GREENFIELD — Gov. Eric Holcomb, who launched his re-election campaign over the weekend, says he plans to continue “putting people first” as he pursues policies that favor all Hoosiers.
Holcomb visited the Daily Reporter’s offices Monday morning after he kicked off a stretch of campaign stops this week. In an interview, the GOP governor spoke about “skilling up” the workforce through training in schools; the importance of the state developing a long-term teacher pay increase program; and why Indiana, under his watch, won’t legalize or allow medicinal marijuana unless the federal government does.
In Q-and-A form, here is what the governor said. His comments have been edited for space and clarity.
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Holcomb: “We want to keep the momentum going. Right now, it’s a great time to be a Hoosier. We want to make sure we continue with the same programs and policies that have not just put people first, but have taken Indiana to the next level in various different categories that we measure every day.
“Primarily, we’re focused on making sure that we’re ‘skilling up’ the workforce, that people have access to options in terms of resources to skill up, from very early on. … We’ve seen a number of programs come online in just the last couple of years that have really helped people enable their social mobility upward. Sometimes, even the most challenging populations get looked over — but not in Indiana. We’ve made it our purpose to go into our prison system, as an example, and make sure we’re doing what we can. It’s called the department of corrections, and we ought to be course-correcting while they’re there. (Offenders) are going to get out; they’re going to be living in our neighborhoods, in our communities. So how do we want them to be after they’re ‘inside?’ What we’re seeing are these programs … if you’re attaching someone to more than hope, but actually to a skill set, that recidivism rate goes down… So, it’s working, and we want to do more of what’s working and less of what’s not, in terms of how we skill people up, from start to finish.
“We’re also making major investments in our infrastructure programs, and our policies have all oriented themselves into putting people first as well — how we connect with one another, how we connect with our products to markets all over the country and all over the world. … We are a state of about 83% farm or forest, so we have a lot of territory that’s ripe for development if it is connected to the economy of today. … That also helps us attract businesses that are not just locating in a big city, like Greenfield, but just outside the city limits of Greenfield, so we want to make sure that they’re connected.…
“We have a 20-year roads and bridges paid-for program that’s $60 billion. So that continuity, that certainty going forward is a huge differentiator between us and so many other states because they’re planning on an every-couple-year budget process. Plus, we just dropped another billion dollars to some roads projects and to internet and to trails so communities can apply for a grant and we can try to stitch together how we connect that way as well as people… We just don’t think of our department of transportation as how we transport ourselves on the road; we think of it as how we transport all of the above: rails, trails, internet, roads, bridges, airports.
“We’re also putting people first in how we’re modernizing our economy, making sure more Hoosiers and folks we seek to attract to become Hoosiers, find this the lowest-risk profile investment they could make, or the highest-success profile investment they can make. … This past (legislative) session, we just passed some policies that make us even more attractive for talent recruitment and research and development. We’ve attracted so much more venture capital that helps us attract those high-wage, high-demand (jobs); we’re talking double or triple the average salary type job for Hoosiers. So the opportunity in Indiana is greater than it’s ever been for people. That is all feeding off itself and has us moving in the right direction. It’s exactly what we want to make sure that we continue to do and double-down on.”
Daily Reporter: Economists such as Michael Hicks at Ball State University say Indiana leads the nation in jobs most at risk of automation and ranks near the bottom in the number of jobs that go to college grads. This analysis suggests that real wage growth in Indiana probably is going to be anemic for years to come. What do you think of this assessment of the state’s economy?
Holcomb: “More manufacturing goes on in Indiana per capita than any other state in the country. What I want to make sure is that in 10 years from now, that we rank No. 1 in terms of advanced manufacturing. That requires us to invest more in people directly on their pathway and earlier … so when you’re in the 11th and 12th grade, you’re already on this seamless path, you already know of all the possibilities that are out there. As Mr. Hicks, I believe, points out, there are more and more (possibilities) due to globalization and due to technological advancements and automation. We know that math and science, for instance, is worth its weight in gold. So what we’re seeking to do is get more people on a pathway while they’re still in school. That’s internships, mentorships, earn-and-learn programs — so that you’re not just graduating and then saying, then what? The careers are out there right now. If it’s not college, there are careers available right now. Are you equipped to do those jobs, and it needs to be happening during, not after high school graduation. We are seeing that work in places all over the state … where some businesses are going on school corporation grounds. We know what’s working, and what we need to do is recognize the economy of the future and the demands of the future.
