plus 4, Text of Gov. Mitch Daniels' State of the State Address - Evansville Courier-Press

Text of Gov. Mitch Daniels' State of the State Address - Evansville Courier-Press
Some say new property tax caps will cost taxpayers more than they save - 22 WSBT
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Text of Gov. Mitch Daniels' State of the State Address - Evansville Courier-Press

Posted: 19 Jan 2010 08:28 PM PST

Mr. Speaker, members of the Assembly, fellow Hoosiers, good evening. This once a year we gather as a family might, to take stock of our state's health and to assess the performance of our public duties. The sense of privilege one feels on this podium never diminishes, nor the sense of duty to report honestly and accurately on our family's situation and the health of our public institutions.

It's our way in this state to speak plainly and to face reality squarely. The plain truth is that life is difficult tonight for far too many Hoosiers. An economy booming at full employment a year and a half ago has taken several steps back. One in eleven workers is unemployed, one in six people on Medicaid. The average Hoosier income fell last year, by almost one percent. We are distressed, disappointed, and dissatisfied at all this. I know we are united in this chamber in seeking to do what government can to work through and out of the national recession in which we are enmeshed.

But Hoosiers are also known for resilience, for avoiding self-pity, and for keeping a sense of perspective. We know that we have battled through tougher times before. We know that the possessions, the technology, even the shrunken incomes in our homes today, are still vastly greater than anything Hoosiers knew just one generation ago. We know that our jobless rate, though intolerable, is below the national average and well below that of neighboring states.

We also know that this is not the only such meeting taking place this month. Across America, forty-nine other addresses are being given, almost all under conditions far more grim than those we confront. The one national study available says that our budget problem is one of the smallest in the nation. Our day's most celebrated business sage says "You don't know who's been swimming naked 'til the tide goes out." Well, the tide is out, and now we know.

Compared to its budget, Illinois' fiscal problem is four times larger than ours. Arizona's, five times. California's, six times. Out there, the governor recently exclaimed in desperation, "How could we let something like that happen?" So far at least, no one in this room has to ask that question.

A young seaman sought a veteran mariner's advice, asking "What do I do when I find myself in a gale force wind with a dangerous reef to leeward?" To which the old sea captain replied "What you do is, you don't get yourself in that position." Through the discipline of legislators on this floor, and the superb, businesslike management of my colleagues in those balconies, Indiana stands in a position very different from virtually all our sister states. They crashed on the reef many months ago.

They have seen their credit ratings downgraded and their borrowing costs soar. Indiana has a Triple-A credit rating for the first time ever, saving millions in interest costs for our cities, schools and universities. We will be using our carefully built reserves to get us through this next year and a half. Any reserves most other states had have long since disappeared.

They have slashed, sometimes virtually halted, the construction and repair of state roads. In Michigan, they are grinding asphalt roads back into gravel, as though to regress by a century. But here, we are building for Indiana's future at a rate twice the previous all-time record. All over Indiana, the dreams of decades are becoming real: the Hoosier Heartland Corridor, the Fort to Port highway, US 31 from South Bend, I-69, and hundreds of others, all at full speed, under budget, ahead of schedule, taking shape before our eyes.

After growing education spending five years in a row, by a total of twelve percent, we were recently, reluctantly forced to trim it, by some three cents on the dollar. But all across the country, education spending has been reduced by vastly more: by twice as much in places like Washington, Nebraska, and Connecticut; by three times as much in Virginia, Mississippi, and Utah; four times as much in Minnesota and South Carolina, six times as much in Alabama.

Around our nation, states have closed parks, stiffed vendors, thrown people off Medicaid, stopped plowing snow, and released thousands of dangerous criminals from prison early. Overnight last night, the citizens of Iowa were protected by seven state troopers, total. We have done none of those things and don't intend to.

Saddest of all, our sister states, at least forty of them, are doing the worst thing possible in times like these. They are raising taxes, adding to the burden on families already in distress, and making their economic climates even less attractive to new jobs than they were before. Michigan, Wisconsin, New Jersey and at least eleven more have raised income taxes. Ohio, Oregon, Minnesota, and thirty more have raised gas taxes. Many states have raised multiple taxes at the same time.

I hope you will join me in saying tonight to the people for whom we all work, we will make the hard choices, we will stretch the available dollars, we will do whatever is necessary but we will not take the easy way out and we will not make this recession worse by adding one cent to the tax burden of our fellow citizens.

For us, economy in government did not begin with this recession. Together we brought this state from bankruptcy to solvency over a five-year period of careful budgets, stewardship, and reform. Per capita state government spending in Indiana is now sixth lowest in the nation, an eight-place improvement from a few years ago. State government has two-thirds fewer airplanes, thousands fewer vehicles; we have the fewest state employees since 1982.

We have heeded the mariner's instruction; what we did was, we didn't get ourselves in the position of other states. And yet the gale of shrunken revenues is still blowing. The reef of huge service cuts or higher taxes is still close alee.

Solvency, like freedom, requires eternal vigilance. We could be Michigan in a minute of meekness, Illinois in an instant of irresolution. The budget you passed just six months ago may have seemed reasonably frugal at the time, but almost immediately we could tell that it spent beyond our declining means. If we had done nothing, its spending levels would have obliterated our entire state reserve by six or seven months from now. So we have acted, and we will act again as necessary. I thank this Assembly and our fellow citizens for understanding the very unwelcome decisions we have made to date. We will need your continued understanding, for more hard calls are probably coming.

