Senate Journal: Page 40: Tuesday, January 14, 2003
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 work force.
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 30 percent of our work force 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 toward 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
manufacturing, insurance, and other information solutions. Vision Iowa, and its
success, taught us the power of state resources leveraging private and more public
investment. We must apply that important lesson to economic development.
A companion fund, the Iowa Values Fund, should be created and dedicated to
partnering with private investment to transform our economy. Administered and
managed as a public/private partnership, the fund’s investments should promote
regional economic development so no part of Iowa is left behind. The fund should work
more closely with the Regents universities, community colleges, and independent
colleges to double the number of college experienced workers in the work force. Over
the next five years, we should commit $500 million to this fund. It is that important.
The initial investment from the Iowa Values Fund should be dedicated to making
Iowa the life sciences leader in protein development and production. Developing the
necessary life sciences infrastructure with an appropriate regulatory structure should
be a top economic development priority of the state, allowing us to reach a goal of
starting 100 new life sciences companies in Iowa in the next five years.
Initial resources from the fund should also spur the development of more renewable
fuel and energy of all kinds. The benefits to our economy and our environment from
ethanol and biodiesel fuel are well known. Similar benefits will operate from an
expansion of renewable energy production. Today, Iowa annually produces 200
megawatts of electricity from renewable energy sources—wind, solar, and biomass. By
the end of the decade, our goal should be to annually produce a minimum of 1,000
megawatts committed to the goal of making Iowa a net exporter of energy.
© 2003 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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