The American Dream is out of reach for too many Hoosiers.
We can’t be a state that promises prosperity—but only for four or five counties. Right now, top-down economic development plans made in Indianapolis mainly benefit big corporations, big projects and big communities.
To build our next 50 years of success, Indiana needs a strategy for all 92 counties.
We can’t mandate this from the Statehouse. Instead, the state should be first at the table as a partner to inspire local leaders and communities to transform themselves.
So, how do we tackle these challenges?
First, we need to rebuild our communities. Our Indiana Main Street Initiative would take 10% of Indiana’s current $1 billion in economic development spending, $100 million annually, and use it to restore main streets and small towns across the state for the 2.7 million Hoosiers who call them home.
Next, we need strong regions. When I ran the Indiana Economic Development Corp. for then-Gov. Mike Pence, we launched the Regional Cities Initiative that brought communities together and delivered unprecedented results across the state.
Continued in various forms since, currently as the READI program, we need a Regional Cities 2.0 that cuts red tape and returns control of projects to the local level, where they belong.
By giving communities freedom to imagine and execute their own visions, we can rebuild main streets that kids and grandkids want to come home to, creating jobs and attracting talent from outside Indiana.
