On Thursday, August 5, Mitch spoke to a group of young professionals about his vision for the future of Indiana and why he started Aiming Higher PAC. He also talks about why it is so important to get involved this fall and help win a majority in the Indiana House of Representatives to make sure that vision becomes a reality. Watch the video and then leave us a comment to let us know what you think.
VIDEO: Gov. Daniels on what it means to Aim Higher
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What government reform means for you and your family
Reform 1a: to put a change into an improved or condition; b: to amend or improve by change of form or removal of faults or abuses.
Much like everybody is for taxpayers, everybody says they are for reform. But when it comes down to crunch time, not everybody really wants to make the hard choices that true reform often requires.
Since 2005, Indiana state government has gone under massive reconstruction. Some examples;
- Everything in state government is measured. As the saying goes “if you aren’t keeping score, you are just practicing.” In Indiana state government, results matter, best practices are shared and the best performers are rewarded. Those who don’t perform are moved out.
- The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles went from being one of the worst in the nation to one of the best in customer satisfaction. Average wait time is less than nine minutes, and customer surveys show that over 93% are satisfied with their service.
- Agencies totally aligned towards job growth and most have trimmed budgets by 20%. That is all agencies work toward the goal of helping Hoosiers maximize their income, and they are doing it more efficiently.
- Implementing Kernan-Shepard Report. While there is still much to be done, the government reform proposals spearheaded by Chief Justice Randall Shepard and former Governor Joe Kernan have sparked a dramatic debate in Indiana about what our government should look like. There is still disagreement on some of the proposals, but many Hoosiers are beginning to understand that we need to consider ways to consolidate services where possible in order to make our state and local governments as efficient and responsive to taxpayers as possible.
For a long time, Hoosiers have been known as backward looking and resistant to change. But no more. Under the Daniels administration, Indiana state government is a Vanguard for change, and other states are now taking the steps that we began to take back in 2005. New Jersey is a great example under their new governor. But under Mitch Daniels, Indiana was for change before change was cool! Help Governor Daniels keep the positive changes coming.
A Government that Works for You
Is government serving people or are people serving the government. It’s a legitimate question with all the power grabs going on in Washington DC.
Recently there has been a lot of talk about government and the role it plays in the life of everyday people. Some say we need to limit government, that it has gotten too big and expensive. Others say that especially in a recession, government needs to grow, and besides there are just some things (i.e. health care, environment) that government needs to regulate more in order to make them more fair or safer.
Well in Indiana, the Daniels administration has focused on making government more limited, more efficient and more responsive to the people it serves, Hoosiers from all walks of life. How do they do it?
- Government agencies should be consistent and predictable.
- Businesses, entrepreneurs and families can make better decisions when they trust that the rules won’t change on them.
- Government should act at the speed of business!
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- Under the Daniels administration, permits are processed quicker, tax refunds are given in nearly half the time, and in the most striking example, wait times at the most infamous of government bureaucracies, the BMV, are down from nearly 45 minutes in 2005 to less than 10 in 2009.
- Government should use its resources in the most productive manner
- Indiana has its fewest employees since 1979. But it has hired 800 child protection workers and 200 State Troopers.
- Government should work to create an environment for its citizens to succeed.
- Government does not create jobs, businesses and individual entrepreneurs do!
The debate about the size and role of government can be traced back in this country to the Founding Fathers. It likely will go on forever. In the meantime, Indiana under the Daniels administration will strive to make government as efficient and empowering to the individual as possible.
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