Life Unscripted with Kevin Shook
Welcome to 'Life Unscripted with Kevin Shook', a heartening podcast where embracing vulnerability is the key to success. Join your host, Kevin, as he dives into the stories of remarkable individuals who have transformed their lives by opening up, facing challenges, and finding strength in their most vulnerable moments. Each episode features inspiring conversations with guests from various walks of life. Kevin's journey of embracing vulnerability has led him to meet amazing people, and now he brings their wisdom, laughter, and insights to you. Tune in and discover how embracing your vulnerabilities can lead to your greatest victories in life, both personally & professionally.
Search 'Life Unscripted with Kevin Shook' on YouTube to watch this episode and more!
Life Unscripted with Kevin Shook
Lt. Gov., Suzanne Crouch: 'Axe the Tax Initiative, Mental Health Resources & Economic Growth'
Indiana Lt. Governor, Suzanne Crouch joins host, Kevin Shook for this amazing episode of Life Unscripted. Embark on a transformative exploration of Indiana's political realm as we chat with a gubernatorial candidate dedicated to revolutionizing the state's fiscal policies. Promising relief for Hoosier families, our guest lays out a daring plan to abolish state income tax, stimulating small business vigor and economic dynamism. Their approach pivots on streamlining government expenditure, sharpening the efficiency of state operations, and championing a vision where residents retain more of their hard-earned cash. Throughout our discourse, we scrutinize Indiana's structural complexities, pondering the necessity of 92 counties, and dissect the reverberations of a financial fiasco within the Family and Social Services Administration, all while unraveling the fiscal fabric of cities poised for growth.
Our journey through Indiana's political landscape leads us to the heart of small-town resurgence and mental health's critical juncture in modern society. We spotlight Richmond, Indiana, as a beacon of transformation where investments in connectivity and downtown areas are igniting economic and lifestyle renaissance. The episode not only celebrates these strides in urban renewal but also delves into healthcare innovations reshaping patient care outside traditional hospital environments. Amidst these revelations, we confront the mental health crises exacerbated by the pandemic and underscore the necessity to sustain normalcy for the well-being of our youth and community.
Concluding our episode with a lighter cadence, we share charming tales from our encounter with the Animal Care Alliance in Richmond. Featuring live animal guests and the heartwarming tales behind their care, we showcase the critical role of local wildlife rescues. The passion and dedication of individuals like Dr. Matt, who cares for an array of exotic creatures, offers a glimpse of the community's spirit. As our conversation wraps, with turtles stealing the show, we leave our audience with a sense of anticipation for the unfolding gubernatorial journey that could redefine the future of Indiana.
Life Unscripted with Kevin Shook.
Speaker 2:How in the heck does this happen, that you're?
Speaker 1:in here I don't think that I have any time. Well, it just worked.
Speaker 2:Right, all right, here's where the show starts. Three, two welcome to Life. Unscripted.
Speaker 1:Great to be here, Kevin.
Speaker 2:I don't know how we're here. This is like really cool. I'm super thankful that you set your just a little time for me. I met you up at Prescott's picnic and I talked to you there, and what's really cool is, of course, my tickets always leaned over to the right side a little more. I'm never identified like strictly as a Republican or strictly as a Democrat. I have great relationships with a lot of people. I've agreed to disagree with people before and we're adults, but everything that you stand for and everything that you support, I'm like 100 percent on board and I'm like I'm excited to see you as the next governor. So well, god willing, yeah, that's going to be huge. Well, god willing, yeah, that's going to be huge.
Speaker 2:The last governor I really like followed was Arnold Schwarzenegger, because I used to be like a meathead a long time ago. So when Arnold Schwarzenegger became the governor, I was like how cool is that? He has an expo every year in Columbus Ohio called the Arnold Schwarzenegger Expo and it's a big sports festival. So when he was governor, like his, his, uh, security was stacked. And then we all remember the C word, covid, and that was one of the first events that kind of got shut down. Last time I went he's driving a golf cart around with just a couple of people hanging out and he's just having a good time living his life. But no, I'm excited to see what happens. Um, like you kind of explained it to me the other day that, uh, right now you're in what sec?
