Mitch Daniels: building the best climate for new jobs.

• Author: Daniels, Mitch
• Position: VIEWPOINT

NO FACTOR IS MORE essential to a state's wellbeing than its attractiveness to new investment and the jobs that flow from it. So those of us who mobilized for change in Indiana four years ago have worked harder on this goal than any other. Back then, even in a strong national economy, Indiana was going nowhere, on no one's list of the best places for business.

It's essential to remember that government does not "create" jobs or wealth. At its best, it creates the conditions in which men and women of imagination and enterprise create wealth for each other. At its worst, it drives away such people and the jobs they create.

So we have centered our efforts on building the best climate possible for new jobs, as I often say, "the best sandbox in America." We lowered the taxes on R&D and small business, lowered taxes on companies who hire Hoosiers and sell their products elsewhere, and lowered property taxes for homeowners and businesses alike. We have fostered expansion of venture capital and encouraged business-starting entrepreneurs in every way possible.

We reoriented our regulatory programs to enforce tough environmental and other standards with greater speed, consistency, and fairness. We found a way, without a penny of new taxes or borrowing, to invest billions in rebuilding and adding to Indiana's critically important highway infrastructure. We reformed our telecommunications laws to speed the connection of even our smallest towns to the "broadband highway" of the new economy CNBC recently named our state the "most improved for business."

These and many more changes have catapulted our state into the top tier of every ranking of economic attractiveness. On every map of "hot" states for new jobs, Indiana...