Friend Report
This job requires lots of interaction with people. That is how it should be. In order to represent the District as accurately as possible, communication is key to success. This past week, different individuals in very random settings told me how much they enjoy reading these columns in the newspaper. Comments such as, "Those are very encouraging to an occasional writer like myself," I hear frequently. My goal with these reports is to talk to the readers. I don't try to be profound or wise, I just want to let people know how I see the General Assembly. Every weekend during the session, I try to write a Friend Report for District 23. It's my way of staying in touch. I'm not a blogger or any other online author. I write my Friend Reports on a yellow legal pad. So thank you for the compliments and I will continue to write as long as the paper prints them. I attended a Third House Forum in Nappanee on Saturday. For a community on their heals from a tornado in 2007 and the RV industry, the attitudes displayed are encouraging. We discussed the usual fare: unemployment benefits, factory closings, education, and everything else that pertains to their community's serious situation. The surprising comments that consumed lots of meeting time were about credit, cash and how we educated children about personal financial responsibility. People seem to agree that our current system does not help enough with the next generation's attitude towards money. There was a school superintendent in the crowd and he added that the General Assembly has already added to school curriculum requirements such as sex education, AIDS education, tolerance education and other social instruction. His point was that there are parental responsibilities to educate their children about money and finance. That thought is very hard to dispute. One issue that has not been adequately addressed by the House is unemployment insurance (UI). The House Democrats presented a bill for consideration, but when Republicans offered amendments the bill was withdrawn by the author. It was never presented to the House again. The unemployment insurance fund is in serious trouble. With more and more Hoosiers applying for benefits, the fund has been depleted and the state is borrowing millions of dollars from the Federal government. The solution to this problem will not be a pleasant one for employers or employees. Some concessions will be necessary from both sides. It is imperative that everyone in the legislature take this issue seriously and find a solution. Neither party may like the result, but the system demands an economic fix, and as such we cannot continue to take the same bucket to an empty well. A better solution must be found. Thank you for the comments. Please stay in touch with your state government. More Later, Bill Friend |