Daily Reporter: You recently proposed that $300 million of the state’s nearly $2 billion worth of cash reserves should get spent on several capital projects, such as $78 million to improve U.S. 31 and $50 million for the state fairgrounds’ swine barn. Why spend those funds on capital projects as opposed to teacher pay and education funding?
Holcomb: You want to make sure that you’re maximizing taxpayer dollars. What we were able to demonstrate by recommending to pay down our debt on these capital projects, we will end up saving $100 million over the course of 20 or 25 years, meaning we will be able to devote that ongoing saving — that we would’ve been paying someone interest — to teacher pay increases rather than taking that money and one-time spending it, and now it’s gone.
“Now what do you do next year? … In terms of teacher pay compensation, I want it raised. I want to do it systematically. I want to do it in a sustainable way. I don’t want to find ourselves in a situation where every two years we’re doing what we’ve done for the last 202 years. I want it to be on a flight path of here’s how we get to be a top three in our cohort or in neighboring Midwestern states. That requires the data to actually drive us to meet that goal. That’s what this teacher pay commission (Next Level Teacher Compensation Commission) is doing right now … We’re trying to gather all the information that we can from every angle, whether teacher or superintendent or taxpayer or parent or student, and make sure we get this thing right. … It would be profusely appreciated if (teachers) supply us with input as well because they’re in the trenches, boots on the ground; they’re doing it every day.
“I am sincere about saying I am seeking their input. That’s why this commission was put together. I’m also a product of a retired public school teacher who I had in third grade, so I’ve been up close and personal with this issue for many years. … Just keep in mind that in Indiana there’s the state contribution toward teacher pay, and there’s a local contribution toward teacher pay. The state has prioritized it as our No. 1 expenditure; we devote over 50% of our total budget to K-12. … I’m confident the state of Indiana will be devoting more dollars to K-12. I did another one-time move where we took $150 million of surplus and sent it to K-12, and we paid down their debt. … And I said at the State of the State address, and every day after when asked, I hope that this $150 million finds its way to teachers.
Daily Reporter: Marijuana is always a hot topic among Hoosiers, especially as Illinois and Michigan have OK’d its legalization and Ohioans can use marijuana medicinally. Why do you want to keep marijuana illegal in Indiana while parts of the Midwest are starting to allow its use?
Holcomb: “We’re a law-and-order state, and I want to enforce the law, and it’s illegal, federally speaking. Now, I fully get that there’s not enforcement out there right now, and states are acting as their own free agents and doing what they please. I have requested from our federal partners that if there’s a change in that, please let us know, and we’re happy to be helpful in terms of the research and development that needs to occur on the potential medicinal benefits of marijuana.
“I do hear from some folks who say it would be beneficial, and I empathize and sympathize with them, folks who served in the military or who are going through a certain treatment. I want to make sure folks do know there are already alternatives out there that have gone through the FDA process that are legal.
“This is not Budweiser. If we’re going to call this a medicine, it needs to go through the right process, and that’s the FDA process. … We have one of the best ag schools in the country. We have one of the best medical schools in the country — Purdue and IU — and we’re happy to do the research, the thorough medical research to find out what are truly the benefits. … I’m not driven by the, ‘there’s a lot of money over there in that’; that doesn’t persuade me. Sometimes running to cash that seems too good to be true might just be that. Now, let’s have the medical research done, and then the federal government needs to make it legal, and then we see where we go.”
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In terms of teacher pay compensation, I want it raised. I want to do it systematically. I want to do it in a sustainable way.
–Gov. Eric Holcomb, on educators’ campaign for increased pay
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This is not Budweiser. If we’re going to call this a medicine, it needs to go through the right process, and that’s the FDA process.
–Gov. Eric Holcomb, on legalizing the use of marijuana
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