This constitutes my Six-Point Plan for Iowa, but is far from an all-inclusive statement of my positions. I will continue to add more positions below as the campaign progresses.
Iowa is a state with so much potential because of its location, its geography, its economic diversity, and – most importantly – because of its people.
But, last year, our state ranked 48th in population growth, in no small part because it ranked 34th in state and local tax burden.
The average Iowan paid $7,579 in state and local taxes last year. We can do so much better.
I have a 6-point plan – these are my six highest priorities – that aims to improve the lives of all Iowans:
Iowa currently has the second-highest cancer incidence rate in the U.S., only behind Kentucky. But we are also the only state that is seeing those rates increase. That makes it an urgent public health issue.
To fix a problem, you first must understand the root cause.
We can’t just point a finger of blame; we need to find answers that will benefit everyone. I have drafted a bill called the Iowa Needs Farmers Act that aims to address not only practices that contribute to our cancer problem, but also puts farmers in a far better position to profit from their own hard work. You can read the full text of the draft bill in the PDF available below.
Second, there are several societal contributors that all coincide within Iowa’s populace. Smoking, binge drinking, and obesity due to sedentary lifestyle are all major risk factors for cancer. One way to begin addressing it – beyond general education – is to stop rewarding behaviors that result in bad health outcomes.
Next, there’s the arsenic in our drinking water. This isn’t anything new; for the most part, it’s naturally occurring due to our state’s geology. Our public water utilities are required to test for arsenic, but in recent years, there have been several instances of water plants that exceeded the maximum allowed concentration. One idea to address this might be to add teeth to the regulatory process when safe drinking water standards are exceeded.
Finally, we have to address the elephant in the room. Current farming practices do put known cancer-causing substances in our soil and water. There are alternative practices that could be promoted, but the means to do so would require adopting new technologies and agricultural programming.
A combination of integrated pest management, regenerative agriculture techniques, and advanced edge-of-field practices (e.g. bioreactors and buffers) are costly to initiate, particularly in the current farm economy. One idea that might help is the introduction of additional alternative crops to our rotations.
Encouraging farmers to transition roughly 15 percent of their corn-soybean acres over to industrial hemp production would also help. Not only would it improve soil health, but it would provide added economic diversity and reduce the “glut” that is driving down market prices through true fair market principles.
Ultimately, none of this is easy or inexpensive to address. Moving the state out of a 20th Century mindset for revenue streams and regulatory practices, however, would put us on a much better footing to address all of it.
For those who don’t know what ALPR stands for, it means “Automatic License Plate Recognition”. It’s an AI-powered means by which law enforcement can scan vast numbers of vehicles to capture their license plate numbers to track those vehicles’ movements.
I work with this type of Vision AI software at my “day job,” so I understand how it works and how the data collected sits in a vast “data ocean” until it is searched. Ostensibly, the data is only kept for a limited number of days – although honestly, this is due to the vast amount of data collected and the limited storage capacity most law enforcement agencies have at their disposal – and will only be searched when there is a true threat to public safety.
However well intentioned and noble the capture of this data is meant to be, it does not change the fact that collecting such massive amounts of data on random citizens is an egregious breach of our Fifth Amendment protections. As the data is collected, police have no probable cause to suspect any crime has been committed – it’s being gathered “just in case” a crime might have been committed.
Taken to the extreme, this is the same type of cameras and software that has been used by the Chinese Communist Party in its “social credit score” program that it uses to strike fear in the hearts of the Chinese people. The tools of truly authoritarian regimes have no place in a free and open society.
Do I want police to catch a murder or robbery suspect as quickly as possible? Absolutely, but I also trust our law enforcement to have the investigative skills to track those suspects down without violating the rights of the innocent bystanders in the process.
I’m very supportive of the careful and responsible use of AI to improve operational efficiencies, but I cannot abide by any use of technology that becomes and end-around for our civil liberties, regardless of how noble the intent may be.
This is something that was desperately needed 15 years ago, but now it’s become less attractive – in large part because of the excellent fiduciary expertise of our current Treasurer and his team – and so many are questioning the need to do so.
