We cannot tax our way to prosperity
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Could you imagine if Democrats touted property tax relief with an average of $100 property tax savings a year and created a universal voucher program at a time there was a $2.4B revenue forecast shortfall? It would rightfully raise eyebrows.
But that’s exactly what the Indiana Republican supermajority is doing.
At a time when families are feeling the squeeze of inflation, property tax spikes and the rising cost of living, the legislature had an opportunity to put forward a people-first budget and property tax reform bill. Instead, the majority prioritized short-term wins and expensive ideological projects, while Democrats put forward a responsible, compassionate roadmap to real relief and long-term stability.
We deserve a path forward that:
1. Improves access to safe, quality and affordable housing options. This includes taking care of the unhoused, renters and increasing home ownership. Criminalizing vulnerable persons, as has been proposed this session, only leads to jail overcrowding, which ultimately burdens taxpayers and public safety authorities.
2. Focuses on strengthening Indiana’s PreK-12 public school system to meet the needs and demands of families and our economy. This includes reimagining the Department of Child Services and its relationship with schools to best serve kids and families. Developing young Hoosiers into healthy, productive and innovative adults should be our top priority. Our economy will one day soon rely on a new generation of workers. We must invest in them NOW.
2. Embraces new Americans who choose to call Indiana home. Seventy percent of our economic growth is fueled by migrants. Rural, urban and suburban communities have all seen growth. This should be seen as a positive addition to our state’s economy and not a strain on our systems.
Democrats offered a commonsense budget that prioritizes everyday Hoosiers. We focused on fully funding public schools and increasing teacher pay, so that students and educators have the support they need to thrive. We made sure families wouldn’t have to wait for basic health services by eliminating Medicaid waitlists and protecting those services from potential federal cuts.
Our budget plan also included practical tax relief, such as putting more money back in people’s pockets through a larger earned income tax credit and increased support for renters. We proposed a low-interest homebuyer program to help more Hoosiers achieve homeownership and investments in public health programs that actually improve lives, from prenatal care to lead screening.
And we didn’t forget about quality of life – supporting our veterans, protecting public land and making sure kids across Indiana could get free books through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
We even planned for the future, creating safeguards to protect critical services from federal budget cuts.
This is what responsible governance looks like—planning ahead, protecting the most vulnerable and investing in the future of our state. We can’t tax our way to prosperity, but we also can’t cut our way to a better future. The Indiana legislature should properly plan and invest in the most important resource – its people.
There is a lot of uncertainty, but this is the time the government should be working for the people to ensure that every Hoosier can thrive. Our budget should reflect our values: community, opportunity and a belief that every Hoosier deserves a shot at a better life.