Pence roots for the money

Governor Mike Pence visited Bloomington this week at the 2014 Governor’s Luncheon, where he spoke about his five-point plan for Indiana.

The Republican said his agenda would help Indiana continue to be the “fiscal envy” of the nation. The event, which was presented by the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, was held at IU’s Alumni Hall.

Pence’s focus on money and the economy has garnered results: his administration has helped to create over 50,000 private sector jobs, millions of dollars in tax cuts and has freed up more than $800 million for road construction.

Rumors of the Governor running to be a presidential candidate for 2016 were addressed at the luncheon. He assured people that his priority was Indiana.

Pence isn’t finished making changes. His plans for the future include a tight budget across the board. These are Pence’s stances on issues concerning the state of the economy.

HIP 2.0 vs. the ACA

The extension of the Healthy Indiana Plan is Pence’s alternative to the Affordable Care Act, which was instated this past year by the Obama Administration.

Pence has proposed to extend the program instead of expanding Medicaid through the ACA, using money from an increased cigarette tax.

Pence said HIP 2.0 would be more consumer-driven, private-market based and cost-conscious than the ACA, as it is designed not to stretch the state’s budget.
However, under federal law, HIP 2.0 has to include Medicaid’s mandatory benefits, which forces it to be much less strict.

Indiana officials estimate there will be nearly 350,000 new enrollees if HIP 2.0 is implemented.

Critics wonder what the real difference between HIP 2.0 and the ACA is. They say HIP 2.0 simply brings the funds in from a different source.

Jobs vs. the EPA

Pence has recently come out in opposition of new Environmental Protection Agency regulations limiting production for coal power plants.

Indiana relies on coal for more than 80 percent of its power.
Pence and other Republicans worry about the economic consequences of the regulation.

However, environmentalists say the job losses will be accounted for in the clean energy industry.

Indiana coal factories say the economic effects of the regulations remain to be seen.
Jessie Kharbanda, Hoosier Environmental Council executive director, said in a press release that enough time has been allotted for the industry to make changes without major layoffs or price increases.

I-69 vs. HJR-3

Expanding the state’s Interstate-69, Pence said, would help the state's economy.

More than $800 million dollars have been freed up for the construction.

He said the new roads will create jobs and make travel easier, which helps the economy in surrounding towns.

However, Pence’s pro-business and pro-jobs stance was contradicted when he came out against HJR-3. HJR-3 was a proposed amendment that would‘ve permanently altered the Indiana Constitution to define marriage as heterosexual. Most business leaders at the time said would the bill would make it harder to run their businesses.

Sarah Zinn