Fifth Third Bank and the Fifth Third Foundation have donated $5 million to the Eskenazi Health Foundation — formerly the Wishard Foundation – and the new Eskenazi Health project. The company says the gift is the largest such donation by an Indiana financial institution to date. A release from Fifth Third explains:

Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County will honor the gift from Fifth Third in naming the faculty office building on the new Eskenazi Health campus the Fifth Third Faculty Office Building.

“We are extremely grateful to receive this record gift from Fifth Third in support of the health of our community and health education throughout Indiana and around the world,” said Ernest Vargo II, CFRE, president and CEO of the Eskenazi Health Foundation. “Fifth Third is a leading corporate citizen in Indianapolis and around the country, and their tremendous support for the health of our community is truly unique among financial institutions. We are deeply appreciative of their support and honored to reflect their generosity in the name of the faculty office building on the Eskenazi Health campus.”

Fifth Third Foundation and Fifth Third Bank will contribute $2 million and $3 million, respectively, to create the gift. The $5 million is among the largest gifts the Eskenazi Health Foundation – formerly the Wishard Foundation – has received and will support construction of the new Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Hospital and Eskenazi Health campus, which will replace the current Wishard Memorial Hospital facilities.

“Fifth Third is proud to continue our long history of philanthropy and commitment to building a better tomorrow in the communities we serve with this gift in the name of health care and medical education,” said Nancy Huber, President & CEO, Fifth Third Bank, Central Indiana. “Eskenazi Health will play a unique role in Central Indiana, and the new hospital campus will be among the most advanced and efficient in the nation. For this unprecedented development, we are proud to provide a record gift.”

Fifth Third Bank was the first financial institution in the United States to establish a charitable foundation, opening the Fifth Third Foundation in 1948. The gift also marks the beginning of a partnership that will continue Fifth Third’s focus on financial literacy in the Central Indiana community and the financial health and vitality of individuals from all walks of life.

“We are committed to providing an extraordinary level of support in the communities we serve, and very few opportunities match the scope and capacity to influence positive change than that of a contribution to Eskenazi Health,” said Heidi Jark, vice president and managing director of the Fifth Third Foundation. “For a one-of-a-kind organization in the midst of once-in-a-century transformation, we are pleased to provide this gift for the people of Indiana.”

The Fifth Third Faculty Office Building will be a modern, campus-integrated facility that will house workspace for support functions of the hospital’s mission to advocate, care, teach and serve as well as house workspace for the Indiana University School of Medicine, Purdue University School of Pharmacy and various other academic support programs. Health and Hospital Corporation is working with developers Duke Realty and Browning Investments to develop the 295,000-sq. ft. building with a research-based workplace strategy to enhance productivity, workflow, efficiency and comfort while encouraging teamwork, innovation and collaboration among the partners that will utilize its workspace, which also includes the Regenstrief Institute.

“This is an extraordinary legacy gift supporting the health of our community,” said Dr. Lisa Harris, CEO and medical director at Wishard. “The gift will, first and foremost, support care for our patients, addressing the needs of the most vulnerable in our community and will enable highly specialized care to individuals facing life-changing trauma. It will also contribute to medical education for students of the IU School of Medicine, Purdue School of Pharmacy and many other academic institutions with which we partner.”

The Fifth Third Foundation is Fifth Third Bancorp’s charitable foundation. Its mission is to make strategic grants in the communities where Fifth Third Bank operates.

Wishard is one of America’s largest safety-net health care systems, with nearly 1.4 million outpatient visits last year, and is among the highest-quality, lowest-cost health care systems in the United States. Philanthropic contributions enhance Wishard’s ability to provide excellent quality care.

We salute Gov. Mitch Daniels and Amazon.com for coming to a recent agreement, resulting in the company collecting Indiana sales tax, beginning in 2014. We think this is a step in the right direction to level the playing field for other businesses, but, like Daniels and Amazon.com, we believe there is a clear need for a federal solution to this matter.

