Mayor Greg Ballard relies on his campaign contributors to finance the costs of all of his overseas junkets dubbed as "trade missions." Why shouldn't Gov. Mike Pence do the same? He is. Pence heads out of town for a 7-day trip to Germany this weekend. This is his second overseas trip since taking office. His first trip last year was to Japan seven months ago.
According to a press release put out by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Pence plans to visit Aachen, Wipperfurth, Bocholt, Hanover and Berlin to meet with business and government leaders. His trip will "showcase Indiana on an international stage" while he meets with German business leaders and learns "how Indiana can continue to enhance its reputation as the U.S. destination of choice for their investments."
The press release boasts that the trip is "financed with private donations to the Indiana Economic Development Foundation," which is short-hand for saying that it's being paid by the pay-to-play crowd who receive taxpayer dollars in one form or another in exchange for making campaign contributions to the governor's campaign committee. If it's an official trip, why doesn't he rely on taxpayer dollars to pay for the trip?
Pence's wife Karen and Secretary of Commerce Victor Smith will accompany the governor on the trip. Others who purchased seats on the trip so they can have plenty of private time with the governor out of the prying eyes of the Hoosier public are not disclosed.
Germany is the biggest manufacturer in Europe and we have everything to gain from strategic alliance with German industry. In my opinion trade missions to Japan and Germany are absolutely the way to go, and although I don’t always support Pence, I’m behind him all the way as he heads off to Germany. Maybe he can convince somebody to fill one of our idle manufacturing facilities around Brookville Road.
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