We will make those for which we already have the authority. But there are savings measures for which we need changes only this Assembly can make. And so my first request is for legislation to enable the saving of some $70 million through a host of new economies. The largest of these would permit us to manage our two pension funds, PERF and TRF, under one administration. Absolutely nothing would change in the benefits, or the amount of funding, or in the totally separate, independent status of these systems. All that would change is the amount paid out in investment fees, when we bid the job as one large bundle. If someone's Wall Street bonus is a little smaller next year while we save Indiana taxpayers 40 or 50 million dollars, I think we can all live with that.

We need the savings this bill would make possible. They are equivalent, for example, to 1 percent of our K-12 payments, or 5 percent of our higher education spending, or 10 percent of our combined law enforcement budgets. Far better to reduce nice-to-do expenditures in state government than to make even tougher the must-do tasks of educating our young people and protecting the public safety.

I make a second request in the name of some of the bravest and most deserving of all those Hoosiers struggling this evening, the single parents of our state. There is no one more contemptible to me than a person who brings a child into this world and then fails to live up to the duties of parenthood. And for those who compound their absence by refusing their court-ordered duty to pay child support, I have even less respect.

After five years of hard effort, we have raised the percentage of child support collected from about 50 percent to 58 percent. This of course is still unacceptably low – the best states are upwards of 70 percent. We need new tools to make further headway. For instance, allow us to see that a delinquent father who wins money in one of our casinos shares some of the take with his children.

Every percent of child support improvement sends $7 million directly into the pockets of some of our neediest households. Representative Linda Lawson and Senator Richard Bray have joined to help us; please give your bipartisan support to the Bray-Lawson bill and let's provide millions of dollars to some of the homes which need them the very most.

All of us tonight are rightly preoccupied with the recession and the problems it presents to our public services. But in time these hardships will pass. What must not pass is an opportunity to continue Indiana's steady progress in reforming our public institutions.

In 2005, you approved our top-to-bottom overhaul of the ethics rules for the executive branch. We tightened the gift rules, protected whistleblowers, stopped the revolving door between government and lobbying, and stiffened penalties for any violations. We created an Inspector General and a new battalion of fraud-fighters to police this new era of higher standards. The dog that doesn't bark rarely gets noticed, but let's notice tonight, that armed with the tools you made possible, Indiana has seen five years of scandal-free government and we are determined to keep it that way.

And so all Hoosiers should welcome the excellent initiative of your leadership to bring similar reform to this, the senior branch of our government. Mr. Speaker, Mr. President Pro Tem, I applaud your proposals to raise the standards to which legislators will now be held. It will enhance the quality of your decisions and the confidence of our citizens in those decisions. Thank you for stepping forward so boldly; I look forward to signing this important new law.

While you're at it, please respond to the plea of mayors of both parties and all parts of our state, and end the egregious conflicts of interest that occur when public employees sit on city and county councils, voting on their own salaries and overriding the decisions of their own management. How we ever permitted this to occur in Indiana is one of those mysteries of history, but now is an ideal time to strike another blow for good government and end this abuse forever.

In another area reform has been well begun, and is ready for a second chapter. From this platform a year ago, I thanked Governor Joe Kernan, Chief Justice Randy Shepard, and their commission colleagues for a superb set of proposals to modernize Indiana's pioneer days system of local government. A state committed to protecting taxpayers, and limiting government to the role of the people's servant, has no business maintaining more elected politicians than states twice our size. It's wasteful, it's antiquated, it produces poor decisions, and it obscures the public's ability to assign either credit for success or blame for failure.

This Assembly has taken the first steps toward cleaning up this anachronism. You have dealt with five of the Commission's twenty-seven recommendations, most notably the elimination of township assessors. You reduced the number of cooks in the assessment kitchen by about one thousand. Having as many as 22 different assessors setting property values in a single county was a formula for unfairness, waste and, all too often, corruption. Moving assessment to a single, accountable county official was a matter of simple common sense.

The exact same principle applies to poor relief and fire protection, still handled as they were in 1848. I hope I have seen for the last time new half-million dollar fire trucks bought in fire stations a couple blocks apart because two totally separate township boards were involved. Just as you already did for libraries, we can maintain local distribution of poor relief, local identity and leadership of our fire departments, while moving resource and taxing decisions to the county level, where they can be made rationally and for the maximum benefit of all citizens. In the process, we can save millions and delete 3,000 more political offices for which there is rarely any competition, anyway. And we can put an end to the widespread nepotism which, even when good people are involved, simply doesn't pass the test of good government.

And as we reduce the number of politicians, let's reduce the number of elections we hold. The Commission's suggestion to shift municipal and school board elections to the fall of even-numbered years would not only boost turnout for these important offices, it would save tens of millions of dollars for our hard-pressed local governments. This may be, as we say, a short session, but we can still take a long stride toward modernization of our top-heavy and expensive local government.

In no area is reform more urgent, or more critical to Indiana's future, than in education, and here the news is excellent and the momentum even stronger. 2009 was a breakthrough year in improving the way we prepare our young people for the lives and the work ahead.

First, this Assembly heeded the call of President Obama and others and lifted Indiana's backward-looking caps on charter schools and on considering student achievement in evaluating teachers. Then our Professional Standards Board, led by our superb new Superintendent Tony Bennett, acted to strengthen standards for new teachers, and to open both classroom and leadership positions to those whose hearts call them to teaching from other walks of life.

Next, we must address the single greatest cause of student failure, the inability of so many of our children to read proficiently. If a school accomplishes nothing else in a child's decisive first years, it simply must enable him or her to read and comprehend the English language. Yet too often failure is masked by the practice known as "social promotion."

