Jobs:
Politicians often talk about “creating jobs” as though they can magically invent them from thin air. A “government job” or a job subsidized by government funds requires the salary for that position to be drained out of the private sector through taxes. Moving wealth from one place to another is not actually 'creating' anything. The State government should focus on creating a business environment that encourages entrepreneurship and business growth.

We must continue to restructure Indiana's tax system, eliminating political favoritism or cronyism, ending unfair practices and reducing barriers to entering the marketplace and ensuring we have the best educated and prepared work force possible. We also need to launch a “welfare- to-work” program. We teach empowerment to those that need public assistance. In the 20 years I've operated my charity, I've taken young men and women destined for public aid, and I've shown them the path to self-sufficiency through job training and job placement.

As a small business owner and community activist, I have the experience to help make Indiana a great place to start a company, operate a business and employ people.

Spending:
When the government spends money it is spending YOUR money – the money Hoosiers worked hard to earn. It is a long accepted principle that elected officials should guard how they spend tax dollars with special care. Unfortunately, we have a system today that allows politicians to buy things for other people using money that doesn't come out of their own pocket. Politicians do not have an unlimited budget of other people's money to buy things for their friends, contributors, or supporters.

Government needs to be focused on its core principles, and get the maximum value it can out of taxpayer dollars. State Government needs to understand that they work for the people and that the people do not work to support government. As Governor, I will fight to eliminate all wasteful spending, and my budgets will be as thoughtful with your money as I am with my own. I will also create a merit-based pay scale for state employees.

Constitutional Protections: 4th and 10th Amendment
Over the last year, Hoosiers have seen several court rulings that have eroded our Fourth Amendment rights. The right to be secure in your home so long as you are doing no harm to others is a founding principle of this country and that includes being secure from unwarranted invasion, search or seizure by government agents or bureaucrats. A government respecting the private property of its citizens is the heart of liberty. As Governor, I will support and defend each Indiana citizen's Fourth Amendment rights vigorously.

We have also watched the Federal Government grow in power and scope. Our nation was designed to foster 50 hotbeds of innovation and experimentation. Sadly, the Federal Government attempts to micromanage everything from Washington D.C. For example, the Federal Departments of Agriculture and Transportation are currently attempting to require anyone operating farm equipment on their own property to have a Commercial Driver's License (CDL). This places an undue burden on family farms. For the first 220 years of the Federal Government's existence, our farming communities have managed to operate farm equipment without the government's interference. Laws that hurt Hoosier jobs must be nullified.

Election Reform:
Fair elections are the cornerstone of a healthy republic. We should encourage a broader range of ideas and debate in our political system. In an effort to accomplish this, we need to reform our election laws. We don't let Coke and Pepsi write anti-trust laws, so why do we let Republicans and Democrats design our election code? It should be easier for those outside the existing system to get on the ballot.

First, we need to end Gerrymandering. Under the current system, legislators get to manipulate the boundaries of their districts. This allows them to entrench themselves in many districts eliminating any real competition. I want to remove this inappropriate practice of allowing politicians to stack the deck in their favor. Instead, I will create a non-partisan commission of citizens to take on the important task of creating fair, balanced and logical district maps without political pressure or bias. Politicians should not pick their voters, voters should pick their politicians.

While technology has helped us be more efficient when elections are run, those same elections should be secure and auditable. Many county clerks would like to put printable receipts on their electronic voting machines, but they do not have the funding. These print-outs would provide the voter and the county a paper trail in case of close recounts. This will help eliminate voter fraud.

Education:
Every election we hear about the trouble with our public education systems. Despite all of the attention and lip service this critically important issue receives, we continue to see vast opportunity for improvement. I have personally seen the devastating effects of failing schools. They impact our children in profound ways.

In fact, the framers of the Indiana Constitution enshrined public education in Article 8: "Knowledge and learning, generally diffused throughout a community, being essential to the preservation of a free government; it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to encourage, by all suitable means, moral, intellectual, scientific, and agricultural improvement; and to provide, by law, for a general and uniform system of Common Schools, wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all."

First, parents must be empowered to make decisions for their children. A parent knows an individual child's needs better than a set of guidelines will. A group of parents and teachers in a community will almost always know what's best for that community's students, than that of state board of education.

So working from that principle, we can start making sure that parents have choices. I am fully in favor of the school choice movement, and have been encouraged by Indiana's progress in this area. Competition is good. If public schools have to compete for students and dollars, then all will benefit.

We also must attach educational dollars to students not to buildings, bureaucrats or administrations. For too long, our schools have placed an emphasis on great buildings, while teachers spend their paychecks on supplies for their students. Great teachers inspire our youth to learn and achieve great things. Let's make sure we're giving good teachers the resources they need to perform their job with excellence. We also need to ensure that teachers are fostering creative thinking, entrepreneurship, and work ethic in the classroom. Too often teachers have their hands tied, and are stuck teaching for a test. This doesn't benefit the students or society.

Criminal Justice Reform:
The growing cost of our correctional facilities has to be addressed and we must guard against expansion of the prison industry which benefits from every additional person they warehouse.

We need to restructure how we treat our criminals and reallocate our enforcement priorities.

In Indiana we have a system of punishment not reform, a system of incarceration not rehabilitation and this is an environment that leads to creating career criminals.

We can't stand by while people commit violence against other Hoosiers and their property. We must be careful not to unnecessarily ruin lives, destroy families or put people in a difficult to escape system over victimless offenses.

It's time to close the revolving door that has been created in the criminal justice system, aggressively go after violent offenders, untie the hands of judges in regards to victimless crimes and provide training and education opportunities that can open doors for people to get on a better life track once their debt to society is paid.

Abortion:
Tough topics demand honest answers, and nothing is more emotional than the discussion of human life. I believe that the issue of abortion has long been used to manipulate those on the left and right. While these emotions are real, promises of a solution aren't. In the public policy arena, we are at an impasse. As a result, we ought to stop dividing ourselves over this issue, and declare a cease-fire. We have important economic hurdles, and these times require us working together on the big issues of our day.

If pressed, we need to find a rational, common sense middle ground. All sides need to accept that abortion will never be eradicated, or made totally legal. Abortion should never be used as a method of birth control, but the consequences of making it a black market procedure are too high. My stance is that it should be Safe, Legal, Rare and Privately Funded.