Chamber Provides Weekly Update for ‘Abdul’

The Chamber’s Cameron Carter focuses his efforts on federal advocacy, as well as economic development and small business issues at the state level. He offered the following on the Chamber’s weekly radio appearance (9-9:30 on Wednesdays) on WXNT’s (1430 in Indianapolis) Abdul in the Morning program.

  • Federal stimulus: "It remains to be seen what it will do for business." Carter explains that the majority of the estimated $4.3 billion coming our way is tied to Medicaid, education and other dedicated purposes with approximately $200 million to be used at the discretion of state officials. He reiterates that deeper tax cuts and infrastructure investments would, in the Chamber’s view, have been more effective in providing immediate relief.
  • Local government reform: Carter compares today’s townships to the human appendix — "you don’t need it in this day and age." Asked about "selling" an issue that is not glamorous in nature, Carter offers that if "families don’t have money to spend, they don’t spend it." In addition providing more effective services, the Kernan-Shepard reforms are "about putting our finances in better order and making people more accountable."
  • Unemploment insurance trust fund: There are no easy answers to this growing problem, one the Chamber had identified more than a year ago. Eligibiliy loopholes must be addressed, along with benefit levels that are above the national average, with ultimately increased investment by employers (and potentially employees) helping make the system sustainable moving forward.

Leave a Reply