Sending an illiterate child on to higher grades is unfair to the next teacher, damaging to our state's future, but cruelest of all, disastrous to the young life being blighted by that failure. If, after four years, the system has failed in this most fundamental duty, then it will simply have to try again until it gets it right. I ask you to pass our bill to stop social promotion, and to say to the world that Indiana never gives up on its children, not one single kid.

Two more actions can stamp 2010 as an historic moment for better government in our state. First, let's set the stage for the fairest, most reasonable and non-partisan redistricting ever seen in Indiana. Too many times in American history, legislative boundaries have been drawn to favor haves over have-nots, ins over outs, incumbents over newcomers. The worst examples of gerrymandering and politician protection can be found in other states, but a glance at Indiana's current lines shows that they are nothing to be proud of.

We praise tonight the bipartisan expressions of intention that Indiana's next redistricting be its fairest ever. Members of both parties have offered constructive ideas for lines that make more geographic, demographic, and just plain common sense than today's. Let's commit to the kind of principles that assure Hoosiers that in our state, voters will pick their officeholders and not vice versa.

Lastly, some heartfelt congratulations. Just eight days into session, this Assembly has already made history by completing and safeguarding some excellent work you began two years ago.

In 2008, you passed the largest tax cut in state history, and reduced Indiana's property taxes to some of the lowest in the nation. At a time when every penny counts, and home foreclosures are a national epidemic, you lowered the annual cost of owning the average Hoosier home by more than $500. The American dream of home ownership is more affordable in Indiana tonight than in virtually any other place in our country.

But you did more: you provided Hoosiers unique protection and certainty, through caps that secure these lower taxes from ever surging out of control again. As we all know, those caps will always be vulnerable to either legislative or judicial repeal unless protected by our constitution.

Those who favor more government, more spending, and higher property taxes have every right to present their arguments before the caps become permanent. But they must have the courage to make their case before the final arbiters of our Constitution, all the people of our state, voting in referendum next fall.

At 2:31 PM this afternoon, the "people's branch" of government lived up to its name. You gave the people the chance to decide, as I believe they will, that lower property taxes are here to stay. Thank you for this latest bold move to show the world that in Indiana, we trust our fellow citizens and we truly put the interests of taxpayers first.

That we gather tonight in difficulty but not crisis, stress but not disaster, is small consolation. No one here will breathe easy or sleep well until we return to the full employment Indiana knew just a year and a half ago. But we must recognize that the way we do our duty today is about more than just muddling through the short term better than the next guy. It's about lengthening our competitive edge. Every time another state raises a tax, can't pay its bills on time, or sends out IOUs instead of tax refunds, it slips another notch behind Indiana as an attractive place for the next new job, the next new dollar of investment. The better we handle the people's business today, the more business we will have for our people, and the more opportunity for our children, tomorrow.

Even in this hardest year in so long, signs of strength are everywhere. Forced by the downturn to a choice between Indiana and some other place, at least fifty companies closed up shop elsewhere and relocated jobs to our state. Jobs came from Michigan to Marion, from Pennsylvania to Decatur, from Wisconsin to Auburn, from Mexico to Elkhart.

There's that long German word I always mispronounce, that means "enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others." Watching the agonies of other states, we take no delight at their misfortune. Hoosiers never do; our first reaction to a neighbor in trouble is to look for a way to help. But if we take no enjoyment, we will take the jobs from companies who know a state built for growth, a state with its act together, when they see one.

When the dust settles on this recession, we will have a higher share of America's auto, RV and steel jobs than we did before. In a 2009 when national business investment fell by almost one-fourth, the number of new jobs committed to Indiana actually grew over the near-record year of 2008.

2009 was the year when several young companies who may lead the electric vehicle industry chose Indiana for their plants. Many of their suppliers are following them. Our goal is to be the capital of this potentially massive industry of tomorrow.

Over the last two years, Indiana has been the fastest growing state in wind power, and now businesses seeking to build the equipment for this new industry are coming to Muncie, to New Albany, and to Clinton. Within weeks, you'll see us explode onto the solar power landscape.

Perhaps most telling, 2008 brought the welcome word that more people are moving into Indiana than moving out. The numbers weren't huge, but they mark a big reversal from an era in which most years saw a net exodus, sometimes including many of our most promising young people. One recent ranking identified Central Indiana as the best place in America for new college graduates.

A tea bag's strength is revealed in hot water. So far, we have stood up to this recession's heat with a strength reflecting the sturdy character of Hoosiers. Odds are the year ahead won't be much easier. Everyone in the public's employ has a chance to help, and a duty to do so, remembering where jobs come from, and who it is that pays for our salaries and every penny we dispense.

Two years ago tonight, I recalled the toughest question I was asked in my first months as governor, when an East Coast CEO asked, "What makes your state distinctive? What makes you stand out?" No need to ask anymore. Look at any map of states still in the black; states preferred for new jobs; states adding to their public infrastructure; states where taxes have gone down not up. A single bold patch of color below Lake Michigan, like a peony in a parking lot, is the common feature of all such maps.

Let's conduct ourselves so that a year from tonight America sees in its fullness what it now sees in part: that there is a special place in our land where hard times are met with resolve; where government is the people's servant, not a privileged class; where bucks are not passed, decisions are not ducked, and where scarce dollars are allocated as adults do, to first things first.

By then America will see that same place leading the nation out of its decline, its traditional industries rebounding and a host of new businesses blossoming. A place applying the highest standards of conduct and accountability in its public arenas. A special place called Indiana, to which the bright, the enterprising, the young, the creative are gravitating.

It's not enough to stay off the reef. It's our duty, and our golden opportunity, to set our sails and man the helm in a way that separates Indiana from a leaking fleet and carries her first and fastest into the sunnier seas ahead.

God bless this Assembly and this great state.

