Viewpoint: Chamber plan asserts link between Hoosier health and state's economic future

Recently, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce published Indiana Prosperity 2035: A Vision for Economic Acceleration. The Chamber directly makes the case that while Indiana is a business-friendly state, there are key health, social, educational, and environmental issues that will prevent Indiana from expanding their economy and businesses if those issues continue to go unaddressed.

Paul Perkins, chair of the Indiana Chamber Board of Directors, said, “Indiana has built one of the most competitive business climates in the nation. However, we simply cannot accept this as good enough, rest and rely on our successes and risk falling behind. We must be courageous enough to identify our shortcomings and bold enough to build a plan to tackle them.”

The plan focuses on six pillar policy issues, including:

(1) Workforce: increase the value Hoosiers place on education and skill-building;

(2) K-12 Education: improve math and reading; expand pre-K; and increase opportunities for minority students;

(3) Economic Growth and Entrepreneurship: driving expansion in high tech industries and increase start-up rates;

(4) Infrastructure and Energy: invest in infrastructure while diversifying technologies and energy;

(5) Quality of Place Strategies: improve air and water quality and affordable housing;

(6) Healthy, Prosperous Communities and Citizens: tackle the state’s very poor health and welfare ratings; improve access to public health.

The Chamber’s underlying premise is simple. If we do not invest in Hoosiers’ education, health and community, Indiana’s businesses and economy will lose its competitiveness and hurt Hoosiers. Let’s review a few of the data points.

Indiana’s high school graduation data for Class of 2022 students is 86.61% which is similar to the US average. However, our minority and charter school students have lower, and in some cases, much lower graduation rates: 77.5% for Black students, 83.9% for Hispanic students, 83.1% for Pacific Islander and 47.7% for charter students. Teacher pay in Indiana ranks 39th in the U.S. We cannot afford to let our future workforce fall behind in education; they will not be prepared for a changing economy and job market.

Indiana ranks an abysmal 49th out of 50 states for pollution, including the worst polluted rivers and streams and releasing the most toxins per square mile in the U.S. Indiana ranks 10th with the highest number of superfund sites (39) in the U.S: three in St. Joseph County, seven in Elkhart County and two in LaPorte County. Pollution affects our health, community and quality of life. For instance, pollution can trigger asthma attacks and the number one reason for school absenteeism is childhood asthma attacks. Some Superfund sites contain lead which causes childhood lead poisoning resulting in hyperactivity and developmental disabilities with lifelong effects. Pollution is making Hoosiers sick and less educated.

Indiana has a shortage of affordable housing in all 92 counties. Among lowest income households, 50% or more of household income is being spent on housing leaving little money for basic necessities. Safe and healthy housing is essential to good health and positive childhood development. Unhealthy housing is a near guarantee of poor health outcomes.

Indiana’s public health funding has ranked at the bottom for decades; last year Indiana ranked 48th. There are consequences to this divestment and the statistics are pretty terrible. Infant mortality is the hallmark of a quality public health system and Indiana has one of the worst rates in the US. Approximately one baby dies ever 16 hours resulting in 530 infant deaths a year. There is good news here. Indiana legislators passed a historic public health infrastructure package (Senate Enrolled Act 4) to improve health outcomes for Hoosiers. Luke Kenley, former Republican state senator and co-chair for the Governor’s Public Health Commission, said it best: “If you spend that money upfront, it saves you lots of money later on.”

More: Meet the first woman selected to lead the Indiana Chamber of Commerce

Bravo to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce for articulating the inextricable link between the health and quality of life of Hoosiers and the future of business and economics in Indiana. Now comes the real work of implementation. We need to seek new partnerships and strategies to solve these complex problems. It won’t be easy and it won’t be quick. However, we now have business, education, government, public health and academia focused on the same critical issues. Let’s take advantage of this moment to work together and improve the health and economy of Indiana.

Heidi Beidinger-Burnett, a public health and policy expert, is an associate professor in the Eck Institute for Global Health at the University of Notre Dame.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Indiana Chamber of Commerce offers a vision for state's future