taking effect July 1. Clearly, no one cheers for having to pay more at the pump.

However, it's worth noting improving technologies in fuel efficiency have reduced the cost of driving.

We've put off long-term funding fixes for road improvement and maintenance for too long, and it shows in potholes, bumps and cracks on some of Indiana's most traveled and economically important roadways and bridges. The tax will begin restoring one of the state's most important infrastructure assets.

Without that asset, our state fails. It's as simple as that.

We'll also be paying $15 more to register vehicles at the BMV, again to aid in road maintenance. Both that plate fee and the gas tax are paid by the people who use our state roads, and thus create wear and tear. In the end, the Legislature enacted logical user fees to solve a statewide problem.

Some of the other increases enacted by our lawmakers this year have a direct correlation to the same rising costs we all face.

Most of our household bills rise with inflation. The bills our government pays are no different.

Our state government has historically done a good job ferreting out the needed from the excessive. It also is wise to maintain a budget reserve responsible for Indiana's triple-A bond rating, which means the state pays low interest on borrowed money.

Before we lament new taxes or fees - or accuse state leaders of "taxing and spending" - we should consider what our state would look like if we short-changed our most important assets.

In the end, all roofs spring leaks, requiring revenue for replacement and long-term maintenance.

A state enacting long-term funding plans for such necessities has served its taxpayers.

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The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette. June 24, 2017

Washington Post readers weigh in on Indiana's employment issues

Kosciusko County gets some attention from the Washington Post for its low unemployment rate, but it's the accompanying comments from readers that community leaders and state officials might want to consider.

Reporter Danielle Paquette, who is from Indianapolis, reports on the challenge Zimmer Biomet and other orthopedic device makers face in hiring skilled workers. Kosciusko County's unemployment rate of 2 percent is less than half the national rate, she notes.

"Kosciusko is only one of 73 counties in the United States with unemployment rates of 2 percent or lower, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics," she writes.

"(Zimmer Biomet) is grappling with a steep downside of the nation's low unemployment rate: It is struggling to find enough workers, despite offering some of the region's best pay and benefits. Forty positions sit open," Paquette writes. "Other manufacturers in Kosciusko County, home to roughly one-third of global orthopedic device production, are running into the same problem. The lack of laborers not only threatens to stunt the growth of these companies, experts warn, but it could also force them to decamp their home town in search of workers."

The article highlights how Kosciusko County maintained its economic vitality even as other Midwest communities suffered a decline in manufacturing. It describes efforts the orthopedic device industry and local officials are making to attract and retain workers, including support for programs at Ivy Tech Community College and Warsaw Community Schools.

But the majority of comments posted online in response to the article - more than 1,200 as of Friday - weren't sympathetic to the orthopedic device-makers or to Indiana.

"I can't imagine any company that would intentionally throttle their growth or output for 'lack of labor.' Either pay whatever it takes to get that labor - grow and improve profitability, or stay small and maybe get squeezed out by another company willing to do what you are unwilling to do," writes one. "I'm afraid that the situation is more like....'We can't find enough people to hire at our price point.' "

"Wow! $50,000 a year wages! For a mid-career professional? No wonder these jobs go begging...," writes another.

"Attracting more people to the area would solve a lot of the problem but it is almost always very difficult for outsiders to move in and be accepted by a community whose members go back generations and are very suspicious of and resistant to any sort of change," suggests one reader. "That difficulty becomes an impossibility for ethnic or racial minorities."

"If you have ever driven the length of Indiana, you know how little there is in terms of attractiveness to younger workers in these small rural towns," observes a commenter. "A few bars, chain restaurants, discounters, no culture, fine dining, entertainment, no density of place that makes cities attractive places to live. There is just nothing there to keep a younger worker."

"So why can't people move there, relocate from depressed areas to take the jobs? Too busy smoking meth?" asks another.

Ouch.

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Kokomo Tribune. June 24, 2017

Gerrymandering a bipartisan problem

Of all the forces shaping our politics today, gerrymandering stands alone as the least discussed and most consequential one.