Governor Mitch Daniels announced today that the state has reached an agreement with Indiana’s largest online retailer, Amazon.com, Inc., to begin collecting Indiana sales tax on internet purchases.

Indiana will become the fourth state to reach such an agreement with Amazon, but the governor said he will continue to push for federal action to fairly address the issue.

“The only complete answer to this problem is a federal solution that treats all retailers and all states the same. But for now, Amazon has helped us address the largest single piece of the shortfall, and we appreciate the company working with us to find a solution,” said Daniels.

According to the agreement between Amazon and the Department of Revenue (DOR), the company will voluntarily begin to collect and remit Indiana sales tax beginning January 1, 2014 or 90 days from the enactment of federal legislation, whichever is earlier. The state will not assess the company for sales tax for other periods.

Estimates of uncollected online sales taxes are about $75 million each year. Of that, the State Budget Agency and DOR estimate that revenue from sales tax remittal by Amazon would be approximately $20 million to $25 million per year.

More analysis on right-to-work and seperating fact from fiction from the Heritage Foundation’s blog, The Foundry:

Heritage’s James Sherk says the law is a common-sense solution for states wanting to create more job opportunities for workers.

Right-to-work laws reduce the financial benefit from organizing workplaces where unions have limited support. This makes unions less aggressive and encourages business investment, creating jobs. States can and should reduce unemployment by becoming right-to-work states.

Sherk’s analysis also found that right-to-work laws have little effect on wages, despite union claims to the contrary. Opponents of Indiana’s bill are making that argument a major issue in their campaign to defeat the effort.

While supporters in Indiana maintain their focus on the bill’s effect on job creation, there’s also a case to be made about the anti-American concept of forced unionization. Currently in Indiana, the government gives workers no choice. Their dues — 1 percent to 2 percent of wages — are given to union bosses, often to advocate for an agenda that workers might not support.

Passage of the bill in Indiana could boost efforts in other states. Last year New Hampshire lawmakers adopted a right-to-work bill, only to have it vetoed by the governor. The New York Times noted other campaigns in Maine, Michigan and Missouri.

Gov. Mitch Daniels attempts to squash some myths that have been proclaimed by opponents of right-to-work in this 60-second TV ad.

Hat tip to Capitol & Washington.

Chamber President Kevin Brinegar explains how passing a right-to-work law will help enhance Indiana’s economy by attracting many new companies that currently won’t consider the state, according to site selection agencies. He also lays out the facts about right-to-work, noting how it does nothing to prevent unions from organizing; it just means workers won’t be forced to join to keep their jobs.  

Creating more jobs for Hoosiers by making Indiana the 23rd right-to-work state heads the list of the top 2012 legislative priorities for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.  Eliminating the state’s inheritance tax, protecting the education reforms of last session and implementing a statewide smoking ban are also among the group’s key goals.

"Far too often, Indiana is not in the running for business growth and expansion plans, as site selection experts across the country repeatedly emphasize that companies won’t even consider non-right-to-work states for these opportunities. And, with these opportunities come thousands of jobs – none of which are currently coming to our state," offers Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar.

He expects the right-to-work debate to be intense at the Statehouse, but says that should not be viewed as a deterrent to pursuing the policy – or used as an excuse to stay on the sidelines.

"The stakes are too high. With over a quarter million Hoosiers unemployed, ways to generate more jobs should be welcome and top of mind for everyone. We need to do everything possible to lower our state’s unemployment rate and improve our economic competitiveness," Brinegar stresses.

"Right-to-work is the most impactful way to tackle those two needs, plus it offers workers more freedom. Right-to-work protects employees from being forced to join a union and pay dues. It does not prohibit labor unions or collective bargaining; it lets employees decide."

The 10 pre-session objectives fall into seven public policy areas: economic development, education, energy, health care, labor relations, local government and taxation.

