Craig Ladwig
“You can predict the actions of a large government, corporation or institution by imagining it being run by a cabal of its enemies.” — anonymous
A MANTRA HERE, and thank you for having indulged it all these years, is that we are against higher taxes not only because we can’t afford them but because they allow government to grow so big that the average man can’t figure out what it is up to.
There now is a corollary. It is that big government allows mere officials to fancy themselves captains of industry, Eric Holcomb providing a pluperfect example.
The outgoing governor no longer will be dealing with the simple, mundane tasks of fixing potholes and keeping Hoosier families above water. He is leading us in a global endeavor.
This, please know, is of such complexity and scope it requires the brainpower of the elite of our corporations and institutions, many of whom the governor gathered for a summit in Indianapolis last week. The goal: To make Indiana the center of a worldwide economic empire.
Toward that end, like it or not, you have been drafted into a partnership with the private firm Elevate Ventures (whoever they are) to launch a $100-million “fund” that the governor says “will help entrepreneurs to grow their businesses at the later stages of their development (however that is determined).”
Got that? The money — millions and million of dollars — will come from private and institutional investors, without strings, inspired by the governor’s vision. Still, we have questions:
- If Indiana is such a good deal, why aren’t the private investors just doing it themselves, why do they need to leverage our government?
- And if the projects need a boost from officials in high places, what’s the vigorish?
You may be willing to grant Holcomb good intentions but the details apparently are too sensitive for him to share. So to find out exactly how this is to be done, you will need to put an investment banker or two under oath. Meanwhile, the best independent description of the summit available, boosterish though it may be, comes from Chris Essex at WTHI-TV:
“The leaders will consider how to navigate global trade winds, build supply chain resiliency in critical industries, and harness defense strategy and innovation in the face of global conflict. They will also conduct business-to-business matchmaking and discuss ways to address global challenges such as economic security and workforce.”
We’re not buying it. A dog whistle sounded that the Indiana checkbook is now open to any of the world’s rent-seekers (900 summit attendees from 30 countries) who can promise the ruling elite here a ribbon-cutting.
Again, there may be moves an Indiana governor can make with honest bankers in addition to simply encouraging a productive, hard-working, family-centered work force and a fair tax and regulatory environment. How many of us, though, trust Eric Holcomb, using other people’s money, to come up with them?
Watch for him to be named a global economic-development ambassador of some sort. The potholes will have to fix themselves. — tcl