Gerrymandering is defined by Merriam-Webster as: "To divide (a territorial unit) into election districts to give one political party an electoral majority in a large number of districts while concentrating the voting strength of the opposition in as few districts as possible."

This method is as old as the republic. The term itself was created in the early 19th century in Boston, when Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry redrew state legislative districts to his Democratic-Republican party's advantage. One of the districts resembled a salamander. Thus, the combination Gerry and salamander, gerrymander, was coined.

As the Associated Press story published in today's paper points out, though, this favored Republicans in races across the country in 2016.

"The AP analysis also found that Republicans won as many as 22 additional U.S. House seats over what would have been expected based on the average vote share in congressional districts across the country," reported the AP's David A. Leib. "That helped provide the GOP with a comfortable majority that stood at 241-194 over Democrats after the 2016 elections - a 10 percentage point margin in seats, even though Republican candidates received just 1 percentage point more total votes nationwide."

In our state, Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives Brian Bosma and President Pro Tempore of the Indiana State Senate David Long promised to address the issue. Yet, a bill which would address it never even made it to committee.

"A legislative study committee chaired by Rep. Jerry Torr, R-Carmel, looked to fix the issue ahead of the upcoming redistricting in 2021 by recommending a bipartisan independent commission be used to determine political lines," reported CNHI's Christopher Stephens. "The bill, HB1014, was referred to the Committee on Elections and Apportionment in January but never received a vote. . Torr said he plans to reintroduce the bill in the next legislative session ahead of the upcoming redistricting."

For whatever reason, committee member State Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek, hasn't seen this problem as a problem at all. Both Democrats and Republicans have benefited from gerrymandering in the past. This time, the state GOP is set to reap the rewards again in four years if nothing is done. We hope Bosma, Long and Torr make good on their promise of pushing the bipartisan independent commission idea forward before then. Short term gains for one party or another shouldn't come before voters' rights to be represented equitably.

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South Bend Tribune. June 22, 2017

Will Indiana's senators show courage, leadership in health care debate?

News that the Senate health care bill being crafted in secrecy will finally be made public this week does nothing to ease legitimate concerns about the legislation or the process that led to it.

That process has included no public hearings and no debate. Instead, a small group of Republican senators worked behind closed doors on a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, starting with the deeply flawed bill that was rushed through the House.

The Republican strategy is to expose Senate members to as little negative public attention as possible, with no angry town hall meetings and no swamped office phone lines. They hope to rush through a full floor vote by the Senate's July 4 recess, leaving virtually no time for a meaningful review.

Unprecedented. And shameful, given the life-and-death stakes.

Count Hoosiers - including the 400,000 who are covered by Medicaid expansion (Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0) thanks to funds available through the ACA - among those worried and powerless to do anything about it.

What do Indiana's representatives in the Senate have to say about this?

Not surprisingly, Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly released a statement criticizing GOP leaders for working in secret, "without a single Senate hearing" and called for bipartisan cooperation.

Indiana's junior senator, Republican Todd Young, is a conservative who campaigned on repealing Obamacare. But Young has argued that the best way to improve the nation's health care system is finding changes both sides can support.

Last month, Young reached out to the 48 members of the Senate Democratic caucus to talk about health care in a letter. "If we're going to achieve lasting results, we're going to need to reach bipartisan conclusions," Young wrote.

He has also said that Indiana's Medicaid expansion, or HIP 2.0, is "essential."

Those are encouraging words in these politically toxic times. But it will take more than words to ensure that the Senate doesn't proceed in a reckless and irresponsible way in remaking one-sixth of our economy and affecting millions of Americans.

Will Young go beyond words when push comes to shove? Will his vote reflect the concerns he expressed about finding changes both sides can support? Will he stand up to leaders of his party if he thinks the bill is flawed?

What's really needed here is strong and committed leadership. And for Hoosiers, that starts with the two senators elected to represent them. Their constituents will be watching.___