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ISSUES/LEGISLATION: HOMETOWN PROSPERITY PLAN
The Challenge
South Dakota is truly a wonderful place to call home -- but
it's not always the easiest place to make a living.
Though we have already made great strides in strengthening and diversifying
our economy, we're still not where we want to be.
Too often, South Dakotans feel that good-paying career opportunities are simply not available here. This needs to change.
Listening to South Dakotans
Starting last year, Senator Johnson sent out hundreds of surveys
and held over a dozen meetings with economic development leaders across
the state.
He asked for ideas on what our priorities should be, and how we can achieve them.
In response, most people said we're on the right track, but we also need to keep pressing ahead harder than ever.
The Plan
Based on what he heard, Senator Johnson developed the "Hometown
Prosperity Plan" -- a set of four strategies, or "pillars" for advancing
our South Dakota economy from a federal level. In addition, the full plan
lists specific actions related to each pillar. Click on any of the pillars
to read more about the specific strategies involved in each. You can also
view the full plan as a pdf file,
or read the text online.

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"Promoting partnerships" means encouraging even more cooperation
and less competition among states within our region, among towns and
organizations within South Dakota, and among leaders at all levels.
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| "Emphasizing Entrepreneurship" means to placing greater emphasis
on nurturing start-up businesses so we can grow from within. |
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"Investing in the Public Good" means nudging private investment
toward sectors that benefit South Dakota, and fund federal investments
that earn positive returns in the form of public benefits. |

| "Protecting Pocketbooks" means taking action against rising energy
costs, rising health care costs, stagnant wages, and other things
that squeeze pocketbooks and sap our economic strength. |
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Conclusion
Economic development is a "lynchpin" issue in the sense
that strengthening our economy leads to progress on many other issues
-- generating additional resources for education, reducing crime rates,
and making it easier for people to provide for their families. That's
why Senator Johnson developed the Hometown Prosperity Plan. By "promoting
partnerships," "emphasizing entrepreneurship," "investing in the public
good," and "protecting pocketbooks," we can bring even greater prosperity
to the communities that South Dakotans call home.

Hometown Prosperity Plan (HTML Version)
| Hometown Prosperity Plan (PDF Version)
| Sen. Johnson: Economic Development
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