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Some say new property tax caps will cost taxpayers more than they save - 22 WSBT

Posted: 19 Jan 2010 08:42 PM PST

INDIANAPOLIS — In his sixth state of the state address, Governor Mitch Daniels applauded State Senators for passing a bill Tuesday that will put a referendum before voters, asking them whether Indiana's new property tax caps should be put in the state constitution. But, some say that move would actually cost taxpayers more than it would save.

A Call To Action

During the speech before a joint session of the General Assembly Tuesday night, Daniels (R) acknowledged Indiana is facing tough times, but said the problems in other neighboring states are much worse. He also called on lawmakers to pass several bills, including one allowing the state's two pension funds to be overseen by one entity. He estimates that would save up to $50 million.

"Life is difficult tonight for far too many Hoosiers," Daniels said. "An economy booming at full employment a year and a half ago has taken several steps back."

Daniels also wants to pass bills to help collect delinquent child support payments, tighten ethics rules for lawmakers, streamline local government and make new reforms in Indiana schools.

"Sending an illiterate child on to higher grades is unfair to the next teacher, damaging to our state's future, but cruelest of all, disastrous to the young life being blighted by that failure," Daniels said.

"If, after four years, the system has failed in this most fundamental duty, then it will simply have to try again until it gets it right. I ask you to pass our bill to stop social promotion, and to say to the world that Indiana never gives up on its children, not one single kid," he continued.

Daniels went on to say--when the dust settles--he thinks Indiana will have a larger share of America's auto, RV and steel jobs than it had before the recession.

"Heartfelt Congratulations

Daniels wrapped up the 30 minute address by thanking lawmakers for their work to make Indiana's new property tax caps more permanent, by placing them in the state constitution.

"Just eight days into session, this Assembly has already made history by completing and safeguarding some excellent work you began two years ago. In 2008, you passed the largest tax cut in state history, and reduced Indiana's property taxes to some of the lowest in the nation," Daniels said.

"At a time when every penny counts, and home foreclosures are a national epidemic, you lowered the annual cost of owning the average Hoosier home by more than $500. The American dream of home ownership is more affordable in Indiana tonight than in virtually any other place in our country," Daniels continued.

The new caps took full effect on January 1, 2010, and cap property taxes at one percent for residential properties, two percent for rental properties and three percent for commercial properties.

But, the Governor said those caps will always be vulnerable to either legislative or judicial repeal unless protected by the constitution.

"At 2:31 this afternoon, the "people's branch" of government lived up to its name. You gave the people the chance to decide, as I believe they will, that lower property taxes are here to stay. Thank you for this latest bold move to show the world that in Indiana, we trust our fellow citizens and we truly put the interests of taxpayers first," Daniels told the General Assembly.

But, some lawmakers aren't so sure this move to put the current caps into the state constitution--making them much harder to alter or remove--would really put taxpayer's first.

"One study shows the "average" Hoosier earning $40,000 a year with a $70,000 home--because that's the average Hoosier--that person is a loser under this bill," said State Senator John Broden (D-South Bend) who voted against the bill Tuesday.

"If you have a $500,000 home with a high assessed valuation, you're going to benefit from the property tax caps. So, there are winners and loser. But, I think there's more losers than winners," Broden continued.

Furthermore, Broden said, there hasn't been ample time to study the affects the new caps might have on local governments.

"They've only been in effect now for a period of 19 days. They haven't been fully implemented, so we don't know what their full impacts are going to be. No one has any idea what their full impact is going to be," Broden said.

Why the Increase?

The problem isn't the caps themselves, experts say, but so-called "replacement taxes" used to make up revenue lost from lower property taxes to local governments. That now includes a one percent higher sales tax across the state and higher local option income taxes in many counties--including St. Joseph--where LOIT rates recently more than doubled.

"From an economic point of view, there are two principles upon levying taxes: the ability to pay and the benefit principle. Property taxes are based more on the ability to pay," said Indiana University-South Bend Economics Professor Dr. Douglas Agbetsiafa.

"Using a system like sales taxes, it's not equitable. It's regressive. Say I go to the store and I make $100,000 a year and I buy an item. Then, someone comes along that makes $50,000 a year and we both pay seven percent or eight percent sales tax. One of us is paying more of our income, even though it's the same price. That's regressive, because it's taking more from the lower income person," Agbetsiafa said.

The result, Agbetsiafa said, is almost inevitable.

"Individuals will not be effected equally. We can't say it's good or bad for all. Because it will save some people money. But, some individuals will end up paying more," he said.

Indiana House Speaker B. Pat Bauer (D-South Bend) agreed.

"They're more show than go," he told WSBT by phone following the Governor's address. "I think it will help the rental properties and the landlords, but not [the average Hoosier homeowner]."

A Step in the Right Direction

Supporters aren't arguing that the caps will reduce bills for every taxpayer, but many say they are a step in the right direction.

"This bill isn't perfect, but it's a good start. It's a step in a positive direction. And the most important part is, it allows people to have a say in it," said Rep. Tim Neese (R-Elkhart).

Supporters argue that the caps help clear up a complicated tax structure, and placing them in the state constitution will allow homeowners and businesses to better plan for a more stable financial future.

"That is a valid point, because it allows long term planning. It allows consistency. Taxpayers will know that by law, localities cannot raise property taxes," Agbetsiafa said.

Many also point out that the caps will mean real savings for many Hoosiers, and that they won't be placed into the constitution unless voters approve.

Debate Ahead

The issue will appear on ballots across the state this November, and by all indications, it will get lots more study before then.

"That debate is healthy, and I think we should strive for as much coherence to the Indiana tax system as we can," Agbetsiafa said.

