Indiana spends millions every year trying to get the large national and multi-national corporations to stay in the hopes that they won't leave and leave hundreds of people out of work. When they do, Indiana currently has no mechanism to claw that money back to help the people now without a job. The ones that have been left behind by this strategy are the people that employ more people than the large corporations combined: small businesses. 

     You see, I view small business growth much the same way that I do human development. I have a precious 4 year old and 2 year old at home. I would not ask my 4 year old to mow the lawn or ask the 2 year old to do the dishes or do the laundry. They just simply haven't reached that level of participation yet to be able to help in those ways. They are still at a stage where they need help. Once they mature and grow up, you can bet they will contribute to the well being of the household by doing age appropriate chores and contributing to the household. 

     I think it is the same with business. We should be giving a leg up to small businesses just starting out. Let's do away with state taxes for the first year, to try to give the business owner a chance to get on his or her feet. Let's incentivize these small businesses to hire more people and grow their business. Then, once they've grown to be self-sufficient, lets begin charging them their fair share in taxes, but they would still be eligible for tax incentives based on the number of people they hire and the rate at which their lowest paid employee is paid. The more people you hire and the better you pay them, the more generous the tax breaks.

     We need to be investing more in small businesses. We need to make sure that a new business is not hindered by the bureaucratic red tape that is often associated with running a small business. We should be making it as easy as possible to run a small business in Indiana.