House GOP rejects Pryor plan for Hoosier working families

INDIANAPOLIS – State Rep. Cherrish Pryor (D-Indianapolis) today offered a three-point plan to support working families across Indiana, which was rejected by House Republicans on a party-line vote.

Pryor’s plan for Hoosier working families would have:

• Frozen the Corporate Income Tax Rate at 2018 levels and redirected that money to increase the earned income tax credit from 9 to 11 percent.
• Increased the state’s minimum wage to $8.50.
• Studied paid family medical leave.

“In recent years, we have seen the House work overtime to pass tax breaks for large corporations, while overlooking Hoosier working families who find themselves having to do more with less,” said Pryor. “We now live in a state where 1 percent of all Hoosiers earn more than 17 times the average income of the remaining 99 percent, and Indiana’s median household income is substantially below that of other states in the Midwest.

“This credit would benefit low-income families and was best described by former President Ronald Reagan as anti-poverty, pro-family and pro-job creation,” she continued. “The credit encourages people to work and rewards them for their efforts.

“It all comes down to giving people who want to work the chance to earn a wage that enables them to care for themselves and their families,” Pryor said. “People at the upper end of the economic scale have that chance. Why shouldn’t all Hoosiers have that chance?

“When we talk about creating a positive environment for working Hoosiers, I believe it is critical for us to implement laws that give employees time off for the birth or adoption of a child or to care for a family member with a serious illness,” she noted. “There is no such law in Indiana, and I believe we are way past time in doing something about it.

“We should be implementing policies like these that support the hardworking Hoosiers across our state,” Pryor concluded.