House Journal: Page 55: Tuesday, January 14, 2003
With our strong values, no Iowan should be satisfied if bright Iowans leave,
believing there is no meaningful opportunity here; for if Iowans can’t find or afford
healthcare services; if Iowans are prevented from enjoying the outdoors because our
rivers and streams are polluted. Sadly, this is happening in our state today.
But my fellow Iowans we should, and we must do better. Iowans must respond to
the challenge by embracing and directing change. I am confident we are up to the
challenge; but state government should not approach this challenge alone.
The primary responsibility for effecting change will rightfully be with the private
and nonprofit sectors. State government’s role is to act as a catalyst for change and
remove barriers to progress. To fulfill that responsibility we must act now and we
must act boldly.
The state budget complicates our task. The work begun two years ago to align
revenues with expenditures must continue. Our law requires a balanced budget and
we will have a balanced budget. But while complicated, the task is not impossible.
I want to acknowledge the hard work of the previous legislature. Tough unpopular
choices had to be made but those choices create options today that most states do not
enjoy. Few states enjoyed surpluses last year or will this year. Fewer still were able to
reduce the size of government while increasing the commitment to K-12, expanding
access to healthcare for children and seniors, and starting a new venture capital fund.
These achievements and many others share more than being accomplished during
tough times; they also share, more importantly, having been accomplished in a
bipartisan effort.
Let me identify the four cornerstones to future progress that will preserve, nurture
and expand hope and opportunity: a transformed Iowa economy, continuous
improvement to education, expanded access to healthcare services and other
community services, and renewed commitment to our environment.
The economy of Iowa, grounded in the production of ever-increasing volumes of low
priced ag commodities, and the creation of well-intended but still lower paying
manufacturing and service sector jobs, no longer adequately supports our values; nor
will it expand hope and opportunity for the future.
For the benefit of ourselves and future generations of Iowans, we must transform
our economy to one rooted in the development and growth of high priced, value added
ag ingredients to be used to feed, fuel and heal, and in the creation of wealth through
high paying jobs held by a highly educated Iowa workforce.
This new Iowa economy will preserve and enhance our values, better support our
families and communities, and allow for continued investment in quality of life.
In the Iowa economy of today, less than thirty percent of our workforce has any
college experience. Iowans who learn more earn more. Our goal in the Iowa economy
of tomorrow - a high tech, bio-based economy - should be to double the number of
employed Iowans with college experience. Immediate progress towards this goal
should be the standard by which our work here is judged.
Now, to reach that ambitious goal requires a new, focused effort on economic
development - one that is key to life sciences, value added agriculture, advanced
© 2003 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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