But, lawmakers will likely be striving for many other things during the remaining six weeks of this year's "short" spring session.

Reaction and Pro-action

Some Democrats applauded Daniels' call for increased government efficiency and streamlining to help weather the current economic storm. But, they also felt his address Tuesday lacked one key component.

"The Governor mentioned one out of 11 Hoosiers are out of work. If I were one of those out of work, I'd be a little disappointed that I didn't hear any reason for optimism going forward--no plans to create jobs this coming year and coming session," Broden said.

"I'm disappointed by the lack of vision for the future of Indiana as the state recovers from the recession," agreed Senate Democrat Leader Vi Simpson (D-Elletsville).

"He had none," said Bauer, when asked about the Governor's job creation plans unveiled in the speech. "There were none. He did talk about other states being worse off. But, that doesn't help us."

But, Republicans argued that's exactly what it does.

"We have avoided the tax hikes, massive layoffs and tricky accounting sometimes used to weather these storms. By being mindful of our fiscal health, Gov. Daniels has kept Indiana in the black, thereby making us even more attractive to businesses looking to relocate and create jobs," wrote Indiana GOP Chairman Murray Clark in reaction to the address.

"Thanks to his leadership, we will come out of the recession more quickly and in better shape than almost any other state in the country," the statement continued.

It's no surprise that jobs are the number one priority in Indiana and Gov. Daniels focused on this issue," Neese agreed. "[His] ideas will continue making Indiana an environment where employers can grow and retain Hoosier jobs."

"It's without question this recession is affecting us all," said Rep. Wes Culver, (R-Goshen). "I know times are tough for Hoosiers. But together we can overcome these difficulties and be a better Indiana on the other side."

To read a full transcript of Governor Daniels' 2010 State of the State address, click here.

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In 'State of State,' Daniels looks at positioning Indiana for growth ... - Evansville Courier-Press

Posted: 19 Jan 2010 05:22 PM PST

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels delivers the State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010. Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman is at left. (AP Photo/Tom Strattman)

— SOCIAL PROMOTION: Youngsters who can't read at the third-grade level by the time they finish that grade would not move on to fourth grade under a proposal Daniels supports. Daniels criticized the practice of "social promotion" and urged lawmakers to pass the bill.

— CASINO WITHHOLDING: Deadbeat parents who win big at Indiana casinos would have to give some of that cash to their children under another bill being pushed by Daniels. The bill would withhold gambling winnings from parents who owe back child support and win more than $1,200 on slot machines.

— FAIR REDISTRICTING: Daniels said he supports fairer political redistricting, a reference to several bills that aim to prevent gerrymandered legislative districts created for partisan reasons. New district maps will be drawn after the 2010 U.S. Census, and Daniels said voters should pick their officeholders, not vice versa.

— LOBBYING RULES: Lawmakers are considering proposals to revamp lobbying rules to make legislators wait a year before becoming lobbyists and require more reporting of gifts. Daniels said he applauds the proposals to "raise the standards to which legislators will now be held."

— TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT: Daniels continued his call for a reduction in township government. Daniels says resource and taxing decisions should be moved to the county level, which he said would save millions of dollars and eliminate more than 3,000 local political offices. He also called for an end to nepotism in township government.

— PROPERTY TAXES: Daniels congratulated lawmakers for passing a proposal that will allow voters to decide in November whether limits on property taxes belong in the state constitution.

— THE ECONOMY: Indiana is still faring better than other states in the slumping economy, Daniels said. He said every time another state raises a tax or can't pay its bills, Indiana becomes a more attractive place for employers looking to create new jobs.

— RETIREMENT FUNDS: Daniels wants to combine the administration of two state pension funds, the Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund and the Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund. Daniels said the move would save $70 million by reducing investment fees and other economies without changing the benefits or funding for the separate funds.

Source: The Associated Press

A Wordle.net analysis of Gov. Mitch Daniels' 2010 State of the State address. The Wordle website examines text of a speech to see what phrases are most common.

INDIANAPOLIS — Linking the state's fiscal management now to its potential for job growth in the future, Gov. Mitch Daniels painted Indiana as primed to emerge from the dour economy in better shape than its neighbors Tuesday night in his sixth State of the State address.

"The better we handle the people's business today, the more business we will have for our people, and the more opportunity for our children, tomorrow," the Republican governor told a joint session of the General Assembly.

The governor avoided launching major new initiatives and pitched smaller changes instead as he struck the familiar chord of disciplined taxing and spending.

That won him praise afterward from GOP leaders. But Democrats hammered Daniels, who said initiatives to create jobs, which one in 10 Hoosiers currently out of work need right away, were notably absent.

The only item Daniels highlighted for the first time Tuesday night is a proposal to prevent schools from advancing third graders whose reading skills are not up to par on to fourth grade.

Daniels criticized "social promotion," saying: "If a school accomplishes nothing else in a child's decisive first years, it simply must enable him or her to read and comprehend the English language."

Under the legislation he was advocating – Senate Bill 258, which is scheduled for a hearing today in the Senate Education Committee – third graders who fail the language arts portion of the I-STEP exam would be held back. Exemptions would be made for some, such as special needs students and those who aren't primarily English speakers.

Scott Jenkins, Daniels' education policy director, said that 24 percent of Indiana's students failed the language arts section last year.

The bill would have schools evaluate students each year starting in kindergarten and would require districts to establish intensive reading intervention programs to help those who are behind grade level. It does not include funding for such programs, but Jenkins said the Indiana Department of Education would provide assistance.

He spent much of the address – 13 of the first 15 paragraphs in his 51-paragraph prepared text – comparing Indiana's positioning to other states, arguing that those here are better off than their neighbors.

