Tennessee's economy might be flourishing, but average citizens are struggling | Opinion (2024)

• Erin Hafkenschielis the president of ThinkTennessee.
• Adriane Bond Harris is a senior advisor on housing policy at ThinkTennessee.

When Tennesseans set their mind to something, we get it done. In recent years, the state has invested millions of dollars to incentivize employers and new businesses to create more job opportunities for its residents.

In just the last four years, we’ve added 117,000 new jobs and attracted hundreds of thousands of people to Tennessee.

On Feb. 6, during his State of the State, Governor Lee said, “Tennessee is leading the nation.” On two important economic indicators, he’s right. In three years, we’ve risen from 24th to No. 1 in gross domestic product (GDP) growth, recording 8.6% growth in 2021. We’re also No. 1 in road quality.

Yet too many Tennesseans are still struggling. In February, ThinkTennessee (ThinkTN) released our 2023 State of Our State Dashboard, which shows how Tennessee compares to other states on 100 indicators in 11 categories, from the economy to health to infrastructure and housing.

We found that Tennesseans have lower wages, higher debt, worse health outcomes, higher levels of crime, and declining educational outcomes. We’ve got plenty of jobs, but their wages are too low and our debt is too high. We are the health services capital of the country, but we have worse health outcomes and more expensive healthcare costs.

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Listening and addressing concerns is pivotal

These rankings provide a data-driven, unbiased look at what’s working and what’s not. If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. Which is why ThinkTN starts with the data and then works with stakeholders across the state to craft and implement policies to improve the lives of all Tennesseans.

We know what this takes because we’ve done it. Working together in local government, we learned to put people first.

This means listening to community members and addressing their concerns, learning about evidence-based solutions and best practices, engaging policymakers and government staff in co-designing workable solutions, and collaborating closely with cities, counties, and the state to implement people-centered public policies.

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What are the key issues?

Which is what ThinkTN will do in 2023, as we turn our policy attention to these important priorities:

• Wages, transportation, and housing: Tennesseans need higher wages (No. 41 in median household income); safer, more affordable transportation options (No. 42 on both car loan defaults and highway traffic fatalities); and more affordable housing options (nearly 20% of Tennessee homeowners and 26% of renter households spend more than 30% of their income on housing).
• Paid family leave: Tennessee’s families are struggling, with some of the lowest wages for working women (No. 44) and too many families with children relying on public assistance (27%). Families, particularly new parents, need more support. The governor’s proposal for a paid parental leave program for state employees is a huge step in the right direction. The research is clear: paid family leave is good business for Tennessee and the right policy for Tennessee’s families.
• Court Debt: Compared to other states, Tennesseans are drowning in debt, from medical debt to auto loans to court debt. Our report, using never-before-analyzed data, showed driver’s license revocations have no impact on court debt collections. Ending suspensions would cut government red tape, lower recidivism rates, and boost economic growth.

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Check out the data and contact us

The governor recently shared his budget and policy priorities to prepare Tennessee for the future, invest in our transportation infrastructure, expand access to opportunities, and support families. We share the governor’s priorities and look forward to working with him, public officials, and community leaders across the state to implement them.

We invite you to join us in this important work. Please dive deep into the data with our State of the State Dashboard, connect with us at https://www.thinktennessee.org, and help us make sure we are building a state that works for all Tennesseans.

Erin Hafkenschiel is the president of ThinkTennessee. Previously she was executive director for transportation at Vanderbilt University and director of the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Sustainability for Nashville Mayors Megan Barry and David Briley. Erin has a master’s in public policy and urban planning from Harvard University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University.

Adriane Bond Harris is a senior advisor on housing policy at ThinkTennessee and principal/owner of HarCo Coaching & Consulting focused on supporting leaders and organizations in transformative community development and investment policies. Previously she was director of housing for Nashville Mayors Megan Barry and David Briley. She holds a bachelors of science in public administration from Middle Tennessee State University and a master's in urban and regional planning from University of Tennessee, Knoxville.