Invest in Opportunity: Invest in Rural America

Qualified Opportunity Zones will capitalize on rural America’s “can-do” attitude.

SINCE AMERICA'S founding, we have used our “can-do” attitude to grow crops that feed our communities and our country. We have used our “can-do” attitude to establish and lead during America’s manufacturing revolution. And we have used our “can-do” attitude – along with our appreciation of quality education – to provide opportunity for America’s future.

But in many small and rural communities, we’ve also faced some serious challenges. As a lifelong Wisconsinite, I know how fragile the economic foundations of many communities and small businesses are across Wisconsin. For years, many hardworking Wisconsinites in rural communities have seen a lack of investment in their hometowns and felt that the deck was stacked against them.

But that’s changing. Now we’re seeing a movement to invest in rural America – and invest in opportunity.

Recently, a program creating economic opportunity zones, that was part of a bipartisan bill called Investing in Opportunity Act of 2016, was passed into law as a provision in the new federal tax law. With colleagues in the House and Senate – Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and former Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) – we have fought for a new approach to connect struggling communities with the private investment they need to thrive. Millions of Americans live in communities facing crises such as closing businesses, lack of access to capital and limited entrepreneurship opportunities. We know we can solve these problems if we work together.

This bipartisan legislation helps fund a new generation of entrepreneurs and enterprises in economically distressed areas of the country. It assists in overcoming barriers to investment by providing temporary capital gains deferral in exchange for reinvestment in distressed communities. In addition, it encourages investors from across the nation to pool resources through newly created Qualified Opportunity Funds established specifically to make investments in distressed communities. The legislation also provides incentives for investors to make long-term commitments to these communities by increasing the size of the tax benefit the longer they stay.

The bottom line: creating opportunities in rural communities requires partnerships. Rural America’s “can-do” attitude paired with the $2.3 trillion of untapped capital held by U.S. investors could be the beginning of the rural renaissance. Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District is now home to 15 designated Qualified Opportunity Zones in nine counties across western and central Wisconsin. For the next 10 years, investors across America will have the opportunity to invest in those Qualified Opportunity Funds, buoyed by the famous Midwest work ethic we’re so proud of. When discussing Qualified Opportunity Zones, it is important to remember that rural communities are not depressed or repressed communities. Many of them are simply places that could stand to be reminded that America appreciates their “can-do” attitude. Together, we can work with the people of Adams County to lower the poverty rate and increase the number of high school graduates. We need to partner with our neighbors in the city of Nekoosa to establish the foundations for a successful business. And we need to work with families in the cities of Prairie Du Chien and Menomonie to create jobs and increase access to affordable housing.

The most sustainable way to effect these changes – in Wisconsin and the rest of the country – is by investing in communities and incentivizing job growth in areas of our country that have faced economic challenges. This newfound economic innovation will encourage new businesses to plant roots in these communities, and our towns and cities will flourish.

Businesses and investors are encouraged to step up and join us in doing everything we can do to help rural communities across Wisconsin and the nation.

Ron Kind, U.S. Representative for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District