Some things in the works...

This blog is about facts - not political gain or corporate bashing just for bashings sake.  It is about the facts and where our money is going.  To that end, we are doing some extensive research on our next blog posts.  Here's what is in the works:

• Our tax dollars go to many private companies who contract with the state for a variety of services - janitorial being one of them.  What kind of jobs are being created with that $12 million?  Are our tax dollars also going to subsidize these workers in the form of food stamps, medicaid or housing assistance because their employer doesn't pay wages in line with the self-sufficiency standards in Indianapolis?
• Our tax dollars also subsidize private companies through the State Home Health Care and Medicaid funds to provide home health care services.  The companies then categorize the workers as independent contractors for $8.00 per hour, which means they are not covered by the company's liability insurance, they are not offered health insurance, and they are responsible for paying their own payroll taxes - which are higher for independent contractors than a regular employee. 
• Indianapolis designated some stimulus money to go toward weatherization of houses - about $14,000 went to the Indiana Builders Association, some $400 has been spent. 
• WTHR reported last week that the Governor inflated numbers about jobs created across the state.  Also, in 2007, Indianapolis Economic Development, Inc. received $300 million for job creation which resulted in only 400 jobs.  That equals $750,000 per job, and we're sure the 400 workers didn't get that much in salary.
• Our public education system is in a crisis.  Rather than fix the problem, the Indiana State Legislature increased the funding for charter schools by 19.6% when other school districts were forced to make cuts.  This is not a criticism of charter schools, but most of them are non-profit corporations headquartered in other states, with no accountability to the public.  This also sounds like shifting the resources from one hole to another rather than fixing the cause of holes.
• At a City County Council committee meeting this week, charged as the CIB budget taskforce (or something like that), took "testimony" from the Indiana Convention and Visitors Association about the various sources of tax revenue that are generated downtown, like the innkeepers tax, food and beverage tax and sales tax.  Also, they reported on the money tourists spend in downtown Indianapolis and where that money goes regarding debt on Lucas Oil Stadium and the Convention Center.  They provided a copy of their power point, and the data were from 2006!  No wonder the CIB can't balance its budget.

We will post full blog posts about these issues as we gather more information, documentation, and proposed solutions.