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Bauer: The benefits of sharing power in the Statehouse
1:30 PM, Sep 25, 2010 | The Indy Star
By Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend
Star file photo
The last time there was one-party rule in Indiana:
A budget was passed that caused a property tax crisis for home owners.
The Indiana Toll Road was leased to foreign investors, paving the way for two toll increases.
We were the laboratory for a $1 billion taxpayer-funded "experiment" to privatize our state's system to help Hoosiers most in need.
Unfortunately, funds from the toll road deal already are running short. Projects are being delayed and awarded to out-of-state contractors hiring out-of-state workers.
The privatization of social services has proven to be a calamity that will be draining Hoosiers' pocketbooks for years to come.
With both parties sharing power and Democrats in charge of the House, there will be no foreign powers taking over our interstates. More Indiana workers will be building our roads.
House Democrats have pledged to avoid all tax increases. Republicans have not made this promise, despite how shameful it would be to increase taxes on Hoosier families now.
We will continue our commitment to creating jobs for Hoosiers, a commitment that was lacking from Republican leaders in the Daniels administration and legislative branch this past session.
Thanks to House Democrats, we were able to provide tax credits to new employers, expand incentives to small businesses, and provide the potential for creating new jobs through a plan to bring $100 million in federal dollars back to Indiana to help employers hire Hoosiers.
That this program has gotten nowhere reflects on an executive branch that chooses to cite praise from The Wall Street Journal rather than admit it is not doing anything to create new jobs. Indeed, it has been demonstrated that 40,000 jobs they claim to have created don't even exist.
House Democrats will offer two incentives to assist small businesses: a job creation tax credit and low-interest loans to help them weather a tough economy.
More importantly, we will insist that projects funded by Indiana tax dollars employ Indiana residents before anyone else. The strongest engine we can have to power our state's recovery is doing everything we can to get Hoosiers back to work.
Our commitment to education will continue. We promise to pass a school funding formula before any other spending bill, work to cap class sizes to make sure dollars go to the classroom, and seek accountability standards that rely upon input from parents and students as well as teachers and administrators.
We will put an end to taxpayer-funded bailouts that place the interests of professional sports teams over working Hoosiers.
We can do a better job of making sure businesses that receive taxpayer-funded incentives live up to promises to create and retain jobs. If not, we have every right to take those incentives back.
We can help save money for taxpayers and businesses that follow the rules and bring hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue simply by exposing tax cheats using worker misclassification to avoid paying their fair share.
We will demand that state government lift the veil of secrecy on the effectiveness of job creation and the impact of state budget cuts on programs and services.
We will put an end to "pay to play" in Indiana. If you bid on a state contract, you should not be able to give political contributions to the people who award those contracts.
In short, we will be continuing to question the effectiveness of those in control of this administration. We will point out where they have not done well and where they ignored the law.
We will remind everyone that the strides forward that have taken place in recent years -- property tax relief and the Healthy Indiana Plan, to name just two -- have come when two parties work together.
It has proven to be a better plan than one party -- and one man -- giving the orders and being accountable to no one.