Surplus built on backs of the unseen

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath from Michigan City issued the following statement to discuss the state budget closeout for the end of the 2013 Fiscal Year:

“The leaders of our state worship these surplus numbers like they are ends in and of themselves.

“The fact is that these numbers only matter to the extent that our people are prospering.

“In that context, these numbers mean nothing.

“Our unemployment rate still remains around 8 percent. Families still are struggling to keep their heads above water. Our local schools still must grapple with doing more with less. Thanks to the stubbornness of our leadership, too many families still must rely upon the emergency room as their only health care option.

“Their voices are ignored by the people who focus solely on numbers.

“The tax cuts they trumpet create no opportunities for aspiring Hoosiers. At best, they will mean a few bucks more a year. That won’t pay for too many groceries…or one full tank of gas…or medicine down at the pharmacy…or even the textbooks their kids will need to go to school.

“And let us not forget that these huge surplus numbers also were built on providing fewer services for the people of Indiana.

“Yes, the dollar figures tossed around today are huge. But they will mean little to the millions of Hoosiers whose hopes remain unnoticed by state government.”