Despite Indiana's recent high-profile business deals, the state's economic fundamentals are lagging, with declining income and education levels posing significant challenges.

Experts argue deeper investments in education and infrastructure are needed for sustainable growth.

Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, noted some troubling figures.

"The share of adults with a college degree relative to the country having slipped," Hicks noted. "We see our per capita income relative to the country has slipped substantially, two percentage points, which is sort of a shocking three-decade change in two decades."

Although state officials pointed to low unemployment and rising capital investments as proof of success, Hicks contended without a focus on education and infrastructure, Indiana's long-term economic outlook remains uncertain.

State officials highlighted new projects such as a $3.2 million investment in Kokomo by Stellantis and Samsung SD designed to expand electric vehicle battery manufacturing operations in Indiana as signs of progress. However, Hicks warned the announcements do not address deeper economic issues.

"The numbers they're sharing are just measurements that they have working through IEDC (the Indiana Economic Development Corporation)," Hicks observed. "It has nothing to do with the actual amount of capital that's flowing into the state. That's lower than it has been in most years. So, there's nothing fabulous happening now that is anything other than a press release."

Hicks believes Indiana should prioritize education, environmental policies and regulatory improvements to create sustainable growth.


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More Michigan residents need access to affordable housing and health insurance, according to a lawmaker pushing for change.

Rep. Carrie Rheingans, D-Ann Arbor, a public health policy expert, marks the issues as priorities. This week, she introduced House Bill 4009 to repeal Michigan's 1988 ban on rent stabilization. She said it would restore local control and allow cities to consider measures like rent control.

Rheingans shared her personal experience of the financial strain on renters in cities like Ann Arbor, where many spend over half their income on housing.

"I'm a renter in Ann Arbor. I've been a renter there for over 20 years, because I can't afford to buy a house in the area," Rheingans explained. "My rent went up 33% from my last lease year to this lease year and there's nothing prohibiting that."

The bill has been referred to the Committee on Government Operations for review. Rheingans added she is also a strong advocate for expanding the MiCare program, created under the Affordable Care Act, to become publicly funded insurance covering all Michiganders without co-pays or coverage limits.

Nearly 500,000 Michigan residents, including 80,000 children, lack health insurance. Rheingans emphasized if MiCare could be expanded, they would be eligible for comprehensive coverage, from hospital stays and prescriptions to mental health care. With a background in public health, she called it her passion.

"I believe that every policy issue is a health issue," Rheingans outlined. "The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the access we have to medical care. All those kinds of things are items that we can work on in the world of policy."

Rheingans now represents the area of Michigan where she grew up in Jackson County. Her great-grandfather served as a minister there nearly a century ago. Her legislative tenure began two years ago this month.


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Iowa lawmakers are considering reducing fines companies pay for breaking child labor laws. The state has said it's trying to find safe and creative ways to add more people to the workforce.

The proposal to rewrite Section 32 of the state's child labor laws would reduce fines for companies that violate them from $10,000 per instance to $2,500.

Iowa AFL-CIO President Charlie Wishman said Iowa has the infamous distinction of leading the nation in rolling back labor laws designed to protect minors.

"You've seen a lot of child labor law reform all across the country and it doesn't really seem to necessarily be based in partisanship," said Wishman. "You can see a place like Alabama that's strengthening it. You can see a place like Iowa that's loosening it."

The state has said it's looking at creative ways to add more people to the workforce, with shortages especially critical in rural areas.

Wishman said he worries reducing the fines would create even greater safety risks for minors in those places. The proposal is in the Legislature's joint Administrative Rules Review Committee.

Iowa is one of the only states that reports losing population, and with that out-migration goes a much-needed employee base.

As a labor advocate, Wishman said he isn't opposed to giving kids a chance to earn money and learn responsibility by working.

"But that doesn't mean that has to come at the expense of their schoolwork, their extracurricular activities or other things like that, or other responsibilities they have," said Wishman. "And when you lower the penalties that businesses would have for violating the law, you're just going to encourage more violations."

Recent changes to Iowa law allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work up to six hours on a school day, extends working hours for kids to 9 p.m. during the school year, and until 11 p.m. during the summer.

Just nine months into her tenure, Michigan state Rep. Mai Xiong, D-Warren, is ringing in the new year with new legislation. Now on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's desk, Xiong's bill allows public employers to increase contributions to workers' health plans.

A former Macomb County commissioner and the first Hmong American woman to serve in the Michigan House of Representatives, Xiong said she's passionate about helping people live better lives.

"With inflation and rising prices at the grocery store and the gas pump, it's just really hard," she said. "The cost of living has gone up - and so, whatever we can do as a government to help Michiganders, that's something that I want to contribute to doing."

Her bill also requires public employers to cover at least 80% of the total annual costs of the medical benefit plans they offer or contribute to, for their employees and elected public officials.

Xiong also has sponsored and supported legislation related to reproductive health data privacy, maternal care expansion and a resolution honoring Hmong soldiers who fought for the United States in the Vietnam War. Speaking on the House Floor in the Michigan Capitol last summer, she shared how her heritage and education have influenced her.

"My parents fought hard to bring me to this country because they knew how important education was," she said. "It is because of the teachers that I am here today - Miss Nolan, Miss Merriman and so many others - who shaped me into being who I am today."

Xiong started Mai&Co., a clothing business inspired by Hmong traditions, in 2017. She ran it from home while raising four young children, and said that experience helped shape her views on supporting small businesses and economic growth.


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