Pew Research: “Americans who are lower-income, black or Hispanic, immigrants or under 50 are especially likely to use public transportation on a regular basis…”
Economic Policy Institute: About 126,000 Hoosiers, who earn a minimum wage, live in Indianapolis (Indiana’s 7th Congressional District)
ICYMI: The GOP Coalition Is Getting More Working-Class. Its Agenda Isn’t.
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today condemned the Indiana State Senate and senators like Aaron Freeman for their incessant attacks against working Hoosiers. Senator Freeman and the INGOP supermajority are expected to force through Senate Bill 141 in the Indiana Senate today, which could ultimately derail funding for IndyGo’s Bus Rapid Transit system — primarily the planned Blue and Purple Lines. The Indiana Republican Party’s agenda against IndyGo continues what’s becoming a list of attacks on the state’s working families, who often earn a minimum wage and rely on the city’s public transportation system.
Simply put: the Indiana Republican Party is breaking the trust some working Hoosiers voters gave them by passing legislation directly harming those same low-income families.
The Indiana Republican Party is not the party for Indiana’s working families – despite their future plans. On top of the INGOP’s partisan focus on public transportation, Republicans have already declared they are opposed to raising the minimum wage, with Governor Eric Holcomb going as far as to describe minimum-wage jobs as having a “minimum expectation” in life. About 892,000 Hoosiers statewide — including 554,000 women and 74,000 Black Hoosiers — could see better opportunities for their families should the U.S. Congress increase the minimum wage.
Here’s how the Indiana Republican Party does not stand with working families across Indiana:
State Senator Aaron Freeman introduced Senate Bill 141, which could strip funding from IndyGo’s Bus Rapid Transit system
Pew Research: “Americans who are lower-income, black or Hispanic, immigrants or under 50 are especially likely to use public transportation on a regular basis…”
The INGOP’s supermajority votes to override Governor Holcomb’s veto on an unpopular tenant-landlord bill, revoking local protections for renters
Pew Research: “In 2015, 38 percent of all “renter households” were rent burdened, an increase of about 19 percent from 2001.”
WFYI: “[The Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition]says an estimated 43,000 Hoosiers will become low-income renters because of the pandemic.”
Indianapolis Business Journal: “A new report by The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that 30 million to 40 million people in America are at risk of being evicted in the next several months. In Indiana, 569,000 to 720,000 people, or up to 313,000 Hoosier households, could face eviction. That accounts for up to 42% of households.”
Members of the Indiana Republican Party announce their opposition to a minimum wage increase, affecting about 892,000 working-class Hoosiers
Economic Policy Institute: About 30-percent of Indiana’s workforce earns a minimum wage or low-wage job.
Using data from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), here’s how raising the minimum wage would benefit Hoosiers:
| Demographics | Congressional District |
| White Hoosiers: 636,000 Women: 554,000 Black Hoosiers: 74,000 Seniors: 133,000 Middle-Aged Hoosiers: 431,000 All Hoosiers: 892,000 | IN01 – 85,000 IN02 – 102,000 IN03 – 104,000 IN04 – 102,000 IN05 – 83,000 IN06 – 95,000 IN07 – 126,000 IN08 – 97,000 IN09 – 98,000 |
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