Speaker 1:yeah, this race is really kind of comes down to brawn and me yeah, you know and, um, you know, at the end of the day I've been outspent. You know, three to one. However, right now, the last few weeks of the day, I've been outspent, you know three to one. However, right now, the last few weeks of the campaign, when it really counts, I've got three times the money they have because I didn't waste my money early.
Speaker 1:I've held on to it to the end. But I really think it's the issues that I stand for that really are resonating with Hoosiers, you know. Hoosiers are really hurting today because of inflation and the cost of living. And you know it costs $11,400 more today than it did three years ago just to meet basic household needs. Yeah, and so you know people are hurting and it's why I'm saying let's get rid of the estate income tax, let's tax the tax.
Speaker 1:You know I mean we can put thousands of dollars back into your pocket every year. You know, and guess what? You'll know how to spend it better than the government does.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:And I'll make sure you get to keep it. And I'll tell you my opponents and I'm the only one saying we're going to get rid of a tax, my opponents say, oh, we can't do it. You know it's too much money. But what they're really saying is government needs more of your money and you need less. And I'm going to make sure, as governor, you get to keep your money. It has to be phased in. We can't do it all at once?
Speaker 2:Okay, when you mentioned that, do you have, what are some ideas you have that might lead to that, that might help that, or the certain steps, because, like you said it's going to be, we've got to limit government growth, we've got to end wasteful government spending, and then we've got to find efficiencies in government, and that's how we make it happen.
Speaker 1:I'm talking about a tax cut, I'm not talking about a tax replacement.
Speaker 1:So I want to be perfectly clear this is a tax cut and we do it by limiting how much we allow government to grow.
Speaker 1:You, you know, in the past 10 years, state governments grown by 50% our budget and from the 21 to the 23 budget session, government spending grew by 19%. So I'm saying, moving forward, let's take the base we have today and then let's limit how much we allow it to grow. Maybe it's the cost of living or rate of inflation, but let's not let it grow at 19%. Let's let it grow at 19%, let's let it grow at a smaller percent. And then when we get those excess revenues and surpluses like we had in 2023, let's put them towards eliminating the state income tax and we can get rid of it eventually. And when we do, we put thousands of dollars back into Hoosier's pockets, but we help small businesses grow, because the National Federation of Independent Business said the number one tax that hurts small businesses is the income tax. And then, equally importantly, we make Indiana a no-income tax state, because where are people moving to today? Tennessee, texas.
Speaker 1:Florida, south Dakota all no-income tax states which, by the way, their rate of GDP growth and their rate of population is growing at faster rates than Indiana's.
Speaker 2:And they're no-income tax.
Speaker 1:They're no-income tax states, so here's something.
Speaker 2:I was talking to a buddy last night. He served on council years ago up here and now he lives down in Arizona. But he brought this up last night because I was like, do you have any questions? I should ask LG. So he was talking about does Indiana really need 92 counties with 92 courthouses? Because Arizona is kind of like 15 counties and it's like three times the size of Indiana. So could there be, could there be merges? I mean, and on a very local level, city of Richmond sees five police departments. Is that stuff? We need that? So? So taking that is that where some of our tax is, some things could be more efficient together.
Speaker 1:Well, I think, when it comes to state government, when it comes to local government, perhaps, when it comes to state government, I already have I'm on my third iteration of a plan to downsize our state agencies. So we have 100 agencies, boards and commissions in Indiana. So I want to get it down to about a third that size and when we do that we'll realize cost savings and efficiencies that will be able to put towards eliminating the income tax. You know, I also want to get rid of any rule and regulation that is unnecessary. You know, did you know that the cost of a new home, the cost of a new home, 25% of the cost of a new home is because of rules and regulations that builders have to follow? So let's get rid of some of them that are 100, 200 years old.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's get rid of all those unnecessary rules and regulations. And then I want to have outside independent audits of our state agencies so we don't have a billion-dollar mistake like we had in December when FSSA made a budgeting error. And so what do they want to do to try to make up for that money?
Speaker 2:Take it out of our pocket.
