There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding the hiring practices of Honda for its new plant in Decatur County. Honda is limiting hiring to a 20-county area that shuts out former autoworkers in Madison and Delaware counties. Officials in both counties and U.S. Rep. Mike Pence have expressed disappointment in this policy.

When Honda originally made the announcement, it raised eyebrows because of the $140 million in state incentives offered to get the company to build in Greensburg. On Oct. 10, the Wall Street Journal published a major story on the controversy, and it was datelined Anderson. The Herald Bulletin took a stand after the original announcement against the hiring practice.

Some alleged the hiring practice was racist. Ollie Dixon, Anderson city councilman and source for the Wall Street Journal story, said 96 percent of the people in the 20 Honda counties are white. The Honda counties do include Marion. Others alleged that the hiring was meant to keep out former members of the United Auto Workers. “By locating in Greensburg, Honda avoids people who previously worked in a union,” Dixon said.

Honda officials deny all of this, stating simply that they want their workers to be able to get to work on time in different kinds of weather.

Pence said he was disappointed in the Honda decision and hopes the company revisits its restrictions. He also noted that federal law allows companies to base hiring on a geographic area.

It’s the magnitude of the incentives that has people up in arms. That money is coming from all state taxpayers and should open up jobs for every Hoosier, the argument goes. Honda has said that people who want to move to the area won’t be allowed to apply because the company says the moving would slow factory start up.

Indiana does need these jobs. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, when Honda began taking applications online, 30,000 people applied for 2,000 jobs. Honda stopped taking applications after two weeks.

The company does have every right to hire as it wishes, as long as it doesn’t violate federal and state laws. But the $140 million incentive, funded by taxpayers across the state, should dictate that the company entertain applications from all over Indiana, especially those willing to move to the Decatur County area.

Like Pence, we hope Honda reconsiders this stance. Officials in Madison and Delaware counties have no intention of letting this matter drop. They may be successful in proving a racist or anti-union angle to the hiring practice. As the Journal mentioned, a racial discrimination argument scuttled a similar Honda hiring practice in Ohio in the 1980s when Columbus was left out.

Companies coming to Indiana and benefiting from taxpayer incentives need to be prepared to take the whole state into account when hiring. If the state is working with the company, the company needs to work with the entire state. Anything less will invite intense scrutiny and, possibly, litigation that could’ve been easily avoided.