Sam Snideman, vice president of government relations for United Way of Central Indiana, Indiana Capital Chronicle
Affordability has become a national political watchword recently, but the challenges of making ends meet are all too real for many across Indiana.
For over a decade, more than a third of Hoosiers have been in or near poverty. The challenges of affording to live in a state that touts its low cost of living have long been clear to many Hoosier families.
Simply put, everything in Indiana continues to get more expensive, and wage growth in the state fails to keep up with household survival budgets.
Most of those in Indiana experiencing hunger earn too much to qualify for federal SNAP benefits. With rents rising and not enough rental units available, half of all Marion County renters are cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their monthly income on rent and utilities. The average age for first-time homebuyers is now 38 in Indiana, in part because of soaring prices and high interest rates. Utility rates are growing faster now than they have in two decades. Child care costs also continue to grow, and Hoosier families are spending on average 11% of their incomes on care that feels increasingly out-of-reach but never has been more essential. The number of Hoosier students going to college continues to decline, in part because of growing tuition and concerns about returns on investment.
These problems do more than just keep people stuck in place. They prevent Hoosiers from achieving some measure of the American dream.
Hoosiers need policy responses to these cost pressures if they are to thrive. Too many in our state are delaying — or foregoing — things once seen as central features of what it meant to be successful and stable in America: college education, marriage and children, financial savings, home ownership. This is happening because of a chronic affordability crisis in our state.
Nonprofits and philanthropies are doing their best to support those most in need. They raise money to alleviate hunger; they step up to help develop new housing; they are, despite waitlists and rate cuts, providing essential services like child care and health care to people with few other options. Americans have always supported one another by donating and volunteering through nonprofits. But today, fewer people have the means or the time to help.
Private philanthropy alone cannot solve these challenges. It needs partners in government to create conditions that allow all families to be economically stable.
As the General Assembly reconvenes in 2026, its members must make affordability its focus. Indiana needs its leaders to deliver policies that create economic opportunities, and that address the high costs of getting by for all Hoosiers.