By ERIC DODEN
Guest Columnist
For the future of Indiana’s economy, innovation and entrepreneurial risk-taking will drive our growth and prosperity. Multiple studies show that new, small businesses under five years old have created 100 percent of net new jobs in the United States since the 1970s.
Meanwhile, Indiana’s economic development strategy heavily relies on paying large, established corporations to create jobs here. While this strategy is often initially successful, these jobs usually last until those companies consume our cheap utilities, labor, and government subsidies. Then they ask for more government support or they move to another state or country.
Where do those incentive dollars wind up? In the pockets of the corporate shareholders on Wall Street, not Main Street.
What does this all mean? Five, maybe 10 counties benefit from the state’s investments, while the other 82 must fend for themselves. It is a broken, unbalanced, and short-sighted strategy. A third of our state lives in communities with a population under 30,000 – places that should always be great to live, work, and raise a family. For Indiana to reach its potential, we need a new approach to economic development that treats all 92 counties as communities of opportunity and attracts and retains talent across our regions and small towns.
As I travel the state running for Governor, I have found this isn’t a problem that the federal government can or will solve. There’s too much gridlock and dysfunction coming from Washington, D.C.
We have to do this on our own.
It’s time for a new, innovative, and comprehensive economic development playbook for Indiana.
That’s why we’ve proposed my Indiana Main Street Initiative to reclaim our historic downtowns, restore community pride, enhance small business formation, and stimulate economic and population growth for small town Indiana. For the first time in our state’s history, the Indiana Main Street Initiative lays out an economic development plan and playbook for the 2.7 million Hoosiers living in our small towns with 30,000 people or less. I wrote this plan because I believe Hoosiers are the solution. We need even more innovative and self-reliant Hoosiers to step in and build businesses, large and small.
Recently, I visited ReElement Technologies, a company that embodies Hoosier innovation. This Fishers-based company is transforming the electrification industry by refining critical battery minerals and rare earth elements from yesterday’s gadgets. Using research from Purdue University, ReElement Technologies exemplifies the potential of Indiana entrepreneurship.
At the heart of this success story is the transformation of the RCA Thomson plant in Marion, where ReElement Technologies plans to invest and grow. Once a symbol of a bygone era in manufacturing, the revitalization of this facility showcases the power of innovative thinking and strategic collaboration. Instead of a shuttered factory, ReElement Technologies saw an opportunity to repurpose this facility for its critical battery mineral refining operations.
Indiana innovators have a record of changing the script for future economic development by adapting Purdue’s cutting-edge technology for the purification of the elements needed for everything from power tools to F-35 jets. As your next Governor, we will unleash the power of Hoosier-built, transformative innovation and breathe new life into communities across the state, many of which are devastated by deindustrialization. We will prioritize policies that fuel new job growth from inside Indiana by supporting startups and introducing cutting-edge industries to our state.
By harnessing the power of Hoosier innovation in our regions and revitalizing our Main Streets, we will position Indiana as a leader in the global marketplace and pursue economic growth that benefits all 92 counties.
Eric Doden, a businessman from Ft. Wayne, is a Republican candidate in Indiana’s gubernatorial election.