Today I attended a town hall meeting put on by Bob Fuehr in Riverton. Unlike my opportunity to have a 1:1 for 60 minutes like I did with Mia, this time around I was just sitting in the crowd of 40-50 delegates.We started out by watching a campaign video that was pretty well done. It explained his life of growing up in the mid-west, working hard to obtain an education, becoming successful in business, being appointed to different committees in the state, and public service. Of course the video had it's token images of Reagan, Romney, and a lot of American flags.
I didn't get to ask the questions this time, so this won't be a perfect comparison of what I learned from Mia, but I'll follow the same format in the post. Additionally, I have definitely not made a decision between Love and Fuehr, and will post more of my opinions as I gain some more knowledge.
College Education
Bob cares a lot about this. He feels that education is the way we solve the income gap problem in the US. So, Bob supports federal grant and loan money for colleges. When someone asked him where the Constitution permits the Fed government to pay for college education, he responded, "We could probably squeeze that into the general welfare clause." Which the prompted the response of, "yes, then does that mean that can put anything in that clause." He admitted that is true, then adjusted his comment to say he supports funding coming through the states rather than the feds.
I asked if a college education really will close the income gap. He said that people need to learn trades to earn more money. I wish I could have suggested a recent book I read, Linchpin, that promotes a convincing theory of why wages are decreasing for most jobs.
Jobs!
Bob was on the state's board of business development. He argues that the way to get jobs back in this country is by offering tax incentives to businesses for each job they bring back to the US. He said that when they did that in Utah, we earned $12 for every $1 spent in the incentive.
How will you balance the budget?
He didn't really give a straight-forward answer on this one. He generally stated that we need to cut some programs.
Federal Reserve
Bob would love to hear another option, but he feels that we definitely need to have a central bank. He would support an audit of the federal reserve. He said we need to get spending under control so we stop printing more money. (is that possible?)
Which Utah Congressman do you relate to the most?
Chris Stewart. Bob got to know him last time when he ran against him in the 2nd district. He feels that Chris has good judgement and principles.
Illegal Immigration
This was quite the heated topic. Many people in the room felt that we need to protect us from immigrants who, generally speaking, are here to get handouts. There were a few, younger, folks who voiced their opinion that the majority of them are trying to work hard.
Bob laid out his plan as 1. Secure the border however we can, whatever it takes. 2. eVerify program that is enforced with a strict penalty on the business if they hire illegal workers. 3. Bring those who are already here into the system, but if they want citizenship they need to get in the line and do it the right way.
Social Security Reform
Don't touch it for anyone who is at or near 65 years old. But gradually decrease the benefits for the younger people in the workforce. He'd like to get the retirement age closer to the average life expectancy age as it was originally in 1937.
Common Core
The federal government has no right to be involved in our children's education. It should be as close to the parents as possible and in the worse case at the state level. The federal government seems to have a problem with 50 laboratories working to improve the system on their own. Common Core is No Child Left Behind on steroids.
Difference between you and Mia Love?
In short, he feels that his experience will lead him to make better judgements than Mia. He points out that he makes better decisions now than he did 10 years ago because he has learned a lot from experience. He challenges us to ask who do we trust to make the right decisions? He also points out that he is not a career politician, and, in less words, doesn't need the money to pay the bills. (Though to be fair, Mia is not the bread winner in her family.)
Bob's Priorities
1. Jobs
2. Get Federal lands transferred to Utah (by forming a coalition with other Western states and by pointing out how the money will be used for education--a noble cause)
3. Eliminate waste in government
Working with Others
Bob wants to work in coalitions that agree on an issue. I must interject that I feel strongly that this is the only way to get something done in Washington (without junkets of course) and am glad Bob is aware of how to get things done.
Which Committees do you want to be on?
Those that are important to the state, where we are not represented, and where he has a good background that is helpful.
Energy, Banking, Small Business, and Appropriations.
I look forward to writing up my opinions and contrasting these two candidates. I also encourage you to attend any town hall meeting you can to get to know them yourselves. Let me know what you think of them. You can see their schedules at www.bobfuehr.com and http://love4utah.com/events/
