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As governor, what would you do boost the economy of rural Indiana?
As a Main Street entrepreneur, I have spent my entire life creating good-paying jobs while providing affordable health care to hundreds of Hoosiers in my hometown of Jasper. It was really important that I build my business in rural Indiana, and with that decision came different challenges.
As governor, I will work to strengthen our rural economy, not through some catchy slogan but through solutions that I know first-hand work. One cornerstone is improving our education system so Hoosier students can immediately transition from high school to their rural hometown economy.
We can accomplish this by investing in our schools and higher education but also by fostering learning opportunities for those who want to pursue a career in welding, plumbing, manufacturing and good-paying technical jobs that do not require a four-year degree. Additionally, when it comes to four-year degrees, we need to produce more STEM degrees because the market is asking for them.
Touring all 92 counties every year, I’ve seen great examples of career and technical education programs in high schools that prepare students to hit the ground running in jobs that Hoosier manufacturers need filled today. Far too many of our high school graduates are not prepared to enter the workforce or pursue a degree.
Another concern that I often hear from rural Hoosiers is access to health care. As governor, we need to improve access so that if you choose a job in rural Indiana, you don’t have to spend your entire day driving to a 30-minute appointment with a doctor.
As governor, I will also work on solutions to reduce the cost of health care and prescription drug prices because lowering the cost of health care will help employers attract and retain their employees. We also emphasized wellness, prevention, and employees becoming health care consumers. Rural health care access and prices have consistently been a problem, and we need to approach this problem in an entrepreneurial way, like I did in my own business. I’m not afraid to stand up to the big health care industry.
By focusing on solutions to improve our K-12 education system, improving rural health care, and lowering health care costs, we can make rural Indiana better than it’s ever been.
I’m the only candidate running who has hired hundreds of Hoosiers in rural Indiana. I know that we cannot have vibrant, healthy communities without focusing on education and health care, and as governor, those are my priorities, which will give Main Street entrepreneurs like myself the tools to revitalize our communities.•
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Braun, a Republicn, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018. Before that, he was the founder and CEO of Jasper-based Meyer Distributing. Send comments on this column to ibjedit@ibj.com.
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