Jim’s "Pick Up Indiana" Plan

Creating and maintaining good-paying Indiana jobs

As someone who helped build a successful small business, Jim knows three things grow the economy and attract and retain good-paying jobs in our state: a world-class educations system, a well-trained workforce, and an attractive quality of life. Governor Daniels’ approach has hurt working Hoosiers time and time again, and the results are staggering. Working men and women across the state are feeling it as they try to make ends meet. Indiana now ranks 5th in the nation for personal bankruptcies, with one in every 80 households filing for bankruptcy last year. Hoosiers are losing their homes at an alarming rate. Indiana ranked 10th in home foreclosures last year, as 52,930 homeowners lost their homes, an increase of more than 73% since 2005. More than one in every 100 Indiana homeowners faced foreclosure last year. But, Jim has presented an actionable plan to Pick Up our state and create and maintain good-paying jobs right here in Indiana through increasing workforce skills education and training, working with small businesses that are moving Indiana forward, and promoting sustainable economic development by creating green collar jobs. Read more about Jim’s entire “Pick Up Indiana” Jobs Plan (pdf).

Providing quality, accessible and affordable health insurance for Hoosier families

Health care should be a right for every Hoosier, not a privilege reserved for a chosen few. Today, in Indiana, nearly 750,000 Hoosiers lack care, and even worse, 123,000 of them are children. This is simply unacceptable. As we strive to attain universal coverage, we must make tangible steps beginning today to increase coverage and reduce costs. Jim’s focus as Governor will not just be to help those without health care insurance, but to reduce the costs of care so that those with insurance can afford it. Jim’s “Pick Up Indiana” Health Care plan does just that by making health care accessible and affordable, reducing costs and increasing accuracy, increased enrollment and preventative care, and ensuring a future supply of health care workers. Read more about Jim’s plan to accomplish this and his entire “Pick Up Indiana” Health Care Plan (pdf).

Providing a world-class education for every Hoosier with a Pre-K-80 approach

Unfortunately, our state has lost its focus on education, slashing funds for schools and teachers, but also by failing to to do more to promote the importance of education that lasts a lifetime. We can and should be doing better for our students – and we must acknowledge that we are all students. As Governor, Jim will make education his top priority because he believes education is the key to picking up our state and moving it in a new direction. This is why his plan doesn’t just focus on K-12 education. It also addresses workforce training and higher education. Jim has put forth a “pre-K through 80” education plan that focuses on working with our public schools not against, putting education first, retaining and attracting world class teachers, making higher education affordable, and fostering a pre-K to 80 education mentality. Read more about Jim’s actionable and affordable “Pick Up Indiana” Education Plan (pdf).

A vision for true government reform from the county courthouse all the way to the Statehouse

The cornerstone of Jim's plan to reform government is a top-to-bottom external audit of state government similar to the Kernan-Shepard Commission report on local government reform that was released late last year. Jim believes that we will only be able to accomplish true savings if we strive for partnership in governance and a greater understanding of the intricate relationship between state and local governments. Jim's plan also calls for the expansion of voting access and more nonpartisan oversight of ethics and elections. He proposes increased access to public records and meetings and more accountability for those who lobby at the Statehouse. Read more about Jim's actionable and attainable "Pick Up Indiana" Government Reform Plan (pdf).

Posted on April 21, 2008