Tag Archives: Indiana

Welfare Reform

welfare.1

I don’t mind the giving – heck, I give plenty on my own without the government getting involved.  And on *some* level, I don’t mind the government getting involved.  But what I DO mind is the breaking of the social contract all while being chastised for being greedy.

If you are truly down and out – a victim of circumstance – then by all means it is the mark of a civilized people to reach out and provide a hand out and a hand up.

But when you are simply living off the labor of another man for no other reason than because you can – the time has come to end it:

…during the recession, the food stamp work requirement for able-bodied adults without dependents was suspended as part of President Barack Obama’s 2009 stimulus package. (The work requirement limits able-bodied adults without dependents to three months of food stamp benefits in a 36-month period unless they work at least part time, participate in a work program, or do community service.)

Maine, one of the most proactive states in reinstating work requirements for food stamps, saw its caseload of able-bodied adults without dependents decrease by 80 percent within just a few months after re-establishing the work requirement.

Kansas has experienced similar results, seeing its caseload decline by 75 percent. Accompanying the decline in caseload has been an increase in employment and earnings for able-bodied adults without dependents.

The Foundation for Government Accountability identified that nearly 60 percent of Kansans who left the food stamp rolls following the establishment of food stamp work requirements found employment within 12 months and, “their incomes rose by an average of 127 percent per year.”

Indiana has experienced similar outcomes. Indiana reinstated work requirements in July 2015. Six months after reinstating these requirements, the state’s caseload of able-bodied adults without dependents decreased by 68 percent.

According to Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration, “Nearly 5,000 Hoosiers who were receiving benefits in July are no longer receiving assistance because they obtained gainful employment and now have an income that exceeds eligibility standards.”

If you CAN work but don’t, and have no dependents living with you, the time has come to admit that you are simply taking free stuff – all the while, likely receiving wages under the table in the form of cash.

A Sensible Response To Indiana

NASCAR

People are people.  And as such, will find that they want to associate with people they find … agreeable.

I may find that association unacceptable – think my daughter and ANY boy – or not.  But the truth remains that we are free, it’s a hallmark, to associate with any one we want.

Indiana has sparked controversy, and many liberal groups have responded by “banning” behavior they find disagreeable.  Funny that.  Disagree with a Leftist?  Be banned!

But I like NASCAR’s response:

NASCAR is disappointed by the recent legislation passed in Indiana,” chief communications officer Brett Jewkes said in a statement. “We will not embrace nor participate in exclusion or intolerance. We are committed to diversity and inclusion within our sport and therefore will continue to welcome all competitors and fans at our events in the state of Indiana and anywhere else we race.

In short – “we disagree with Indian but will continue doin’ what we do!”

Redneck logic!

Liberty – Indiana – Discrimination

Freedom of Religion

There has been much ado over the recent bill signed into law in Indiana.  It would appear that the good state has legislated that a business may discriminate based on the owner’s religious bias.  The immediate thought comes to mind of the baker unwilling to create a wedding cake for a gay couple.

My immediate thought is that the law is silly.  There is no need to spell out and create a special exception for religious freedom.  After all, we are all free people and, as such, are free to associate with whomever we please.

But I must admit to the shock I am seeing from people over this bill.  As if it was news that we discriminate in our individual lives.

We discriminate on where we live, where we send our kids to school, who we hire as a babysitter.  Shit, we discriminate on who we date.  But when it comes to who we sell a cake too….back up!

We are a free people.  Free to do as we like with whom we like; as long as it doesn’t infringe on the rights of others.  And no person has a right to a wedding cake.

Period.

The Decline of the Union Worker

If the decline of the union means that American companies begin hiring more people, I’m all for the decline of the American union:

Last July was a good month for factory workers in Anderson, Ind., where a Honda parts supplier announced plans to build a new plant and create up to 325 jobs. But it was a grim month in the Cleveland suburbs, where an industrial plastics firm told the state of Ohio it was closing a plant and laying off 150 people.

Nearly all of the Ohio workers belonged to a labor union. Workers at the Indiana plant don’t. Their fates fit a post-recession pattern: American factories are hiring again, but they’re not hiring union members.

But nationally, is there a trend that would suggest that union shops are doing better than or worse than non-union shops?

U.S. manufacturers have added a half-million new workers since the end of 2009, making the sector one of the few bright spots in an otherwise weak recovery. And yet there were 4 percent fewer union factory workers in 2012 than there were in 2010, according to federal survey data. On balance, all of the job gains in manufacturing have been non-union.

This isn’t rocket surgery.  It’s been a fact for a long time now that unions are nothing more than modern day racketeer outfits.  While they may provide better compensation for their members, they restrict the number of jobs that otherwise might have been available.  Further, and perhaps more insidious, is the fact that the monies generated from their members goes straight into the hands of politicians.

Good riddance.

The State of States

If only federal republicans could govern in the way and manner of state republicans:

Thanks to a Republican governor committed to developing its natural resources, not punishing entrepreneurs who do, Texas legislators are facing an $8.8 billion surplus over the next two years. To the east, Republican governors Bill Haslam of Tennessee and Rick Scott of Florida have also turned recession deficits into budget surpluses. Moving north, Michigan’s Gov. Rick Snyder, Iowa’s Gov. Terry Brandstad, and Indiana’s out-going-Gov. Mitch Daniels, also can now all boast surpluses in the hundreds of millions of dollars. All of these governors managed to turn their state’s fiscal situation around through spending cuts, not tax hikes. Now their budgets are in the black and their economies are growing.

I think it’s important to focus on the second to last sentence in that quote:

All of these governors managed to turn their state’s fiscal situation around through spending cuts, not tax hikes.

And lest we think that this is just a series of circumstances related to an overall nation economic rebound:

Things do not look as good in Democrat-controlled states. Illinois, who massively raised taxes on the rich, still has a $5.9 billion stack of unpaid bills. California, who also raised taxes on the rich, was supposed to post a small surplus this year. But tax collections are coming in at 10.8 percent below budget projections. As a result, the state is now projected to be $1.9 billion in the red by the end of this fiscal year.

Now, if that same fiscal responsibility could translate to the national level.

Right To Work: Indiana

We’re in a place where we need to create jobs.  We need to be able to take folks who are on the unemployment rolls and move them to the tax roles.  And to do that, we have got to make hiring someone a better option than not hiring someone.

Employees provide productivity.  They do this in the same way that machines and assembly lines do.  In the exact same manner and means that a company owner will seek out the cheapest source of copper or lumber or wool, she will seek out the cheapest source of labor.

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Senate Race 2010: V

Tonight looks like a good night to update some of the races.

Let’s look at the first group; Retiring Democrats

State Inc Party R-Candidate D-Candidate Leader Spread
CT D McMahon Blumenthol D 22
DE D Castle Open R 20
IL D Kirk Giannoulias R 5
ND D Hoevan Open R 24
IN D Coats Ellsworth R 12

I have moved the Indiana race to retiring Democrats; Mr. Bayh retired.  Not much has changed since last time I posted except that McMahon has slipped and Castle has surged.

Based on this and restarting the count we have the Republicans gaining 4 seats.

Score:  Democrats 55 Republicans 45

Not bad.

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Senate Race 2010: IV

This just in.  The race in Indiana has just gotten silly:

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Senate Race 2010: III

I have covered the open seats.  Those currently held by Democrats and those held by Republicans.  So far, I have it D-57 and R-43.

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