Below are the Indiana Chamber’s top legislative priorities. The complete list is also available here.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- Support the state adopting a right-to-work statute banning the practice of requiring union membership or financial support as a condition of employment.  Would remove a significant impediment to investment and job creation. Would help Indiana continue to distinguish itself from neighboring states and to build a national leadership position in economic development.

EDUCATION
- Support protecting the 2011 reforms involving charter school expansion, school choice, merit pay for teachers and teacher collective bargaining. These new laws are the most significant enhancements to the state’s education system in more than 20 years; they put the focus where it should be – on students and increasing their potential for academic achievement. We need to make sure these reforms stay intact and are executed as intended.

- Support expanding school accountability. Our system, while improving greatly under current state leadership, still offers far too many loopholes for perpetual failure.

ENERGY
- Oppose renewable energy mandates. Indiana already has significant renewable energy development without benefit of a mandate, which would present unreasonable costs to power consumers and utilities.

HEALTH CARE
- Support ban on smoking in the workplace. Smoking is detrimental to employee health and productivity, and contributes to higher premiums for businesses providing employee health benefits.

- Oppose any health care mandates or assignment of benefits (AOB) policy. Mandates and AOB both serve to increase the cost of health care premiums for employers and their employees.

LABOR RELATIONS
- Support work share component incorporated into state’s unemployment insurance system. Would allow employees to collect reduced wages and partial unemployment benefits – as opposed to losing their jobs; is a temporary and practical alternative to layoffs.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT        
- Support common sense simplification and reforms to local government structures and practices. Current local government system lacks high standards against nepotism and allows for too many conflicts of interest. This, coupled with the streamlining of duties and functions as appropriate in county and township government, will result in a more effective system and better use of taxpayer dollars.

TAXATION
- Support elimination of the state inheritance tax. Only 1% of the state’s revenue pool comes from this tax, but the consequences are much higher. Why? This tax serves as a big deterrent for high income individuals to remain in Indiana (and spend money), or keep their assets here. It’s more beneficial for the state and its residents to remove the tax.

- Support exempting the taxation of machinery and equipment. Indiana needs to be on a level playing field with surrounding states – some of which have already made this move or are considering it now. Exempting machinery and equipment from property tax would be another strategic step in our economic development efforts.
 

The following is a statement we released this afternoon:

A new poll released today by the Indiana State AFL-CIO is a biased attempt to misrepresent strong public support for right-to-work among Indiana voters.

“This is a biased push poll (worded to elicit a certain response), not a fair or objective measure of support for right-to-work,” asserts Indiana Chamber of Commerce President Kevin Brinegar. “This is comparable to the political poll, for example, that asks ‘if you knew Congressperson X cheated on his or her spouse, would you be more or less likely to vote for him or her?’”

AFL-CIO survey respondents were told that right-to-work would “result in many fewer Indiana workers having union representation” prior to being asked their opinion on the issue.  In contrast, the scientific polling conducted for the Indiana Chamber since 2005 has posed this question: “A right-to-work law says that a worker cannot be required to join a labor union or pay dues in order to get or keep a job. Do you favor or oppose a right-to-work law for Indiana?”

“We’ve scientifically polled this issue statewide five times over the past six years with a fair and objective question and found overwhelming overall support for right-to-work, ranging from 65% to 77%,” Brinegar adds. “In the most recent poll, that support was strong no matter the person’s party identification.”

May 2011 Indiana statewide voter poll question on right-to-work:

• Democrats: 48% favor, 42% oppose
• Republicans: 78% favor, 15% oppose
• Independents: 68% favor, 22% oppose

“Creating jobs and economic growth must be Indiana’s top priority,” Brinegar says.  “Passing a right-to-work law will clearly open the door to the many job-creating companies that won’t even look at Indiana today and provide individual workers with the freedom of choice to determine whether or not they wish to belong to a union.”