Speaker 1:They cut the services to the parents who take care of their severely disabled, medically complex children. I'm talking about children with feed tubes and tracheotomies and on respirators, kids that need 24-7 care, and who better to take care of them than their parents? And so we make a billion-dollar error and then we say we're not going to give that much money to you parents that are taking care of these children. It's really unconscionable and at the end of the day, kevin, we're going to be judged by how we care for the most vulnerable among us.
Speaker 2:No, you're absolutely right, and that was a lot, but that's, that's spot on. There's just like you said. They're like we are overtaxed. You know, from our income tax to property tax, everything's a tax. Your dollar gets taxed down to I don't know what percentage.
Speaker 1:Well, the federal government, you die and they take taxes off your estate Right.
Speaker 2:Or you know you're someone famous, you die. Then the government says you're actually worth more, so then they try to raise your royalties, taking that from your family. I learned that through an attorney out in Indianapolis that he actually represents very famous people and he gets to know them before they pass, obviously, but then he protects their family from the government once they pass.
Speaker 1:Well, when it comes to the income tax, think about it, Kevin. We pay people not to work.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Then we tax the people that do work so we can pay the people that don't work. I mean, let's let people that work keep their money.
Speaker 2:You got my vote, so shifting gears a little bit. Is there stuff you can tell me about this? Ready 2.0 grants that's coming.
Speaker 1:We just received right, you just received uh, what was it? 35 million right which is one of the which is the top level, uh for your region. And now what will happen is that now they'll determine which projects that money is going to go towards. So that'll be something that will be done with the counties in the region along with the. Indiana Economic Development Corporation. But the Ready Grants have really been a huge quality of life investment and, Kevin, I believe that private sector drives progress.
Speaker 1:I don't believe it's the government I mean government can be a catalyst. Government can be a partner, but you've got to have somebody that wants sector drives progress. Oh, absolutely I don't believe it's the government. I mean government can be a catalyst.
Speaker 2:Government can be a partner, but you've got to have somebody that wants to do something.
Speaker 1:But the private sector drives progress, but when it comes to government being a catalyst, the Ready Grants are doing that Because, let me tell you, the first round of Ready Grants, which was $500 million, which was made in 2021, that $ 500 million investment that the state made is going to attract 12 billion of private and local investments.
Speaker 1:So that's an example of the government being a catalyst 12 billion in money, 12 billion in investment in projects yes, and the same thing will happen this go around with the $500 million that we are investing all over the state. We're the only state that is making these kinds of investments in quality of life projects, and we're doing it because we want Hoosiers to stay here and we want to be able to attract talent and population to Indiana.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:So it's a game changer.
Speaker 2:So that leads me to another question how does Richmond not being a donut to Indianapolis? What are some suggestions Like? Where would we start? Okay, because I attended the last city council meeting and I've seen a project get denied. They didn't seem to have all the facts when they proposed for this rezoning and the land's owned by a nonprofit healthcare network, so there's all kinds of weird stuff in here. But the city council ultimately turned it down because there wasn't even a master plan in place. And they're asking for 6 million, and a lot of that included tiff money, which then later on I hear and I'm not an expert on this, or I'd be your assistant, I'd be the lg when you're the g, so I'm not an expert in this, but I was explained that a lot of those tip dollars right now go to school systems. So if we were to kind of push a lot of TIF out to this new development, then it might lack on the school systems a little bit. Is that true that you know of?
Speaker 1:Well, you know, I'm a former county commissioner down in Vandenberg County and let me tell you, I know what it's like to be ignored by the Indianapolis establishment. Indianapolis establishment, and so you know what TIF does is TIF takes dollars, tax dollars and keeps them within that area, to put in place. Improvements to be able to bring in more development and generate more revenues. And so when you do have those tax dollars stay within that district, then that does take away from other taxing units.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So you know, but on the other hand it does create more economic development in that area, and then that in turn creates additional revenues.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know there's a cycle, but it's kind of like because in that city council meeting but it's kind of like because in that city council meeting they were they're comparing the proposed project to Westfield and you know as well as I know like what Westfield's like because I paramedic over on the west side of Indiana, so I drive through there and stuff and it's kind of attached to Marion County in a little ways. So it's kind of hard to compare that to here because a lot of people that live in Westfield might work in downtown Indy, vice versa, or whatnot. So it's kind of like we have a lot of opportunity we have. So there's the ready. And then we have the lily, you know, coming through Earl on the lily grant and that's, that's all part of Main Street. So we we've had developers down here.