"A tea bag's strength is revealed in hot water," he said. "So far, we have stood up to this recession's heat with a strength reflecting the sturdy character of Hoosiers."

Still, he acknowledged that the recession has dragged tax revenues into the gutter, forcing budget cuts that have included $150 million from Indiana's public colleges and universities and $300 million from K-12 education.

Daniels added: "Odds are the next year won't be much easier."

That's why Democrats wanted jobs programs.

"The governor always does a good job being a cheerleader for the state," said Rep. Trent Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon. "I think we're at a time where you need to be less cheerleader and more coach."

"I heard absolutely nothing new in this speech at all," said Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville. "I heard no hope for the people who are unemployed."

Republican Rep. Mark Messmer of Jasper said he was pleased with Daniels' message of avoiding tax increases and keeping the state in the black.

"It's important to recognize that government doesn't create jobs; government creates the environment for job growth," Messmer said. "He's committed to that, and I'm pleased to hear it."

Daniels asked lawmakers to take a money-saving step by passing legislation to combine the administrative functions of two state pension funds, one for state employees and one for teachers.

"All that would change is the amount paid out in investment fees, when we bid the job as one large bundle," he said. "If someone's Wall Street bonus is a little smaller next year while we save Indiana taxpayers $40 or $50 million dollars, I think we can all live with that."

He also asked lawmakers to lend a helping hand to single parents by requiring casinos to confiscate the gambling winnings of deadbeat parents.

That proposal was initially opposed by the Casino Association of Indiana because it would create delays and tamper excitement. But the agency's head, Mike Smith, said Tuesday that his organization is in talks with the governor's office, indicating that the opposition might be softening.

Most of the issues Daniels touched were familiar, and his comments on them ranged from offering thanks for work already done to trying to jump-start initiatives that have appear to have stalled.

He praised lawmakers for passing constitutional property tax caps. He endorsed ethics reform legislation currently gaining steam.

He pushed along redistricting reform, an idea gaining momentum in the General Assembly, saying politics should not be part of the legislative map-making process.

"Too many times in American history, legislative boundaries have been drawn to favor haves over have-nots, ins over outs, incumbents over newcomers," he said. "The worst examples of gerrymandering and politician protection can be found in other states, but a glance at Indiana's current lines shows that they are nothing to be proud of."

Daniels encouraged lawmakers to continue toward local government reforms he has long advocated, based on the recommendations of a blue-ribbon panel chaired by former Gov. Joe Kernan and Indiana Chief Justice Randall Shepard, an Evansville native.

He said lawmakers should eliminate the three-member township advisory boards in Indiana's 1,006 townships – the purpose of Senate Bill 240, which has already advanced past the Senate Local Government Committee – and shift their duties to the county level, where decisions "can be made rationally and for the maximum benefit of all citizens.

"In the process, we can save millions and delete 3,000 more political offices for which there is rarely any competition, anyway."

Daniels pushed for changes beyond the township level, as well.

He suggested that lawmakers shift municipal and school board elections to the fall of even-numbered years in order to reduce the number of elections Indiana holds.

Doing so "would not only boost turnout for these important offices, it would save tens of millions of dollars for our hard-pressed local governments," he said in his prepared text. "This may be, as we say, a short session, but we can still take a long stride toward modernization of our top-heavy and expensive local government."

Daniels said if decision-makers in his office and in the General Assembly maintain low taxes and fiscal discipline, in a year, Indiana will be a place where "the bright, the enterprising, the young, the created are gravitating."

House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said prior to the speech that he hoped the governor would advocate tapping into reserve funds set aside for future transportation projects in order to boost public works funding now, creating jobs in the process.

Daniels, though, did not include such an initiative. Before the speech, his chief of staff, Earl Goode, noted that Indiana is spending more than $1.4 billion gained from the lease of a Northern Indiana tollway, plus $438 million in federal stimulus money, on road construction and improvement this year.

Goode said the federal government has approved, and state and local governments in Indiana are currently working on, 854 projects – most in the nation. That wasn't enough to placate Bauer.

"What [Hoosiers] do not need to hear is another recitation of that tired old saying: 'We're doing better than our neighboring states.' What is happening in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois isn't helping people in Indiana," Bauer said.

He said House Democrats still believe in spending some of the state's savings on a public works program now.

"It will provide good-paying jobs for Hoosiers now, and provide the types of upgrades to our roads, streets, bridges and utility systems that can pave the way for increased economic development in years to come," he said.

House Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said Indiana should make "the private sector thrive" in order to create more jobs.

"Indiana is leading the Midwest in so many categories that despite the difficult times, as the governor said, we really are a 'peony in a parking lot,'" he said.

Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said Daniels' speech rightly focused on Indiana's positioning to attract new businesses.

"We are distinguishing ourselves from our neighbors in the Midwest," Long said. "We are doing something about jobs."

Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Chair Brandt Hershman, R-Wheatfield, approved of Daniels' message.

"When you consider Indiana's relative position as compared to states like California and New York who are basically in fiscal ruin, Indiana comes out very well indeed," Hershman said.

Senate Appropriations Chair Luke Kenley, R-Noblesvile, said he thought Daniels' speech was "aggressively positive."

"When you're a state that is struggling, it is good to see a leader who is confident and looking forward," Kenley said.

House Assistant Minority Leader Eric Turner, R-Cicero, shared his support for the speech, calling it "terrific."

"The governor has talked consistently about being the first in the nation out of the recession and leading the way … providing for the future for jobs, and the way you do it is keeping taxes low, keeping your budget in check and making it attractive for business and industry to come to Indiana," he said.

