'Comeback Grants' aim to encourage job growth

Monroe County was recently named "eligible" for up to $25,000 in state funds under a new state economic program that would encourage job growth, Gov. Joe Kernan said in a press release.\nIn the past few years, many Indiana communities have been hit hard by trade-related job loss. The state's economic growth is a hot issue on the gubernatorial campaign trail. \nBoth sides have presented their economic plans for Indiana, but Gov. Joe Kernan directly addressed job loss last week by introducing "comeback grants."\nUnder Kernan's plan, eligible communities in Indiana can apply for up to $25,000 from the state's Economic Development Fund. The communities can use this money to finance technology, marketing or other initiatives in hopes to attract more jobs, Kernan said in a release. Monroe County is just one of 32 "Trade Impact Counties" eligible for the 'comeback grants.' Eligible counties must have a job dislocation rate in the top 20 percent or have an unemployment rate that falls in the bottom 20 percent of all Indiana counties.\nBloomington's General Electric refrigerator plant laid off 525 workers in July and has outsourced those jobs to a plant in Celaya, Mexico. Indiana has lost more jobs in the past two years than any other state, according to The Indianapolis Star. \nRecently, many jobs have been lost or outsourced to other countries because of misguided Washington foreign trade policies, said Tina Noel, Kernan's campaign spokeswoman. Kernan hopes the 'comeback grants' will allow communities to recover and attract investment that will create good jobs. \nWhile the Kernan campaign sees 'comeback grants' as an answer to Indiana's slow economic growth, critics argue the plan lacks strength.\n"The governor's grant proposal is fine as far as it goes, but it isn't the kind of bold initiative that will get Indiana's economy rolling again," said Ellen Whitt, Daniels' deputy campaign manager. "Indiana continues to lag behind the national recovery, having lost 1,800 jobs since the start of the year, while the nation has created more than one million." \n"Mitch is focusing on the jobs we need, not the jobs we've known," she said. "He would encourage investment in jobs of the future by applying the sales tax exemption to tools for research and development, increasing Indiana's R&D tax credit to 15 percent, and fostering the development of regional venture capital funds."\nThe grants are limited to one per county and applications will be reviewed by the Indiana Department of Commerce beginning in October. Applications are available online at www.indianacommerce.com.\n-- Contact staff writer Jill Brooks at jimbrook@indiana.edu .