Speaker 1:You've got a lot of work going on your Main Street. I know, so we've had, I know In fact, you have a nationally accredited Main Street and it's crazy. You're over it, yeah.
Speaker 2:Gaving it down right now, but we know good stuff's happening.
Speaker 1:They're investing money in it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a lot of good stuff's happening right here. So now that I mean we're nationally accredited already, can you imagine what's going to happen once this is all?
Speaker 1:well, and you know you, you can't have a vibrant community unless you have a vibrant downtown, right, you know. And so the money that, even though you know I was on your main street earlier this week and it is kind of full of construction, but you know that means money's being invested and that means that's going to drive economic development. I remember when I was a County commissioner down in Vanderburgh County and I was complaining one day to a realtor about all the orange cones on the road.
Speaker 1:And he said Suzanne, don't ever, ever complain about orange cones, because when you see orange cones barricades money's being invested in infrastructure, and infrastructure drives economic development. So, even though it is a bit of an inconvenience to motorists, well and you know what's great.
Speaker 2:So I lived downtown indy for a while 2008-12 and I was emt over there and I lived on highland avenue you a mile off of the circle and I loved every bit of it. So when I move here, I move back here. You do hear people make the mention like there's no parking. There's no, and I'm like, but we'll go to Indianapolis and park and walk blocks and not even think about it. We got a free parking garage right here. But I'm excited to see what this hat. What happens? Um, because when you see, like, uh, green castle, rushville, all these smaller towns, just just a handful of people that invest in their downtown, um, you see some crazy changes. And now we got the willie grant come. Um, I think the elder beerman project's about to take place. I don't know if it's completely finalized, but it'll be apartments. They're talking about revitalizing the gorge, where there's activities like zip lines, kayaks in our gorge. That's going to be crazy, because that kind of takes to the whole cycle of like, how do we get people here?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know you have to have housing, but you also have to have something.
Speaker 2:You got to have good Wi-Fi. You have to have Because you have to have housing, but you also have to have something. You've got to have good Wi-Fi, you've got to have.
Speaker 1:That's right. That's why that expanding broadband.
Speaker 2:Something going on, you know.
Speaker 1:As lieutenant governor I've led the effort to expand broadband throughout Indiana because we recognize that, particularly for rural Indiana and our small rural communities. Being connected unlocks economic opportunity. So you know Indiana's an interesting state. We aren't a very big state we're 38th in size geographically but we know that within Indiana 90% of Hoosiers either live in metropolitan areas or within 45 minutes of metropolitan areas. So as we get broadband expanded out into our more rural areas, that's going to allow people to live in those rural areas.
Speaker 1:Because people want that quality of life like they have here in Richmond, but they want to be connected, want that quality of life like they have here in Richmond, but they want to be connected.
Speaker 2:They have to be connected for educational reasons, for healthcare reasons, for economic development reasons for quality of life, everything, like you know, and I hear people, some people say that, well, there's nothing to do or I can't get a job. It's like, look, I didn't go to college, I don't have a degree, I use YouTube to learn everything. I did study my paramedicine through IUPUI, which is Eskenazi Health, and I got my license through them. But if you got Wi-Fi, you have, like, no reason not to learn, no reason. You can't run an e-commerce business, drop ship from New York, make money. You can do everything with good Wi-Fi good internet.
Speaker 1:You can live anywhere and work full time.
Speaker 2:Uh-huh, everything. With good wi-fi internet, you can live anywhere and work full-time, yeah so, and then you do get to go live wherever you want you know the backwoods of laurel or wherever there's so much beautiful property around you know, um, but shifting gears up a little bit. So I paramedic I've been in EMS for 20 years almost One thing that I kind of want to see moving forward with health care. What we're kind of running into, especially in Indiana, we see a lot of OBGYN deserts, and that's what we call it.