Rep. Scott Pelath, the Michigan City Democrat who is No. 2 on the House Ways and Means Committee, said he was in "disbelief" over some points the governor made.

"Spending time on wonkish matters was not what I wanted to hear from him tonight," Pelath said. "The governor said nothing about job creation. We can always find points to agree, but it's hard to get through what he didn't do well."

Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, agreed with Pelath's assessment of the speech.

"The governor definitely knows how to turn a phrase and he knows how to paint pretty pictures," she said. "He was talking to us about bold moves, but I didn't hear anything bold about how we're going to create jobs in the state."

The Franklin College Statehouse Bureau contributed to this report.

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Text of governor's State of the State speech - Daily Oklahoman

Posted: 19 Jan 2010 04:32 PM PST

Mr. Speaker, members of the Assembly, fellow Hoosiers, good evening.

This once a year we gather as a family might, to take stock of our state's health and to assess the performance of our public duties. The sense of privilege one feels on this podium never diminishes, nor the sense of duty to report honestly and accurately on our family's situation and the health of our public institutions.

It's our way in this state to speak plainly and to face reality squarely. The plain truth is that life is difficult tonight for far too many Hoosiers. An economy booming at full employment a year and a half ago has taken several steps back. One in 11 workers is unemployed, one in six people on Medicaid. The average Hoosier income fell last year, by almost one percent. We are distressed, disappointed, and dissatisfied at all this. I know we are united in this chamber in seeking to do what government can to work through and out of the national recession in which we are enmeshed.

We also know that this is not the only such meeting taking place this month. Across America, 49 other addresses are being given, almost all under conditions far more grim than those we confront. The one national study available says that our budget problem is one of the smallest in the nation. Our day's most celebrated business sage says "You don't know who's been swimming naked 'til the tide goes out." Well, the tide is out, and now we know.

After growing education spending five years in a row, by a total of 12 percent, we were recently, reluctantly forced to trim it, by some three cents on the dollar. But all across the country, education spending has been reduced by vastly more: by twice as much in places like Washington, Nebraska, and Connecticut; by three times as much in Virginia, Mississippi, and Utah; four times as much in Minnesota and South Carolina, six times as much in Alabama.

Saddest of all, our sister states, at least 40 of them, are doing the worst thing possible in times like these. They are raising taxes, adding to the burden on families already in distress, and making their economic climates even less attractive to new jobs than they were before. Michigan, Wisconsin, New Jersey and at least eleven more have raised income taxes. Ohio, Oregon, Minnesota, and 30 more have raised gas taxes. Many states have raised multiple taxes at the same time.

After five years of hard effort, we have raised the percentage of child support collected from about 50 percent to 58 percent. This of course is still unacceptably low the best states are upwards of 70 percent. We need new tools to make further headway. For instance, allow us to see that a delinquent father who wins money in one of our casinos shares some of the take with his children.

Lastly, some heartfelt congratulations. Just eight days into session, this Assembly has already made history by completing and safeguarding some excellent work you began two years ago.

God bless this Assembly and this great state.

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2010 Yamaha Zuma 125 First Ride - Motorcycle USA

Posted: 19 Jan 2010 10:34 AM PST

Why can't they be like we were,
Perfect in every way?
What's the matter with kids?
What's the matter with kids?
What's the matter with kids today?
– "Bye Bye Birdie," 1958

Seriously, what is the matter with kids these days? I'm not talking about the weird unpronounceable drugs they take (LSD was good enough for grandpa, and it's good enough for you! Why, in my day we didn't have Oxycontin: we had to steal Valium from our mothers...) or their penchant for mixing gangsta'-style ball caps with Dead Kennedys T-shirts ("um, I think it was like a TV show or something") or even their creepy obsession with social networking websites ("What? You only have 1100 Facebook friends? You know, you can totally get treated for Social Anxiety Disorder..."). No, my beef with them is their seeming disinterest in two-wheeled transportation.

When I was 18—and maybe this describes you, too—I discovered scooters and I could think of little else besides food and sex (hey, I was 18). I had no Wii, no X-Box, no MySpace. But I had a Yamaha Riva 180, there was no helmet law, and to say I felt an awesome rush of freedom accelerating up to that bike's sizzling 65 mph top speed is serious understatement. Suddenly, suburban Marin county didn't seem so remote: San Francisco was 20 minutes away and I was a man of the world. Twenty-two years later and that feeling of liberation has yet to diminish.

Which is why a phone conversation with Yamaha Motor Corporation USA's Product Planning Manager, Derek Brooks, was a shocker. Yamaha's zippy, zesty, seemingly youth-oriented Zuma 125 scooter isn't being bought by youths. The average age of Zuma 125 owners is a Methuselah-ish 48. In fact, 49 percent of Zuma 125 buyers are over 50, while only 11 percent are under 30. "You would imagine the kids that grew up on dirt bikes would naturally transition to scooters as they reach the driving age." said Brooks. "However, we're not seeing as much of that as we would like. They typically get too focused on getting their first car at that point." A car? Really? They are missing out, because when it comes to getting your first taste of automotive freedom, it's tough to beat a simple, fun scooter like this.

For many years, Yamaha has had its Zuma scooters built by vendors—the first one was built by MBK in France, with later models coming from a company in Taiwan. Yamaha now makes the Zuma 125 in Yamaha's own Taiwanese facility. It's pretty standard scooter construction, with a tube-steel chassis and plastic bodywork. Twin shocks hold up the back end, and the skinny 27mm fork tubes get plastic covers to make them look more beefy and protect them from debris. What is beefy are the fat, semi-knobby tires, a 120/70-12 front and 130/70-12 rear designed for grip and handling on a wide variety of surfaces, and maybe—just maybe—to pull those kids from the motocross track over to the scooter side of the showroom. A disc brake in front a drum in the back handle stopping duties.

