Indiana Democratic Party 7-4-15 Weekly Radio Address

Indiana Democratic Party chair John Zody takes a look at some of the new laws effective July 1, 2015 and takes a moment to wish everyone a Happy Independence Day!

TRANSCRIPT:

• This is Chairman John Zody, bringing you the weekly podcast for the Indiana Democratic Party.

• On July 1, new laws went into effect for the state of Indiana – and as we begin this new fiscal year, let’s take a look and remember some laws that leave many Hoosiers wondering – “How does this benefit me?” Unfortunately, the answer to that question is “nothing”.

• First, the common construction law was repealed – and now contractors and business who choose to do so can begin paying skilled workers lower wages for a hard day’s work

• Indiana ranks 38^th in the nation for income per capita, and the last thing we want to do is further expand the wage gap for our middle class.

• Democrats, we have to work even harder now to secure better wages for hardworking families and bring equal pay for women and minorities across the state. Hoosier families deserve better. Mike Pence and Statehouse Republicans disagree – as they led the effort to repeal the common wage law.

• Also, a new state budget will cut opportunities for rural and urban schools, and instead, $40 million in loans will be handed to charter schools that can’t pay their bills.

• Hoosiers, we need to continue our fight for better opportunities for all schools. We need to see students succeed in the classrooms, regardless of where they’re from.

• This includes expanding Pre-K to every Hoosier child who needs it, as well as the elimination of the burdensome “textbook tax” for public school families.

• And then there’s RFRA. While Democrats and a majority of Hoosiers did oppose this bill and supported adding nondiscrimination clauses to our state civil rights laws, the bill was still signed into law

• Now, Hoosiers continue to feel the repercussions as taxpayers must pay $2 million and more to clean up this mess in the first place due to out of touch ideology and mismanagement by the Pence Administration.

• Supporting a nondiscrimination clause for the state civil rights statute is an issue a majority of Hoosiers are behind, and it’s up to Democrats to make sure we can get this done. All Hoosiers must be welcomed in the state of Indiana – including our LGBT community

• We have a lot of work to do if we want to solve Indiana’s for Hoosier families. But while we look forward to that discussion soon, let this July 4^th weekend and the meaning of Independence Day be a reminder to all of us of the freedoms we have in common with all Hoosiers in Indiana.

• We’re blessed to live in a country where we can have these discussions openly and without fear of persecution.

• And while we may disagree sometimes on how we get there – we always remain hopeful that the end result of those debates will be something that makes the lives of Hoosiers – and Americans – better

• On behalf of the Indiana Democratic Party, I want to wish all of those listening a safe and Happy Fourth of July. Let’s celebrate our independence together.

• Thank you for listening.