Pelath on Governor’s 2015 Jobapalooza: still nothing to help Hoosiers making less

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath from Michigan City today issued the following statement in response to Gov. Mike Pence’s announcement about job creation in our state this year:

“Even the governor doesn’t seem as worked up about this year’s Jobapalooza as he has in the past. It’s not as easy to trumpet more than 600 new jobs, when you bragged about more than 2,000 jobs at last year’s event and more than 1,000 jobs the year before that.

“It’s not just fewer dogs and ponies, but more like Chihuahuas and petting zoo ponies.

“Perhaps this is the start of him finally grasping what the serious-minded have known for quite a while now: these announcements exist in their own universe, separate from reality.

“Here’s the drill. All of these announcements are jobs that might be created over the next few years. The governor, of course, wants you to think they’re being created now, as though there’s a card table with a stack of job applications right there to be filled out. You have to wade through a ton of verbiage to get to the fine print, where you find such niceties as a company that intends to create 80 jobs by the year 2023, which was a headliner from last year’s Jobapalooza. This year’s announcement includes figures stretched out to 2024.

“Of course, at this time next year, there will be another big announcement, and we won’t know if the claims made in 2015…or 2014…or 2013…turn out to be true. And when we get to 2023, well, someone else will be governor by then. Did jobs materialize? No one is keeping track.

“But the thing these grand festivities neglect is the fact that Indiana has become a great place to work for low wages.

“If you would like to discuss numbers that are more pertinent that what is trumpeted by Forbes Magazine and other house organs of the corporate elite, here are some to consider, directly from the national census:

“Indiana’s median household income is $48,737, compared to the national average of $53,482.

“Our per capita income is $24,953, while the national average is $28,555.

“These numbers continue to demonstrate how Statehouse powers have worked to hold down wages at every turn. What we should be doing is creating good-paying jobs through the House Democrats’ Crossroads Tomorrow road and bridge program, which doesn’t take any more money from people who are lagging behind.“When we start tangibly improving the way of life for Hoosier families, that will be something worth celebrating at the Statehouse.”