President Wayne
01-26-2014, 03:49 PM
Some highlights of the Indiana State of the State from a couple weeks ago:
1.) Accomplished previous year's goals of job creation, cutting 55% of red tape regulations, improved education and roads, paid down state debt, and balanced the budget.
2.) 2014 goal of phasing business personal property tax out--making us competitive with neighboring states that have eliminated or nearly eliminated their similar tax.
3.) A call to release $400 million in improved road projects and subsequent job creation.
4.) A permanent call for soil productivity factor.
5.) Public and private investment to spur continued economic growth and raise quality of life.
6.) Improvement of healthcare via state-funded and managed Healthy Indiana while refusing to expand Medicaid (i.e. ACA participation).
7.) Re-introduction of career and vocational programs an option for Indiana high schools.
8.) A move to continue to not participate in federal standards of education (i.e. Common Core).
9.) Increased funding of Indiana schools to include a voluntary pre-K program at elementaries.
10). A request for funding specifically for high school students not seeking college, but instead wishing trade/skilled labor as a career. (This was once a part of the vocational programs in Indiana schools. While Governor Pence did not specifically state this would be the avenue of approach, it is highly suspected from members of both chambers of the legislature and on both sides of the aisle, most of which are in agreement to this approach once again.)
11.) Ease of regulations on charter schools to allow them to operate similarly (in terms of budget management, reporting of funds/expenditures, etc.) to traditional public schools.
12.) Creation of teacher innovation fund that will allow teachers (and reward them) to teach in new ways, while giving them more freedom in the classroom.
13.) A call to increase the amount of exemptions and deductions on working families to match inflation (it has not changed since 1978 despite cost of living increasing 3.6 times).
14.) Ease of placement of children into adoptive homes, as well as funding to assist those wishing to adopt needy children out of state care. The goal is to make Indiana the most pro-adoption state in the Union.
I think all of these are admirable goals and I hope to see them progressed forward. That said, my family is most concerned with the last point--ease of adoption. As few of you know, the Peanuts have four girls--no boys. We have accepted that we will not be able to have another child of our own, but have looked into adoption. The problem is that it requires a minimum of $10,000 to start at the state agency and a slew of regulations and inspections to pass, of which we don't do now for our kids but the state says is required. In the private sector it would require $25,000 to start and fewer regulations and tedious inspections.
So, if the last point can be achieved, my wife and I may finally be able to bring a boy into our home. Most importantly, I will no longer be outnumbered on every front--from human to dog to cat to horse to duck--by women.
In closing, I hope to see personal property tax for businesses eliminated, vocational programs re-funded and offered to high school students, with emphasis on those not wishing college and wanting a trade/skilled labor career, as well as increased funding of schools.
1.) Accomplished previous year's goals of job creation, cutting 55% of red tape regulations, improved education and roads, paid down state debt, and balanced the budget.
2.) 2014 goal of phasing business personal property tax out--making us competitive with neighboring states that have eliminated or nearly eliminated their similar tax.
3.) A call to release $400 million in improved road projects and subsequent job creation.
4.) A permanent call for soil productivity factor.
5.) Public and private investment to spur continued economic growth and raise quality of life.
6.) Improvement of healthcare via state-funded and managed Healthy Indiana while refusing to expand Medicaid (i.e. ACA participation).
7.) Re-introduction of career and vocational programs an option for Indiana high schools.
8.) A move to continue to not participate in federal standards of education (i.e. Common Core).
9.) Increased funding of Indiana schools to include a voluntary pre-K program at elementaries.
10). A request for funding specifically for high school students not seeking college, but instead wishing trade/skilled labor as a career. (This was once a part of the vocational programs in Indiana schools. While Governor Pence did not specifically state this would be the avenue of approach, it is highly suspected from members of both chambers of the legislature and on both sides of the aisle, most of which are in agreement to this approach once again.)
11.) Ease of regulations on charter schools to allow them to operate similarly (in terms of budget management, reporting of funds/expenditures, etc.) to traditional public schools.
12.) Creation of teacher innovation fund that will allow teachers (and reward them) to teach in new ways, while giving them more freedom in the classroom.
13.) A call to increase the amount of exemptions and deductions on working families to match inflation (it has not changed since 1978 despite cost of living increasing 3.6 times).
14.) Ease of placement of children into adoptive homes, as well as funding to assist those wishing to adopt needy children out of state care. The goal is to make Indiana the most pro-adoption state in the Union.
I think all of these are admirable goals and I hope to see them progressed forward. That said, my family is most concerned with the last point--ease of adoption. As few of you know, the Peanuts have four girls--no boys. We have accepted that we will not be able to have another child of our own, but have looked into adoption. The problem is that it requires a minimum of $10,000 to start at the state agency and a slew of regulations and inspections to pass, of which we don't do now for our kids but the state says is required. In the private sector it would require $25,000 to start and fewer regulations and tedious inspections.
So, if the last point can be achieved, my wife and I may finally be able to bring a boy into our home. Most importantly, I will no longer be outnumbered on every front--from human to dog to cat to horse to duck--by women.
In closing, I hope to see personal property tax for businesses eliminated, vocational programs re-funded and offered to high school students, with emphasis on those not wishing college and wanting a trade/skilled labor career, as well as increased funding of schools.