Indiana and Ohio are Policy Leaders of the Midwest: Jonathan Williams on the Hugh Hewitt Show
"The only clear choice to be more like Indiana and more like Ohio and less like Illinois when it comes to states like Michigan and Wisconsin."
Hugh Hewitt spoke with ALEC President and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams about the economic impact of data centers and the divergent policy paths of Midwestern states.
Hewitt dove right into the conversation, discussing how data centers can drive a new economic boom in the Midwest. Williams highlighted how ALEC has developed model policy principles regarding data center development, energy policy, water usage, and zoning.
“One of the new pieces of model policy, as you know, that came out of Orlando from our ALEC annual meeting was our model statement of principles on what do we do with the discussion around data centers.”
Hewitt discussed further how other states are handling the expansion, including Texas, which already hosts 350 data centers. Williams compared Northern Virginia counties, noting that Loudoun County’s data center development helped keep property taxes flat or declining compared to Fairfax County.
“Telling those stories is really important to know that there’s some huge benefits for taxpayers out there when this is done in a smart way and a responsible way,” Williams noted. “I think it can be hugely attributed to this development of data centers in Loudoun County, that are taking that property tax burden and taking it off of residential and other commercial property taxpayers, and that’s something that just doesn’t get told nearly enough.”
The conversation then turned to discussing the diverging economic trajectories of Midwestern states. Williams pointed to how states like Michigan and Wisconsin must choose between following the prosperous models of Indiana and Ohio or the declining model of Illinois.
“If you’re an objective observer and have studied the Midwest and the economies and what Illinois used to be versus what it is today, and what Chicago used to be and what it is today versus where Indiana and Ohio had been in the progress that they’ve made,” he observed, “The only clear choice to be more like Indiana and more like Ohio and less like Illinois when it comes to states like Michigan and Wisconsin.”