Yes, IPERS is once again solvent and on track to be 100% self-funded, but it’s not there yet, and there’s no guarantee it will get there. And, if a less-successful team were to be placed in charge of the state treasury, it’s not outside the realm of possibility the fund could find its way back into insolvency.
As well as IPERS is doing now, however, it does not outperform a typical 60-40 (60% stocks, 40% bonds) 401(k). Most Iowa teachers have already moved away from IPERS to the more portable TIAA-CREF retirement plan option, a 457(b) deferred taxation retirement savings plan, or both.
IRS rules do not prohibit “double dipping” with both a 401(k) and 457(b), and you can continue to contribute to the 457(b) option even after you have reached your annual maximum contribution to the 401(k). Both options tend to perform at least one full percentage point better – per year – than IPERS.
Moving to plans that are more consistent with those found in the civilian workforce – I personally contribute 10% with a 4% match from my employer – still provides a very strong retirement nest egg at the end of a typical working career. The keys are consistent contributions and the power of compounded interest.
The best way to ensure that for those who work – whether in the private or public sectors – is to substantially reduce their tax burdens. I cover that quite extensively in my Six Point Plan.
I am for freedom and liberty, period, but also in a biblical sense. Freedom comes with responsibility. I think all Iowans should be encouraged – and educated – on how to be fully informed about anything related to our health and nutrition.
I will always vote to defend and promote informed consent, individual privacy with regard to personal health information, the rights of parents to be both informed and in control of health decisions related to their children, religious freedom, and freedom of speech as it relates to health issues. This includes parents’ right to choose whether to vaccinate their children, and the frequency schedule of those vaccinations if they choose to do so.
I find it interesting that when we’re talking about killing innocent children in the womb, it’s, “My body, my choice.” But, when we’re legitimately talking about your body and your choice as it relates to vaccinations – whether by the government or private employers – suddenly, the goalposts are moved and all discussion is shut down in favor of “the science.”
But science is entirely about debate and the interrogation of data to ultimately reach the truth. I was still a journalist when COVID-19 was inflicted upon the world. But, a year before that, I wrote a profile on the messenger RNA technology that formed the backbone of the most prominent so-called “COVID vaccine.” I knew its capabilities and its limitations, and most importantly, I understood the potential health consequences.
I tried to share that information with as many people as I could, and was promptly labeled a “kook.” Hindsight, however, proved the importance of being informed correctly about important and potentially life-altering health decisions.
I will always vote to protect Iowans from vaccine mandates. Likewise, I will always vote to protect parents’ right to know and control, particularly in light of the growth of “school-based health centers” around the country. I also support giving Iowans the freedom to decide what foods, supplements, and medicines they may want to consume or give to their families.
I have also seen what can happen when tap water is over-fluoridated. In the modern era, fluoridation of public water sources is unnecessary and – when combined with other sources of fluoride in our daily lives – potentially damaging to one’s health. I would support an effort to explore ending the government mandate for fluoridated water in Iowa.
REAL ID is dead on arrival for me. There is absolutely zero need for a national identification database. This goes far beyond a states’ rights issue to me, and tracks very closely with my position on ALPR cameras and the use of Vision AI software for community policing.
Finally, I will oppose any effort to keep vital health and safety information out of the hands of consumers when it comes to “EPA-approved” pesticide labeling. I’m not saying any particular chemical is harmful to humans or the environment. However, I’m concerned that chemical companies are eager to limit the amount of information available to the public about their products.
Article V is one of the ways the states can rein in an abusive federal government. It’s never been invoked in our nation’s history because the outcome of a “Convention of the States” can never be predicted. Keep in mind, the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was a “Convention of the States” – held illegally, per the Articles of Confederation – and look what happened there.
Typically, whenever an issue gains enough steam that it looks like an Article V convention will be invoked, Congress acts and adopts a constitutional amendment to address the matter. I strongly suspect the current Congress, if faced with the prospect of an Article V convention aimed at term limits, would seek an amendment that provides limits, but also grandfathers themselves in.
Either way, in the long term, the American people win. More than 85 percent of Americans – regardless of political affiliation – want term limits for members of Congress. I absolutely agree with them. That is why I have signed the U.S. Term Limits Pledge to fight for an Article V convention to invoke term limits on Congress.