Speaker 2:Where I'm a paramedic at, it's very rural, so that hospital doesn't even have the stuff to properly take care of a baby after it's born, type situation. So what we're moving into? Have you heard of a mobile integrated health or community paramedicine? Yeah, yeah. So it's kind of like right now there are grants that go to a fire department based EMS, but we're trying to get it to county based too, because a lot of services are county provided, so there's a nurse with a paramedic and suv and they can actually go or a nurse practitioner and take care of people on site um crawfordsville does has a very robust yeah system like that and and noblesville yeah that they're going to move towards that.
Speaker 1:Um, and I think that makes sense. We have to. We have to see people where they are oh, treat well, it's called treat and play.
Speaker 2:so I'm very well connected with, uh, the officer out there that I work for and we're very rural and very big. Um, we have aggressive protocols so we're able to really treat our patients up to the national standard of a paramedic, but we still need to transport. So there's a lot of time, there's a lot of things that's trying to be built to, where we can treat our CHFers, our COPDers, and actually take care of the problem and then contact their physician and get them out of the emergency rooms, which drive up costs health care costs and, quite honestly, you're getting people help before it becomes a crisis too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and a lot of it is behavioral.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, my goodness. Well, you know.
Speaker 2:You've talked about. You've got family. Oh my, gosh, yes.
Speaker 1:And as governor, you know, helping those Hoosiers that struggle with oh my gosh, yes. And as governor, you know, helping those Hoosiers that struggle with mental illness and addiction is a top priority for me. Since COVID, we've seen a 20% increase in anxiety and depression among our population, but a 60% increase among young people. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among our youth, and they are the future of Indiana and that's why, if I'm governor and we ever find ourselves in a COVID situation again, there'll be no mask mandates or lockdowns because of what it's done to all of us, including our children.
Speaker 1:I said there were bad things that came from COVID. There were some good things. One of the bad things is we all suffered a mental health challenge. One of the good things is we all suffered a mental health challenge. One of the good things is we all suffered a mental health challenge. So today there's more awareness and, I think, an acceptance that you know it's okay not to be okay all the time, and so a sense of urgency to to do something. And that's why, you know, I want to be sure that we have help for those that struggle, that we make that healthcare accessible and affordable, and for me it's very personal. My mother struggled with depression. My older brother, larry, was an alcoholic and he drank himself to death. My younger sister, nancy, 18 months younger, died by suicide in her early 20s, and then our daughter, courtney, is 16 years sober, and so you know when you have lived with Hoosiers that have inherited genes and predispose them to these conditions.
Speaker 2:None of us pick our genes. It's in the DNA.
Speaker 1:Hey, if I could pick my own genes, I'd be a little different than I am today. But we inherit genes that make us who we are, and so, for those Hoosiers that you know struggle with mental illness and addiction, we've got to give them good cards. You know, one of my family members said they got all the bad genes in the family and I said you know, it's not the hand you're dealt, it's how you play it. It's how you deal with it, but we've got to give people good cards to play.
Speaker 2:We've got to give them help. They have to have the opportunity. Yeah, we have to give them help. You know they do, and then the choice is theirs, but we at least have got to give them that opportunity to be helped. I've been on that end just in the past four or five years. Growing up I always wanted to be a fireman. You know every kid wants to be a fireman. So I was a fireman in Winchester, came down here to Richmond, got busy your paramedic school.
Speaker 2:A lot of trauma. Before that too, you know, I've seen a tube in my sister's throat. I had to take her to the hospital because she overdosed on pills. Other sister was meth. They're both recovered and doing really well and one of them helps with teach the program that helped her recover. So Good for them.
Speaker 2:But then I got hit with all the labels, the mental health labels, and then, instead of doing what I should have done, I relied on alcohol and I went down this crazy to a suicide attempt and and just like so. I've been on so far both side, taking care of these people and being these people. I'm very empathetic because I remember when rushville pd came in that hotel room, they found me and they were. Instead of just dragging me by my ears to the hospital and putting me on a psych ID, that chief down there just talked to me like a human being and hung out and they de-escalated everything. And then I had to do therapy and stuff at the EMDR with your eyeballs, like they do for PTSD in the military. They do it. It's intense, but it helps.
Speaker 1:But you know, thank you for your service and you know I always worry about the people that care for us. You know, because, as a first responder, first responders are more likely to die by suicide than they are to die in the line of duty, and so the people that take care of us, we got to take care of them too.
