Issues
Jobs
No one has ever said to a candidate, “I wish you would talk about something other than jobs.” No one has ever said to an elected official, “You’ve created too many jobs.” My goal is to be the first. Every other issue circles back to job creation. Where there are more and better-paying jobs, there are higher property values and more stable families, which means better schools, better health care, and less crime.
I have 3 plans for job creation in Iowa:
- Commercial property tax reform – The Republican proposal would increase residential property taxes, hurting small business owners and the middles class. Right now taxes are like a losing game of Tetris – the legislature has thrown bits and pieces wherever they can. We need to put everything – property, sales, income, and corporate taxes – on the table and put it together in a way that makes sense.
- Eliminate regressive regulations – Many regulations hurt smaller businesses without actually making big corporations change their behavior. While clerking in the Legislature, I worked with a small business owner who made gourmet dog treats. He discovered he should have registered with the Iowa Dept of Ag as a livestock feed producer and paid a separate registration fee for each flavor of treats. That would be nothing to a large pet food maker but it almost shut down this small business.
- Consolidate economic development – Right now many different state departments are engaged in different levels of economic development, and it’s just inefficient. I reject Governor Branstad’s proposal to turn the Department of Economic Development into a slush fund for out-of-state corporations.
Education
The universal preschool plan enacted under Governor Culver is the right direction for our state and is already starting to show results. Preschool must be defended from Republican cuts.
We need to do a better job of matching young people with real careers to work and live in Iowa. Right now every level of our education system does not do enough to prepare our next generations of leaders for the job market. Too many young people take a few basic business classes and assume they will find a great job, without knowing what jobs actually exist and what skills they need to develop to get those jobs. As a result, too many of our best and brightest leave Iowa.
Marriage equality
I support marriage equality. Varnum v Brein was not “judicial activism”. I oppose any and all attempts to strip marriage rights from our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.
Women’s issues
My sons will grow up knowing to respect women and treat them as equals. It’s sad I even have to type that sentence in 2012, but Iowa Republicans have shown their true colors. We heard about “jobs jobs jobs” in 2010 and instead got an assault on the rights of women to make their own health care decisions and be treated as equals in the workplace. I will be a voice for common sense and equality in the Iowa House.