What the Future Has In Store

This blog’s purpose was to reveal the problems of Richmond, Ind. and the economy as a whole while maybe trying to reveal a few answers along the way.  As can be seen from the previous entries, the problems are pretty laid out.  Whether it concerns health care, unemployment, or education, Richmond is struggling.  In order to put some perspective on the future of cities like Richmond I decided to talk to Congressman Mike Pence, a Republican and U.S. Representative of Indiana’s 6^th district, which includes a large portion of eastern Indiana (meaning Richmond and its surrounding cities).  Though I tried through phone calls and e-mails, Pence remained unresponsive and unavailable.  Even so, I was able to speak to one of his representatives – an employee of the Congressional Office in Richmond named Debbie Berry.  Berry specializes in unemployment, and was wonderful at giving some basic statistics, but refused to help me out with what I really wanted to know.  What was going to be done about all this? 

The face of the present and the future.

Berry basically set out some ground rules for me.  She said that it wasn’t Mike Pence’s job to worry about the situation in Richmond – not about unemployment or the economy.  He can’t be blamed for anything, because he only affects the broad laws that all states must adapt.  But it is exactly those laws that have a giant impact on the nation as a whole, not to mention the economy. I decided to set about finding out how much influence Pence has on the laws that really affect the population of Richmond, the small workers in a small city.

Despite the fact that many people I’ve spoken to in Richmond have no idea who Mike Pence is, he has quite a reputation as a conservative, and a smooth talking one at that.  He is a possible runner for president in the 2012 elections, and that is no small feat.  Even now he represents Richmond in Congress, his opinions supposedly being set out on the table to match up with the people who reside there.  Taking a look at his platform and his voting record, however, sets him at odds with almost everyone I’ve interviewed for this blog. 

According to Berry and his own website, Pence’s views rest solidly on less government and lower taxes for everyone as the main solution to all of our root problems.  He’s fought against Obama to maintain the Bush era tax legislation, which provides tax cuts to all income levels, and may hurt the already sore national deficit.  Also, though most people aren't aware of this, there is a tax base of $102,000, meaning that if you make more than that you won’t be paying taxes on any of it.  The wealthiest of the nation seem to be getting the most out of this deal, and though many low-income individuals jump at the idea of less taxes, this move is a terrible one for the economy, which has been struggling to stay afloat for awhile.  Besides, if no one can get or keep a job, how do lower taxes affect the working man/woman?

People of the working class make up a giant portion of Richmond, and, let’s face it, ideals like those of Mike Pence are not doing them any favors.  For wanting to save people money, he has a bad record of backing it up.  He’s voted to prevent money from going into federal health insurance programs, against lowering the cost of student loans, against lowering the cost of expensive medicine and for cutting welfare, child support and student lending programs, which are all some people have to grasp onto nowadays.  If anything’s going to be done about the state of the place we live in, we need to start noticing those who run it.  Mike Pence isn’t the only one (Berry had a point when saying that the state government plays a part), but he’s got a lot of clout.

Despite how everyone looks after the president of the time as the one in charge and the one to blame, there are numerous people below him in rank that have quite a lot of say in what we can and cannot do.  We cannot live with a system of checks and balances without dealing with this, and by keeping the same congressmen in office we ourselves are preventing change.  Trying to pass liberal or conservative laws is a difficult process impeded constantly by an opposing side.  If nothing else, I hope that this will inspire people to look around themselves.  Things might not change drastically no matter what president we have in office, but somehow people always expect miracles.  We need to start a little lower and work our way up.  Our mayor, our governor, and most definitely our representative all have a great deal of say in our everyday life.  Are you going to sit back and let yours be run into the ground for you?