Post & Mail photo/Andrew Shultz
Jill Long Thompson, Democratic candidate for governor, talks with Post & Mail reporter Chris Meyers in a one-on-one conversation after she greeted local residents at Richards Restaurant Monday morning.

By CHRIS MEYERS
Staff writer
As Indiana’s Democratic governor candidate tours the state, she’s hearing some recurring themes — keeping good paying jobs in the state, offering affordable health care and being able to afford the gas to get to the good paying jobs that are still here.
With Columbia City being first stop on her Hoosier Hometown Tour, Jill Long Thompson met with local residents at Richards Restaurant and talked in depth about what she can do to help Hoosiers get back on their feet and ensure those already doing well don’t have to worry about losing it all.
“I feel very strongly that policies ought to help all 92 counties, and the farther you get from the center part of the state, the greater the challenges,” she said, adding that she and her opponent this fall, Gov. Mitch Daniels, have some very different takes on various situations.
Taking aim at the state’s tax structure, she said despite Daniels’ claims that he hasn’t raised taxes, Long Thompson points to a few decisions that lead her to believe otherwise.
“The sales tax went up from six to seven cents on the dollar, and in selling the toll road, the tolls have now been increased,” she said.
With local governments not getting as much the funding as they have in the past, many have resorted to local option income taxes and other forms of revenue, which in turn, often leads to tax increases, both directly and indirectly, Long Thompson, said.
“We need to have policies that help all communities, and we need reform of our tax structure,” she said, adding that she favors a tiered tax structure.
Included in that tax structure would be an option to offer more incentives to businesses that create jobs that pay well.
Overall, she views a tiered tax structure as the best option for both businesses and residents.
Recruiting and starting new businesses to deal in the area of green building and alternative energy such as wind and solar power.
Getting more long-term job creation with well paying wages is what Long Thompson views as one of the biggest challenges facing the state.
“Not only do we need to create jobs, but we need to create well paying jobs, and that will require a very different approach … because we’ve been losing jobs,” she said.
But getting to those high-paying jobs can’t occur without a high school education or higher, something Long Thompson wants to improve in Indiana, which currently has about a 30 percent drop-out rate.
“As governor, I will be a leader in working with Congress to reform No Child Left Behind,” she said, adding that more needs to be done in the area of vocational education.
Despite the three main issues appearing to not be related, they all tie into one another, and without one being in place, it’s tougher to get the others in line.
“The tax structure has to work, health care costs have to be affordable, and you need a well trained work force, which is why we need to increase our graduation rate,” Long Thompson said.
As for energy costs, they didn’t start out as a main concern on Hoosiers’ minds when Long Thompson started her campaign, but now she hears from residents that it is one of the most important issues they now face.
To help get residents some relief, she has said she would declare an energy emergency, which would allow the suspension of the collection of the sales tax on gasoline.
“Hoosier motorists need a break. Many families are having to choose between gas and food,” she said.
Requiring health insurance companies in Indiana to offer health insurance pools to small businesses would be one way Long Thompson would try to ease the burden on families paying ever-increasing premiums and other health expenses.
Long Thompson acknowledges that all the fixes can’t be made at the state level, but that state leadership can be influential with national politics.
“The high cost of health care really needs to be addressed at the national level,” she said.