TERRE HAUTE —
Ear-pleasing promises are flowing fast on the 2012 campaign trail right now, with candidates hoping theirs hits the perfect pitch with voters. The problem is, those promises, if eventually implemented, may cause side-effects the office seekers fail to mention or even consider.
In that atmosphere, it was heartening to hear Indiana Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma inject some sensibility into the discourse about more tax cuts, promised by the top two candidates for governor. Republican Mike Pence proposes a 10-percent cut in personal income taxes. Democrat John Gregg wants to cut the sales tax on gasoline and the corporate income tax for businesses based in Indiana.
That sounds good to lots of people and entities who pay those particular taxes. Then again, so did the vows to install other tax cuts. Those reductions have already been approved by the Legislature, including a phase-out of the inheritance tax and a drop in the corporate income tax. Both measures will have an impact on state revenues.
Earlier this month, Bosma issued a reminder of those earlier legislative actions and warned of unhealthy results from slicing yet deeper. The speaker made his comments while unveiling the House Republicans’ agenda for the 2013 session, which could see the GOP with a super majority, depending on the election’s results. Even with a dominance by one party — the party known for tax frugality — the reductions envisioned by Pence and Gregg could face resistance.
“Some worthy programs have taken it on the chin,” Bosma said in a report by CNHI’s Maureen Hayden. In particular, Bosma was referring to cuts in social services, education and local public safety services over the last two budget cycles.
Instead, the time has come, Bosma added, for some “restorations and strategic investments.”
The earlier reductions are real, and are being felt by city and county services by local governments, as well as schools, including those in Terre Haute and Vigo County. Just last week, as the city of Terre Haute’s financial health and 2013 budget were being debated by city officials and the general public, Mayor Duke Bennett, a two-term Republican, expressed frustration about the loss of city revenue over the past few years because of Indiana’s property tax caps.
“Nobody ever talks about the loss of revenue we’ve had,” Bennett said. That decline, he said, amounts to approximately $6.7 million annually.
Back at the Statehouse, Bosma emphasized that future tax reductions would not be etched in election fervor.
“Any tax cut in addition to those has to be sustainable,” Bosma said. “Our team definitely has a long-term vision, not a campaign-oriented vision, for how we budget.”
Of course, as Hoosiers have seen during the past two legislative sessions, Bosma can only guide but not control the actions of a body comprised of 60 fellow Republicans and 40 Democrats. That said, Bosma is in a position of some influence and power, and his acknowledgment of budget realities is helpful as Nov. 6 approaches. The agenda items he mentioned included greater access to pre-school for low-income families, an emphasis on expanded and bolstered vocational training in high school and beyond — not as sexy as a tax cut, but prudent.
Editorials
EDITORIAL: Tax policy of next session must be based in reality
Election rhetoric must give way to prudence
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EDITORIAL: Women in uniform must be treated with respect, dignity
As the nation pauses this Memorial Day weekend to remember those who have served their country, it is appropriate to reflect on the contributions of women in military uniform of the U.S. armed services. They are many, and their impact is great.
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The celebration season
Spring has been a bit elusive at times in 2013, which is its nature.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news: MVC tourney an event worth having
It’s been a long time since the Missouri Valley Conference chose Indiana State University to host its post-season baseball tournament, but Terre Haute had never been more prepared for an event such as this.
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EDITORIAL: Cleaning up voter rolls
It’s not a lot of money in the big scheme of things, but the $2 million designated in the recent session of the General Assembly will begin the messy but necessary process of cleaning up Indiana’s voter registration rolls.
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EDITORIAL: Waging the ‘readiness’ campaign
Almost every Hoosier who starts college intends to finish. Unfortunately, those who arrive on campus unprepared in key academic areas are far less likely to fulfill that aspiration.
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EDITORIAL: Insult to an independent press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news: Dashing finish for the Sycamores
It’s always thrilling to see Indiana State University’s athletic teams do well in high-level competition, and two specific teams rose to impressive heights last weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference outdoor track and field championships.
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EDITORIAL: Better monitoring needed to prevent local environmental messes
The nasty, hazardous messes lurking in the community raise a bottom-line, red-flag question. Could these environmental problems have been monitored and, thus, prevented?
