Pence State of the State Hits Small Biz High Notes
In his State of the State Address, Gov. Mike Pence made news with small business owners by talking up a balanced budget amendment to the state’s constitution, expressing his opposition to the Obama administration’s “War on Coal” and supporting a simplified tax code.
NFIB State Director Barbara Quandt was pleased to hear Pence commit to continuing to govern Indiana with a balanced budget while focusing on simplifying the tax code and preventing property tax increases.
“Tonight, he continued to build on his record as a pro-growth, pro-small-business leader who will propel Indiana to even greater successes in 2015,” said Quandt of Pence’s Jan. 14 speech.
Here’s a bingo-card look at Pence’s speech in terms of how many small-biz friendly policies he mentioned and the best related applause lines of the night.
Balanced Budget:
“Fiscal discipline has been the hallmark of the past decade of Indiana governance. Our balanced budgets have led to economic growth, lower tax rates and job creation.
Remarkably, Indiana is one of the few states in the country that does not have a balanced budget requirement in its constitution. It is a tribute to the public servants in this room that Indiana has adhered to that practice in recent years even though it is not required. A balanced budget requirement in the constitution will assure Hoosiers that today and tomorrow Indiana will spend wisely, protect our state from an economic downturn, and unlike Washington, D.C., we won’t bury our children and grandchildren under mountains of debt.”
Environmental Regulations:
“Because low-cost energy is vital to our economy, we need an all-of-the-above energy strategy, including energy efficiency. But know this, Indiana is a pro-coal state, and we must continue to oppose the overreaching schemes of the EPA until we bring this war on coal to an end.”
Healthcare Reform:
“We have been saying “No” to Obamacare in Indiana, “No” to establishing a state-based exchange and “No” to expanding a broken Medicaid system. Medicaid is not a program we need to expand. It is a program we need to change. And that is just what we’ve been doing with the Healthy Indiana Plan. The original program was crafted more than six years ago in this chamber on a bipartisan basis, and our new proposal would offer more low-income Hoosiers the chance to get quality insurance and control their own healthcare.”
Property Taxes:
“Over the past two years we’ve made great progress cutting taxes. Now let’s simplify the tax code and prevent the rapid increase of property taxes on family farms.”
Question: What did you think of Pence’s speech? Are you optimistic about your Indiana small business’ prospects over the next four years? Why or why not?
