Letter to the Editor: Dear Governor Holcomb,

Monday, May 24, 2021

Too soon, too fast: Where's the empathy?

Governor Holcomb and staff,

I am writing to voice my concerns with the Governor's plan to end pandemic unemployment plans in less than a month. I find the rationale behind the decision to be wanting and lacking the fortitude needed to properly end this assistance. This aid, a majority not from state coffers, has kept tens of thousands out of poverty. This call to end the assistance, and the passage of SEA 148, has already seen a spike in evictions across the state. I am asking the Governor to reconsider his stance on federal aid. The assistance people receive often is spent directly in their communities and state. Workers have paid into this system their whole careers, and it appears that the Governor simply wants all minimum wage and food service jobs filled. Technical and professional workers that were and are displaced due to the pandemic paid their professional wages into this safety net, and it seems that the Governor does not empathize with their plight. Again, I am asking Governor Holcomb, please reconsider this action. There is time to correct course and save heartache and displacement for thousands of Hoosiers. Leave a comment at: https://www.in.gov/gov/ask-eric/ or by phone: 317-232-4567. Our Hoosier neighbors deserve a helping hand.

Lane Samuel Fulton

Best regards,

Lane Fulton