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EDITORIAL: Memo to U.S.A.: You can ‘SPPRAK’ just as we do in Vigo County
Our kids, truly, are ‘Making a Difference’
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Some words in praise of boring government — Indiana’s
A conservative Republican governor has super majorities in both branches of the legislature. One might suspect such one-party government leads to major changes in public policy. This did not happen in 2013 in Indiana.
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EDITORIAL: Doc’s prescient prescription
Viewed through a 2013 prism, Doc Bowen’s response to the AIDS epidemic looks merely prudent, routine.
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EDITORIAL: Education remains worth the cost
Within the next few weeks, each of the local colleges will have conducted graduation ceremonies. A few days later, a different Class of 2013 will don caps and gowns for commencement — the seniors at five Vigo County high schools. It is still a smart, worthy aspiration for those high school grads to replicate the achievement of those college students by earning a higher-education degree.
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EDITORIAL: Good news for downtown
For decades, it seems, downtown Terre Haute has been in the throes of change
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EDITORIAL: Overall, state budget step in the right direction
For average Hoosiers uninterested in political point-scoring, the budget crafted by the Indiana Legislature inspires only muted, if any, fanfare.
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EDITORIAL: The lessons of organ donation
The range of emotion surrounding life-saving transplantation of a vital organ is extreme. It is the ultimate “good news-bad news” scenario.
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READERS’ FORUM: April 26, 2013
• Pence’s tax cuts benefit wealthiest
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news
This does not qualify as a surprise in any way. But the Wabash Valley’s response to widespread flooding of recent days has been nothing short of impressive, even inspirational.
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EDITORIAL: Still waiting for the jobs reward
The forces in control of Indiana government for most of the past decade need to show some results to Hoosiers in one primary category.
Good-paying jobs. -
MARK BENNETT: Littered with irony: Why do people callously discard their trash, and who are they?
Though they aren’t acknowledged by the U.S. Census Bureau, there are basically two demographic groups of people … Those who would dump their old toilet on the banks of the Wabash River or a rural roadside. And those who wouldn’t.
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EDITORIAL: Doing the dirty work to clean up tossed trash
A first-of-its-kind, coast-to-coast project to remove litter from U.S. roadsides brought the Pick Up America crew through the Wabash Valley two years ago.
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EDITORIAL: Keep school security a local issue
The decision to provide armed security inside a schoolhouse should be made locally.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news
Indiana’s parks need your help.
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EDITORIAL: The return of terror
Emotions today remain strong and raw in wake of Monday’s terror bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
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EDITORIAL: A solution to distracted driving … stop it … now
You’ve got to stop. You know you do it. It’s a miracle you haven’t caused a tragedy already.
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EDITORIAL: ‘Women of Influence’: 2013 selectees have given much to their communities
For the second year, United Way of the Wabash Valley has teamed up with local sponsors to select and honor a group of women who have made outstanding contributions to their communities, professions and families.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news: A new honor for our veterans
A commendation goes out today to state Rep. Clyde Kersey, a Terre Haute Democrat who led the charge this week in the Indiana House of Representatives to pay tribute to the nation’s Purple Heart recipients.
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EDITORIAL: Shifting view on marriage
One could argue, as many have, that Sen. Joe Donnelly did the right thing last week when he dropped his support of government-sanctioned opposition to same-sex marriage. It wasn’t a radical move, considering most Democrats have now made the switch.
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MAX JONES: The American Newspaper: Changing? Yes. Dying? No way!
It happened again this past January when all those “looking at the year ahead” stories started popping up on Internet “news” websites and broadcast “news” programs. Under a provocative headline reading something like “Five industries/businesses doomed to tank in the coming year,” there it was, a prediction based on an unsubstantiated “expert” analysis that the newspaper industry will continue in 2013 to suffer its slide into oblivion.
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EDITORIAL: A chance to change our bad cultural habits
The sight of diligent, eager young people dragging trash out of the Wabash River wetlands is both inspiring and sad.
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EDITORIAL: Maintaining high standards
Standards
It’s the raging buzzword in education circles these days. Everyone insists that higher standards must be met. Anything less is, doggone it, unacceptable. - More Editorials Headlines
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EDITORIAL: Women in uniform must be treated with respect, dignity
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