Letter: Governor Braun’s Priorities: Pay raises, funding cuts, and the Road

Governor Mike Braun has wasted no time showing Hoosiers where his priorities lie, and unfortunately, it’s not with working families, public schools, or local communities. Instead, Braun has decided to hand out massive pay raises to his cabinet members—fourteen top officials, including the heads of the INDOT, the Department of Education, and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation will now collectively make $3.3 million in salaries. That’s a staggering $1 million increase from the previous administration. Along with those raises, Braun received a 65 percent pay increase for a salary of $221,024 but state employees were not allowed any pay increase for the coming year.

While rewarding his political appointees, Braun is simultaneously demanding austerity from Indiana’s towns, counties, and public schools. His plan to slash property taxes—already among the lowest in the nation—will devastate essential services. Our schools, which are already struggling to recruit teachers, will be forced to make painful cuts. Meanwhile, police and fire departments may see layoffs, putting public safety at risk. Braun even had the audacity to tell mayors and county councils to prove they will suffer from his budget.

Medicaid funding is also on the chopping block, due to mismanagement by the State Legislature and Braun’s plan to hurt the most vulnerable residents of Indiana.  Elderly in nursing homes, people with disabilities and children in need of services will pay a heavy price for Braun’s determination to prove a point that will have cruel outcomes.

But Braun isn’t stopping there. He is still backing the Mid-States Corridor, a billion-dollar boondoggle that will cut through homes, farms, and businesses in Dubois, Davies and Martin counties. This unnecessary new-terrain highway would increase property taxes, while benefiting a select few. And if that weren’t enough, Braun wants to turn all of Indiana’s interstates into toll roads, forcing Hoosiers to pay more just to commute to work. On top of that, he plans to extend high gas taxes, making everyday life even more expensive for working families, all while Indiana has a $2.4 billion reserve.

Governor Braun’s actions speak louder than words. He is more interested in rewarding his inner circle and pushing costly projects that will benefit his own business.  Indiana deserves better. We need leadership that prioritizes our communities, not political insiders and pet projects.

Teresa Kendall
Jasper