I cannot count the number of times I have heard studentscomplaining that regardless of their beliefs on the presidentialelection, Indiana will inevitably have its electoral votes registerfor Bush. Republicans and Democrats alike feel that the need to goout and vote is diminished because we are not a "battleground"state in the presidential election. However, many of these folksfail to acknowledge that we have an important gubernatorialelection in Indiana, which promises to be one of closest races forgovernor in years. What better reason is there for Hoosiers to goout and vote in November than to decide who will lead Indiana forthe next four years?
Upon looking into our state's condition, I found that it is atime for change in Indiana. Many indicators show that Indiana isheading in the wrong direction. While many people argue that ourstate's problems are due to poor economic performance and decisionsby President Bush, the numbers indicate that we are performingpoorly when compared to other states.
One indicator of our poor performance is welfare. The UnitedStates Census Bureau shows that "Indiana has 42,000 more welfarerecipients than Illinois, a state with twice the population ofIndiana and 20,000 more recipients than Florida, a state withnearly three times the population of Indiana." In fact, the NewYork Times reported on July 6, 2004 that "Indiana was the onlystate in the nation to add to its welfare rolls between 1996 and2003, while other states saw reductions of up to 94 percent."Performances like this certainly encourage a change in our state'sleadership.
Another important issue to Hoosiers is taxes. One of the thingspeople in Indiana have grown to be proud of is our relatively lowcost of living. However, the Wall Street Journal of April 8th, 2004reports that we have the 16th highest tax burden in the country.Our tax burden in Indiana is now higher than the tax burdens ofCalifornia, Massachusetts, Illinois, Florida, Maryland and Oregon.Though this may come as a surprise, it should help Hoosier votersmake the right decision this November.
Overall, our current leadership dealt with the recession in 2001worse than any other state in the country. The Indianapolis Starreported on March 16, 2003 that, "Indiana lost a greater share ofits jobs during the 2001 recession than any other state." Otherparts of the report were no less encouraging: "A seven-monthexamination of Indiana's economy by The Indianapolis Star reveals aslow, steady decline that has reached a crisis point. Poorleadership and a failure to invest in the future have left Hoosierworkers with paychecks that lag behind those of other Americans."Finally, the report indicates that, in the past two years, bigcompanies filing layoff notices have shed nearly 44,500 Indianaemployees. Of those workers, 60 percent left plants that shut downpermanently."
Needless to say, the problems we have had in Indiana are notsolely on the shoulders of President Bush. Our leadership inIndiana has failed to do what is necessary to recover. On November2nd, Hoosiers have a chance to change state leadership and giveIndiana a new chance to grow and prosper. Regardless of politicalparty, one thing is clear - our state is not headed in the rightdirection. It's time for change in Indiana.
Write to Brett at bamock@bsu.edu
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