Entreprenuers drive America! Small town businesses are what make us great! I grew up around business. My parents farmed and then ran a flooring store, a frame shop, and a flower shop. These small-town businesses provided great products and jobs to a flourishing town. If we don't do everything we can to help businesses like those survive, then we are ruined. Mom and Pop shops are still what make up our middle-class. Sometimes, those small shops grow into small or large manufacturing plants or high-tech jobs that employ hundreds rather than dozens. Those businesses are who we must really protect. Those are the jobs we lose to Mexico and China. Those are the jobs we must keep and bring back. We can do it. I will fight for it.
Iowa is a great place to raise a family. That sentiment has brought many an Iowa Native home. People who have grown up in Iowa and left the state usually think fondly of their upbringing here. They may like the pretty mountains or gentle surf where they have wandered to, but once they face the prospect of raising their own family, Iowa starts to shine again. Why is that? Safe, thriving, communities and top notch education. We may not be as flashy as some states, but we have it where it counts. Education.
Sadly, we have slipped a little from our former status. Our education system is in need of some updating. The time is now to fix it.
"Knee high by the fourth of July!" Grandpa used to say about corn.
That saying is outdated. With improvements in seeds and farming practices it's more like,
"Shoulder high by the fourth of July!"
Just as things change from one generation to the next, we must change what we are doing in government to grow more jobs. We can do better for Iowa! We need to improve the business climate in Iowa.
The best way to help Iowa's employers to begin hiring people and investing in their businesses is to do two things: address property taxes and control government spending.
Doing nothing is not an option!
Families are the bedrock of Iowa. We don’t have to look to the coasts to know who we are. Strong families make Iowa strong. That used to go without saying.
I grew up with my grandparents a half mile away. Multi-generations living side by side fosters a richness that is invaluable to the next generation. Family runs deep in Iowa. Government means nothing without strong families making up the citizenry.
State government must do what it can to foster the family unit in Iowa. Husbands and wives, raising children together on this great adventure of life. No it isn't ever easy, but it is so worth it. The family environment has proven to be the very best situation for a child to grow up healthy, happy, and strong.
