I recently attended TechPoint's Mira awards event in Indianapolis. For those unfamiliar with TechPoint it is a privately funded, not-for-profit corporation whose mission is to promote technology-based enterprises and economic development through government advocacy, educational and networking programs, and strategic economic development initiatives. TechPoint seeks growth in Indiana's emerging technology clusters, including advanced manufacturing, logistics, health and life sciences, and information technology.
The TechPoint Mira Awards recognize businesses, schools and universities, and individuals for Innovation, Information Technology, Health and Life Sciences, Education Contribution to Technology, Advanced Manufacturing/Distribution, Transportation and Logistics, Health Care IT Innovation and Excellence in Corporate IT.
HealthCall, an outpatient monitoring company that works to improve communication between health care providers and patients electronically, was the single nominee and finalist from Northwest Indiana. Clearly, the demands of technology-based corporations are not understood to the point where communities in Northwest Indiana are working collaboratively to develop regional policies and land use plans for their attraction. It is serious issue that was addressed in the 2009 legislative session.
This year state Sen. Ed Charbonneau carried SEA 448, a bill that reduces the property tax liability on IT enterprise equipment. It is the first statue that directly impacts the state's ability to broadly affect the development of high-tech companies.
The bill allows communities to permanently exempt personal property tax provided companies invest more than $10 million in capital and pay wages 25 percent above the county's average. The bill remains in effect until 2015.
The need to make a concerted effort to shift Northwest Indiana's economy towards the technology sector has a narrow window of opportunity, and if ever there was a time where regional leadership must act collectively, it is now.
With global distribution of knowledge, those thinking that state-of-the-art technology and world-class scientists are reserved for developed countries would be misinformed. China, as an example, has a 15-year development plan for science and technology that reflects its determination to become a world leader in innovation. They strongly believe that innovation can be "decreed" by government policy referred to as "techno-nationalism," and there is much focus on technology-driven, supply-side policies for research and education; that roughly translates into tax policy in the United States.
It's an exciting and perilous time. Countries like China and India having massive population see science and technology as means to resolve social and environmental problems, realizing low-wage labor models are not sustainable, as new and innovative ways of manufacturing are being pursued across the globe.
It stands to reason that investment into transportation and communication systems that deliver goods to market, people to jobs and information to both are the foundations of new development in an era of global commerce. If we do not invest into those systems, it will seal a destiny of blight and poverty for no other reasons than we were unprepared and failed to plan.
This isn't a Dickensian glimpse into the future; it is real. Is there any more proof needed than the challenges facing the industrialized cities of Northwest Indiana? And circling the wagons of protectionism is as useless as trying stop the wind.
One thing is for certain: If the right investments are not made today, our children will be the ones who will have to afford the greater costs and additional taxes in about 25 years.
Vince Galbiati is President of the Northwest Indiana Forum. The opinion expressed in this column is the writer's and not necessarily that of The Times.