Speaker 2:I've watched so and what happens is and it's never just an instant suicide, like it's always they'll start relying on some alcohol. They'll start we're chasing dopamine.
Speaker 2:Basically, you're chasing dopamine to mask everything that's actually going on. So one of one of ours shot himself in the park down the street. You know, and I'm looking at him like well, this sucks, but I kind of like I can't blame you. I wish, I wish we could have helped you, but you know, at that point in time it seemed like the world was a worse place to him and it was sad. I wouldn't say we like failed on our part as a society, but it's just sad that, like, the help wasn't there.
Speaker 1:I know, I agree, you know, and that's why we've got to do a better job and that's why, as governor, I want to make a priority of helping those that struggle with mental illness and addiction, you know, because it affects all of us, it affects our families it affects our friends, it affects our neighbor, it affects our budgets.
Speaker 1:It affects our friends, it affects our neighbors, it affects our budgets. I mean, 60% of absenteeism can be attributed to those employees that struggle with mental illness or addiction, either themselves personally or with family members, and so we've got to do a better job. Today, it costs over $4 billion annually for untreated mental illness in this state alone. So we can't afford not to do more. Sorry.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, you're right about the stigma thing too. After COVID, pretty much everyone's like looking at each other Like you're messed up, I'm messed up. Hey, what's up? How are you Like I'm so I, I like today's 385 days sober from alcohol.
Speaker 1:Congratulations.
Speaker 2:Thank you, and it's really cool because it's like I can't blame stuff on alcohol. But that was the common denominator of me screwing up. I lost a bunch of business, everything else way down here, and now I'm hanging out with the LG. You know what I mean. So it's just crazy Do good, get good. So it's kind of like straighten my shit up and people come hang out and we have a good time and a business.
Speaker 1:Is is crazy cool and I'm meeting people and yeah, and so we've got to be able to do that for everyone.
Speaker 2:I know.
Speaker 1:You know, cause you know we can't afford to waste any lives.
Speaker 2:And that's kind of I like to. Um, I would like for you sometime to meet Honey, which is IUPD, their therapy dog.
Speaker 1:Oh, I'd love to.
Speaker 2:So the same group of guys you had lunch with the other day. We all came together and donated some money to IUPD for the therapy dog to help grow their program to multiple dogs across all campuses. But Officer Skiba has Honey down to Bloomington but they go to every campus. Oh nice, and it's just therapy dog. Uh, so the dog was my Valentine's date and this and we did a podcast and they were up here. So, um, I'd like you to meet them because they're in the colleges all day long.
Speaker 1:That's great, and you know there's something about pets that you know we have a little Norfolk terrier and, uh, you know I live in indian apples during the week and then I go home to evansville on the weekend, that's my home. My husband says he's not sure who I'm happier to see him or the or little luna.
Speaker 2:I love good what kind of this is a?
Speaker 1:little norfolk terrier. Oh, 13 pounds of attitude. Where'd she get that from? You know, I think that's their breed. It's a genetic Is that a roommate?
Speaker 2:No, animals are cool, like um, when? And what's really funny is, this show is goes right up against uh, animal care Alliance. They're going to do a show and every time they come they bring an animal. I tell them not to tell me ahead of time, but I've seen it and it's not a snake, so we're good.
Speaker 1:Oh, are they going to put it in? It looks like turtles.
Speaker 2:No, we'll get out and play with it a little bit. Last time they brought a red-tailed hawk, but I thought it would be cool you meet them when we're done. I would love to Animal Care Alliance here in Richmond. It's a local rescue. They do a lot of vet care. But Dr Matt she's got her back facing to us but she just recently started and she's out here four or five days a week and she takes care of exotics and everything else. So they come up and do a podcast about once a month and they'll bring a cool an animal. They'll just bring.
Speaker 1:I can't wait to see what it is the animal. I see it right there. Let's wrap this up so I can go.
Speaker 2:Alright, well, we'll wrap up with a hug thank you so much and good luck on the race thank you, you're the governor, we gotta do.
Speaker 1:If God means for it to happen, it's going to happen.
Speaker 2:We've got to do a part two.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you bet. Life Inscripted with Kevin Shipp.
