Republican Mike Braun discusses taxes, health care, other key issues in the governor’s race

Indiana has not elected governors from the same political party for more than 20 consecutive years. But that’s what US Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) is asking voters to do this year. Indiana Public Broadcasting’s Brandon Smith sat down with Braun to discuss some of the biggest issues in the governor’s race.

You can also find interviews with of democracy and Libertarian candidates.

IPB News Statehouse Bureau Director Brandon Smith: I want to start by talking about something that seems to be on the minds of many Hoosiers, which is property taxes. Of course, you have released a property tax plan that will see a huge reduction in people’s debts. But the consequences of that are that it can draw resources from schools, libraries, fire and police departments. Can we promise Hoosiers property tax relief without paying for local government?

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) of the US: So, the bill talks a lot about reducing future inflation, because that’s the complaint that everybody had, that their bills were skewed by things that happened federally that caused inflation. . Because that was unreasonably skewed and the houses were there, it was just a matter of reorganizing it to where it was before COVID. And then going forward, it does not affect money in the sense that it puts a cap on it. It’s a template that you’ll have to get at least half of the lawmakers to agree to.

Smith: One of the biggest financial issues the state will be dealing with is the Medicaid program. Is there a way to spend Medicaid money without cutting the services that some Hoosiers already receive?

Brown: The proudest thing I’ve done in the real world of running a business – or government – was when I fixed health care without a consultant or advice. If you have nerves, restore this system to prevent and be healthy. Give your employees the tools to do it. Make them health care customers and customers on your fingerprints and fingerprints, little things. Protect them from the risk of injury or illness. To do all that, reduce costs by more than 50 percent. We haven’t had a premium increase now for 16 years. People think that’s not true. Be that as it may, if you are an entrepreneur, you take a little risk. I want to add that to our national government’s health care regulations.

READ MORE: What do I need on Election Day? The general election is Nov. 5

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Smith: A large portion of the education budget is directed to private schools through the school voucher program. Indiana has the right to have the closest voucher in this area. Would you like to see that expanded? And do we need to have greater educational accountability standards for private schools that receive public dollars?

Brown: Definitely the latter. And the level of education and accountability for the larger public school system, I think, has not been done the way it should be. I like choice, and I think parents should be in the driver’s seat, you know, not education itself. And students need to have all those options as they go from K to 12 in order to be prepared with the right choice of what to do once they get out of high school.

Smith: So, do you think you should remove the money limits from the program completely?

Brown: I will look at what is the sweet spot to maybe improve some of the things that have worked, but definitely looking for accountability, that you don’t get money from the government and you don’t work.

Smith: Is Indiana in the right place on abortion rights?

Brown: The Republicans finally got what they wanted, to go back to the states. And it was checked. It passed in great numbers. I think Indiana is a pro-life state. I don’t think the MP lost his job because of it. And if it’s not right, you’ll have to return it. I think you’re making the point that you’re probably afraid to talk about some issues that I think especially the Democrats in the country are weak on. And my question to Jennifer McCormick would be, where are you as a Hoosier Democrat on all the big issues that Democrats are promoting above and beyond abortion?

Brandon is our Statehouse office manager. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.