Politics Indiana V14 N24 Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009 As Washington bickers, Hoosiers freeze Obama warns of Wednesday that a new Marriott Hotel ‘catastrophe’ as at its downtown Harrison Square stimulus plan stalls project is stalled. Deno Yiankes, White By BRIAN A. HOWEY Lodging president INDIANAPOLIS - Want and chief executive to build a new hotel at a minor officer for invest- league baseball complex in down- ments and develop- town Fort Wayne? No credit avail- ment, said banks able. Buy a recreational vehicle? are hoarding cash. Credit frozen. “We’re not looking While Washington dickers for the perfect loan, over the stimulus bill President we’re looking for a Obama says is essential to ward loan,” Yiankes said. off a financial “catastrophe”, the An Associated Press banking system is on life support Then candidate Barack Obama outside an abandoned Chicago steel analysis earlier in and continues to sap the Indiana mill in a TV ad during the Indiana presidential primary. the week explained economy and jobs, throwing more that banks say they and more Hoosiers into the cold. are caught in a Jayco in Middlebury and Keystone RV in Elkhart laid off 600 frustrating Catch-22: How can they make more loans when more workers this past week. The Elkhart Truth reported creditworthy borrowers are scarce, their balance sheets that the layoffs in Elkhart and LaGrange counties, where the are saddled with bad debt and regulators are hounding jobless rate is 15 percent, “brought renewed attention to them to horde cash. “We want to lend, but the regulators the crippling effect of the frozen credit markets.” The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported on See Page 3 What stimulus could do By DAVE KITCHELL LOGANSPORT - Imagine being one of 50 winners of a most unusual, yet probable national lottery – a federal stimulus package for states. As Congress hammers out the final details of a package spiraling in the direction of “It was the last state we deliberated $1 trillion, the pork barrel projects are on and the state we wanted the being shed for the sake of programs and line items guaranteed to put most was Indiana.” people to work. What could be the beauty of this bill, and I use that word - David Plouffe on the Obama loosely given the cost to taxpayers, campaign selecting 18 battleground is the flexibility. If governors and/or legislatures really have the final say in states last summer how to spend their share of a federal (See page 7 for full story) HOWEY Politics Indiana Page 2 Weekly Briefing on Indiana Politics Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009 stimulus package, it could go a long small business and rural development Howey Politics way to moving the economy forward, objectives. as in fast forward. If it’s just going to 7. Green up the environment. Indiana be bankrolled, forget it. Indiana has been a leader in alterna- is a nonpartisan news- I don’t know what Indiana’s tive fuel production, but the Indianap- governor and legislature would do if olis Star’s recent coverage of mercury letter based in Indianapolis they got the chance to spend, say, a levels in Indiana streams points to the billion dollars from the federal govern- need to reduce power plant emissions. and published by NewsLink ment. But if they did ask, here’s what Giving utilities low-interest or zero- Inc. It was founded in my laundry list would look like: interest loans, or just plain grans to 1. Give rebates for companies install scrubbers and other equipment 1994 in Fort Wayne. purchasing Indiana steel. It’s a big that reduces emissions would improve ticket item for Indiana, and the pay is our overall health. ginormous. A little sales tax on steel 8. Encourage the purchase of Brian A. Howey, publisher goes a long way in a state economy. Indiana-made vehicles. Giving govern- Mark Schoeff Jr.,Washington 2. Fund school consolida- ment entities a $2,000 rebate for a Jack E. Howey, Editor tion costs. It’s one thing to say it will Subaru made in Lafayette or a Honda help Indiana. It’s another thing to put made in Greensburg for instance Beverly Phillips, Associate your money where your mouth is and would be an added boost to those Editor actually encourage small schools and economies, as well as the Chrysler urban schools with declining enroll- plant in Kokomo. The credit could be ments to merge. Long-term savings $500 for every individual. Subscriptions: of operational costs would be huge to 9. Find the 10 best locally $350 annually HPI via e-mail; taxpayers. owned Indiana banks. Giving bankers closest to lenders the opportunity to $550 annually HPI & HPI Daily 3. Buyouts for state employ- ees. Older employees could free up invest in their communities in the next Wire. more jobs in Indiana simply by quali- six months shouldn’t be a problem for Call 317-254-0535. fying for the same retirement rules them. 10. Flip a house. For any Hoo- Howey Politics Indiana affecting teachers. If you’re 55 and have 30 years of service to the state, sier who buys a new home in the next PO Box 40265 you can retire. That would free up six months, a $1,000 check would be Indianapolis, IN 46240-0265. thousands of jobs. in the mail. For anyone who improves 4. Offer one free night of a house purchased in a tax sale, a lodging in Indiana. For out-of-state $500 check would be in hand. For Contact Us residents, this would be a huge tour- anyone in the state’s home ownership www.howeypolitics.com ism boost. Day trips to Indiana from protection plan who wants to avoid foreclosure, a payment would be made [email protected] surrounding states, even if they are just to visit family or friends, would on their mortgage, with a 67 percent Main Office: 317-202-0210. inject money into local economies and payment made in a second month Howey’s Mobile: 317-506-0883. the state would reap more tax rev- and a 33 percent payment made in Indianapolis Fax: 317-254-0535. enue. the third month of participation in the 5. Give scholarships to the program. Washington: 202-256-5822. unemployed. For everyone who has 11. Fund Head Start teach- Business Office: 317-627-6746. lost a job or been laid off in the past ing positions. Eliminating the backlog ©2009, Howey Politics 18 months, going to school is a good of children on waiting lists for this option. It allows adults to retool them- preschool program would allow some Indiana. All rights reserved. selves for other jobs until the economy parents to go to work, employ many Photocopying, Internet forwarding, warms up and it gives the unemployed teachers who are out of work, and faxing or reproducing in any form, a chance to add to their skill sets. reduce remediation costs for schools. 6. Develop incentives for e- There are probably plenty in whole or part, is a violation of commerce. Start-up companies have of ideas like these. Many of them federal law without permission from little overhead if they are Internet should be vetted for impact and public the publisher. based. Offering incentives for legiti- scrutiny. Not all of mine – check that, mate Internet businesses would help maybe none of mine – would make HOWEY Politics Indiana Page 3 Weekly Briefing on Indiana Politics Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009 the cut. But I’ve made an attempt to start the dialogue incumbent on all of us to lookat ways to make good things of what we’ve got to do in the 19th state to move the happen for Hoosiers as soon as possible. v economy forward without falling flat on our faces. With Dave Kitchell is a veteran Indiana journalist more than a quarter of a million Hoosiers out of a job, it’s who teaches journalism at Ball State. solve all our problems, that we can ignore fundamental from page 1 Stimulus, challenges like energy independence,” Obama said. “I re- are flat-out telling us, ‘Get your capital up.’ Then there’s ject those theories -- and so did the American people when Congress telling you to lend it all out,” said Greg Melvin, a they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly board member at FNB Corp., a Hermitage, Pa.-based bank for change.” that got $100 million in bailout money. “Two arms of the The heat is likely to grow. On Wednesday, eight government are saying exactly the opposite thing -- it’s Indiana mayors - including South Bend’s Stephen Luecke ridiculous.” and Evansville’s Jonathan Weinzapfel - traveled to Wash- This comes as the U.S. economy contracted by ington to push for the stimulus package. Earlier this month, 3.8 percent (some had predicted it would be in the 5 per- Elkhart Mayor Dick Moore went to Washington seeking cent range) and expectations are that more job losses are stimulus funds. Moore carried with him a list of 18 “shovel on the way. It has plunged a knife into Indiana revenues, ready” public works projects, totaling $92.4 million and which came up $142 million short last month and has Gov. creating an estimated 2,300 jobs (Elkhart Truth). Mitch Daniels and legislators preparing Also pressuring Capitol Hill for the worst. were Republican governors. “Time However, the stimulus pack- is of the essence ... we have to get age - which could create an estimated the money out as quickly as we 79,000 jobs in Indiana - is stalled on can,” said Republican Vermont Gov.