The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s long-term economic plan hits home – Hoosiers can ill-afford to be satisfied with the status quo. The state has advantages in a competitive business climate. Still, we’ve got some work to do if we want to progress, according to Paul Perkins, chair of the Indiana Chamber Board of Directors.
“We simply cannot accept this as good enough, rest and rely on our successes and risk falling behind,” Perkins is quoted in the executive summary of “Indiana Prosperity 2035: A Vision for Economic Acceleration.” “We must be courageous enough to identify our shortcomings and bold enough to build a plan to tackle them.”
The chamber’s plan, crafted over 18 months and delivered in August, identifies six policy “pillars” with 31 goals integrated within those columns. The pillars are:
• Workforce, which includes “significantly increasing attraction and retention of talent to the state.”
• K-12 Education, which involves expanding pre-K education programs, increasing opportunities and achievement for minority students, and “addressing the serious problems in smaller schools and districts.”
• Economic Growth, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which will, among strategies, see an “expansion in high tech industries and the implementation of new technologies in our economy; significantly improve the state’s business start-up ratings, particularly for minority entrepreneurs.”
• Superior Infrastructure and Energy, which will strategically position regions within the state for economic development opportunities and implementing new technologies.
• Quality of Place Strategies, which include promoting, investing and implementing regional partnerships around quality-of-place investments; growing and stabilizing middle-size communities; and improving air and water quality.
• Healthy, Prosperous Communities and Citizens, which tackles the state’s “very poor health and welfare ratings” by reducing smoking, obesity and substance abuse crises, as well as improving access to quality public health services and containing health care costs.
We’re not only struck by the depth and substance of the recommendations, which can be seen online at Indiana chamber.com, but the drive toward inclusivity and diversity is evident and welcomed.
The Hoosier State can only truly succeed if all Hoosiers – from urban centers to rural farm towns – have access to quality education, superior health care, clean environments and well-paying jobs.
While the chamber’s policies are in “pillars,” its president and CEO’s comments when the plan was unveiled stressed the importance of educational attainment for Indiana’s future success.
“If Indiana excelled in addressing every other goal outlined in this plan and failed to make significant progress on the workforce and K-12 education goals, we are doubtful that Indiana’s economy will hold its place – let alone accelerate at the pace of improvement necessary,” said Kevin Brinegar. “The state’s relatively low educational attainment rate should be a red alert regarding its ability to evolve and succeed in a rapidly changing, talent-based economy.”
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