Biuden is blamed for the economy - I keep hearing interviews where people think Trump can handle the economy better. Then last night, I went down to the Village Pantry for smokes and the clerk had his phone going full blast with some right-wing show. This is not a working-class neighborhood. We all know Indiana will go for Trump first on Election Night. But then before I went to bed I checked out Google News.
Fox News kicked out Indiana wages lag behind national average, smaller states.
For 16 years, Civic and CRVs have rolled out of the assembly factory. Landing the facility for Decatur County was one of the early, cherished victories of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC).
At the groundbreaking in March 2007, then-Governor Mitch Daniels predicted the plant’s economic impact, “will be felt not just in the near vicinity in Greensburg but for many places around.”
I was around for that. Anderson felt disappointed that a car factory went to Greensburg. We had hopes for those well-paying jobs.
According to STATS Indiana, since construction began at the Honda plant per capita income has gone from $32,198 to $52,101, an increase of 61.8%.
That, in a nutshell, was Daniels’ vision for the IEDC, to fatten Hoosier paychecks.
The agency’s 2006 Strategic Plan laid out an extremely specific goal, “meet the national average in per capita income by 2020”.
And Indiana Republicans accomplished:
In 2005, when the IEDC was created, per capita income in Indiana was $31,376, according to data from the US Department of Commerce. Compare that to the national average then: $35,699. That put Indiana incomes at 87.96% of the national average or a ranking of 41st of all US states.
Last year, Indiana’s per capita income rose to $60,038. Pretty good, right?
But remember, except in recessions, incomes have consistently risen in America. The national per capita income in 2023 was $68,531 meaning Hoosiers earned 87.61% of that benchmark, good for 36th among states.
I specified Indiana because of:
People in Iowa ($62,512), Utah ($$62,823), Maine ($63,117), Kansas ($63,732), Montana ($63,918), South Dakota ($70,353) and North Dakota ($73,341) make more money.
When we pointed this out to Daniels in a March interview, he noted dollars go a long way here.
“We have one of the lowest costs of living in the country which is great,” Daniels said. “Our housing costs are about the best in the country in part due to the fact that we lowered and froze property taxes.”
Those are mostly Republican states. Kansas now has a Democrat governor, and Maine is a bit mixed. But what makes the Dakotas so prosperous? Because Indiana as a cheap place to live is not enough.
Indiana has the 6th highest percentage of delinquent car loans among states. For home mortgage delinquency, Indiana ranks 10th highest. Hoosiers with delinquent credit card debt rose more than 36% last year.
Unskilled workers here are like me working for around $10 an hour - if I did not have Social Security I do not think I could live. But the people I have worked with have no skills for other, better jobs. Education is not pushed hard here as the way to improve one's lot.
The Ball State economic professor said the true key to growing businesses is education, “Have the same share of college graduates and associate degree holders and bachelors and high school degree holders as the rest of the country.”
What Hick is describing is called “educational attainment” and using the measurement, Indiana grades poorly.
The US Census Bureau collects data for adults aged 25 and older. In Indiana, 90.2% of the population has a high school degree or higher, good for 34th among all states.
But just 29.6% of those Indiana adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher, ranking a dismal 43rd.
More than anything else, Hicks said companies want a ready, educated workforce.
And so Hoosiers will vote for Trump because Biden cannot handle the economy.
Recent data from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education shows less high school students in Indiana are choosing to pursue post-secondary education with 47 percent of 2021 graduates not enrolling in college altogether. Those bleak rates could mean a need for innovation in what’s offered to students in high school. What, if anything, should Indiana need to invest in?
McCormick: This includes ICHE. As a former teacher, local school superintendent, and state superintendent, I know firsthand the systemic root causes needing to be addressed regarding this dire issue.
Reinventing school multiple times in five years, the constant change of assessments, the lack of Statehouse emphasis placed on higher education, and Indiana’s dismal approach to career exploration and coaching are all factors I will address in a collaborative, honest, and transparent approach. I will incentivize higher education exploration and participation. First-generation participation must be informed and aggressively supported.
I will also align state agencies that are responsible for such efforts and invite business, trades, K-12, and universities to the table for solutions. Incentive programs versus current punitive approaches at the local level will be implemented to assist in our efforts. I will use the governor’s platform and change the messaging of ‘just fill the jobs of today’ to a message of investing in our current and future workforce needs and empowering Hoosier prosperity.
sch 5:00 am
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