Daniels boasts job growth for graduates

The logo “Better Business, Better Community” was displayed in bold print behind the podium in the Bloomington Convention Center, 302 S. College Ave., yesterday morning at a luncheon where the Indiana governor spoke to local businesses and community members.\nGov. Mitch Daniels was welcomed onto the stage with an extended standing ovation as guests on the upper level of the convention center chatted and finished their meals.\nIn the hourlong presentation, Daniels outlined the importance of a “leaner, cleaner” governmental system, strategies for solving economic problems without burdening tax payers, and ways for Indiana to in-source by any means possible. \nOne of the big questions all politicians and business leaders are faced with is how to effectively use money gathered to create jobs and get greater returns, Daniels said. \n“Bloomington and the surrounding area is really an island of growth in southern Indiana,” he said. “IU continues to be both an educational and economic leader in Indiana, while educating those who we hope will be very influential in our state.”\nThe governor also discussed a plan to invest in areas of IU that have the potential to attract world-class faculty and students and continue to make IU a nationally and internationally recognized institution.\n“Government is not a business, but it is businesslike,” said Daniels, who implemented the public-private Indiana Economic Development Corporation.\nThe primary responsibility of “governmental trust” is to inform citizens of the ways in which tax dollars will be used and to do it in as a frugal and organized way, Daniels said.\n“I believe that is the best way to serve as a cleaner and leaner governmental entity,” Daniels said in his presentation. \nUpon being sworn into office Jan. 10, 2005, Daniels inherited a $600 million deficit from his predecessors, according to his Web site. In that year, Daniels turned Indiana’s burdens into a $300 million surplus, according to the site. \n“Our administration must take a very pragmatic and practical approach to problem solving,” he said.\nBesides from being distributed to local schools and previous administrations, Daniels said this excess money will be used for creating a variety of new jobs and re-investing funds in private businesses to get greater returns.\nWhen asked about the job market for graduating Hoosiers, Daniels responded, “Students are at a much higher advantage than they were only two years ago, with over 100,000 more jobs available,” he said. “I think the more important issue now is to create a wider variety of jobs that suit graduating students in fields such as telecommunications, legislation, agriculture and business.”\nAmong other issues on the agenda, the governor addressed implementing a full-day kindergarten plan, making more readily available health care and immunization, and moving forward with plans for better transportation and infrastructure in southern Indiana.