The engine is built for reliability, torque and efficiency. It's a fuel-injected, four-valve, four-stroke Single with a single overhead cam and sporty 10.0:1 compression. Electric start makes operation easy, and an oiled-paper filter keeps off-road operation from ruining the motor, which uses a built-in centrifugal oil filter: an oil change is just that, with no new filter required. Transmission is fully automatic CVT with belt drive.

Styling is simple and aggressive. Those big rally-racer headlamps light the night with twin halogen bulbs—one for a 60w high beam, the other a 55w low—the leg shield is narrow, there are dirtbike-style handguards bolted to the exposed tube handlebar, and a compact (but complete with fuel gauge) instrument panel hides under a tiny fly screen. The frame tubes are exposed, and kind of like Marky Mark, the scooter manages to look tough and cute at the same time.

Getting on board the Zuma, the first thing I notice is that it's not your average Asian-sized scooter. It's roomier than a 50cc Zuma and it's a good fit for me at 5-foot-6. The seat is high, giving plenty of legroom but actually making it hard to reach the ground at stops unless I slide forward. It is broad and comfortable, and there's plenty of room for a passenger. Extenede trips may reveal the thin nature of the foam, but at least there's about five gallons of storage under the seat: a full-face helmet fits just fine with careful positioning. There's no rack, just a grab handle, but a rack is available in Yamha's accessory catalog. It's rated for just 10 pounds, so it may not be the best mount for an aftermarket topbox, limiting the Zuma's cargo capacity. There is also no bag hook in front, although Yamaha's accessory catalog does include a Big-Ten-ready beverage holder.

Starting and going is as easy as it gets. Fuel-injection and electric start ensure the engine fires quickly and is instantly ready to roll. Acceleration is snappy, with noticeably more torque down low than the two-stroke 50cc Zuma. Staying ahead of cars and SUVs is no problem, and the bike keeps a stable, substantial feel at speed. Top speed is just under 60 mph tucked in, and although I may or may not have been able to barely keep up with slow-moving traffic on Orange County's slow-moving 405 freeway, the 125 is not legal for use on divided roadways in California and other states. Instead, like the Honda Elite 110, it's perfect for fast-moving suburban arterials that might swallow up a smaller scoot. Stopping from the tiny front disc and rear drum is adequate, if not eyeball-flattening.

Handling is, as you'd expect, similarly trouble-free. Although the 125 weighs in about 60 pounds heavier than the 50, the wheelbase is just a half-inch longer at 50.8 inches, so quick steering and a light feel is in full effect. The bigger tires don't really slow steering much, but they do go over potholes, curbs and landscaped college quads nicely, and the quasi-knobbie tread gives confidence (if not that much actual grip) on dirt and gravel. Psychological or not, that apparent dirt-readiness makes the Zuma 125—and 50—a leading choice for the RV crowd.

The main difference between a scooter review and a motorcycle review is that practical, day-to-day functioning is center stage when you're writing about scooters. If the Zuma was a motorcycle, I would have a hard time getting excited about it: 55 mph, which is close to top speed on the Zuma, is where an open-class sportbike shifts into second gear. But can you put your helmet under the seat? Can you ride it while drinking a beverage? And how are you feeling about that insurance payment, bunky? For day-to-day, run-of-the-mill trips around town, nothing beats a scooter, and a ruggedly built, low-maintenance scoot like this Zuma especially fits the bill. Should you maintain a bike like this by the book? Of course. Do you have to? Probably not: I worked in a scooter shop in San Francisco, and the profusion of wretched-looking Yamaha Riva and Zuma scoots that still staggered here and there, zombie-like, after years—decades, sometimes—of abuse was a daily surprise. Will a highly-tuned sportbike stand up to the kind of neglect and abuse that is sure to befall a two-wheeled vehicle used as daily transportation? It can, given enough time and energy. Or you could just get a scooter and occasionally check the oil. Or not: it'll probably run for years anyway.

It won't use much gas in that time, either. Yamaha claims 89 mpg in EPA testing, which isn't real-world: expect more like 50-70 mpg, depending on how you ride. That should be good enough to squeeze almost 100 miles out of the 1.6-gallon tank. That's a lot of trips to the video store or other short-to-medium-range hops.

So given this attractive, low-cost, fun and easy transportation alternative, why aren't the young folk buying cheap, cheerful scooters and small motorcycles like their parents and (I hate to say this, fellas) grandparents did in the '60s and '70s? Maybe it's money: although a new 2010 Zuma 125 is just $3190 (adjust it for purchasing power and it's the equivalent of about $560 in 1970 dollars), the recent financial crisis (remember that?) has tightened up credit, making it likely that a younger buyer won't be able to "finance the steam off a hot bowl of soup," as a crusty old sales manager of mine liked to say. Sure, scooter and motorcycle prices in real dollars haven't gone up too much, but the cost of other things—medical care, tuition and housing—have really shot up, making purchases of "fun" things like motorcycles tougher.

Another reason may be distractions: there are a zillion things young people can spend money on. From snowboarding to BMX bicycles to Cancun vacation packages, everything is relentlessly marketed to youths 18-30. And that marketing is sophisticated, with many billions of dollars spent annually to reach youth buyers. Yamaha and the other motorcycle manufacturers are as forward-thinking as the next guy, but fighting such odds must be daunting.

It's a shame. The Zuma 125 is as good a scooter as you'll find; tough, durable, flexible and a blast to ride. Forty years ago, that was enough to get a whole generation onto two wheels: today, you can't even get their attention, and that's a shame.

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