Marshall County MICA Poverty Forum

I am live blogging at the MICA Poverty Forum held in Marshalltown. In attendance is Steve Sodders (D) and Jarret Heil (R), candidates in SD 22, Mark Smith (D) and Jane Jech (R), candidates in HD 43, and Tim Hoy (D) in HD 44.

I will try and get as much as the candidates say, but I might have missed some of the candidates responses. Don't consider these to be direct quotes.

The poverty level for a family of 4 is earning less than $21,000 a year. What would you do to reduce the number of families living in poverty?

Sodders: We must attract quality jobs to the area and have affordable college education. Says tuition has gone up 83% during the last decade.

Smith: We must have a living wage and decrease the amount of college debt students have when they graduate college.

Heil: Poverty is a cycle and we need to break the cycle. To that you must focus on education. 1/3 of the children born in Iowa are unintended and we need to provide prenatal care and care up to age 5 for children and provide education to parents, and continue to invest in quality programs like Head Start.

How do we bridge the gap between the skills of the workforce and the needs of employers?

Jech: We need to make the state a place that is attractive to businesses. Education, She served on the Iowa Valley board for 9 years and brings an education background to this race. We need to make sure people are aware of what courses are available at the college and have access to. She mentions the inequity of pay for women.

Smith: Need to make work pay. There is a lot of money going unclaimed through the earned income tax credit. Invest in education and skill development so people have the skills necessary, and encourage Iowans to stay in the state by providing higher wages.

Hoy: It's all about jobs. We can encourage those individuals that don't want to work in an office setting and encourage those people to work in a skilled trade.

Heil: Education is the key to bridging the gap. Need to develop an educated workforce to keep up with a skilled labor market. By providing the education opportunity the state will provide the most vulnerable the skills to make them into responsible citizens.

Sodders- Grew up in a low income family and his mom told him and his brothers that they had 3 choices when they graduated high school. They could go to college, go to the military, or pack up and move out. We must make sure that when high school students graduate they have the ability to move on to college or get the extra training needed.

Rising energy costs.

Smith: The Low Income Energy Credit is an important program. He has introduced legislation to put $25 million more into that program. We must continue to support and expand comprehensive weatherization programs and educate people on ways to save energy costs. Smith says housing hasn't changed in the state for over 30 years and we must look at how and where we are building our homes. We need to enhance public transportation options.

Hoy: Normally lower income people live in older homes and would benefit from weatherization programs. Rural communities can become isolated with rising energy costs. Programs to transport rural Iowans medical appointments are vital.

Heil- Continue programs to weatherize homes and provide incentives for landlords because many low income people rent. The rise in energy costs is a national issue and we must push for environmental friendly and economically sound energy sources that include ethanol, drilling, nuclear, clean coal, wind, and solar.

Sodders: In the short-term, we need to increase LIHEAP money because it helps people who have to decide to heat their home or put food on the table. Supporting MICA weatherization programs are important because they save people money. In the long-term we can continue to make a commitment to renewable fuels and stop relying on middle eastern oil.

Jech- Low income energy assistance programs are just a band aid and needs to be continued, but we need to look at long-term solutions that include drilling and promoting renewable fuels. Iowa has a chance to be a leader in ethanol and biofuels.

Health Care

Hoy: In the 2008 legislative session they made a goal to make sure all Iowans have health care insurance. Started this by strengthening the HAWK-I program and plans are to increase HAWK-I in the coming years. HAWK-I is helpful for those who work and have employer based health care, but it is too costly to cover their children. We need to allow small businesses to pool for a more cost effective buying pool for employees.

Heil: In favor of tax incentives to small businesses to provide health insurance for their employees. Prenatal education for parents and curbing obesity can make sure children start off on the right foot. He worked 4 and a half years in the federal government and he would work with Iowa's delegation in Washington DC to make sure Medicare works.

Sodders: A top issue throughout the entire campaign has been to provide a health care pooling system that would allow farmers and small businesses to purchase more cost effective health insurance. As a deputy sheriff, the county sheriff can pool with other county employees to make sure everyone has access to affordable insurance.

Jech: The portability of insurance is an issue that must be addressed. Her family went through this when she changed jobs and it was too costly to COBRA their insurance. Her son is epileptic and they had a hard time getting the care he needed. They didn't qualify for HAWK-I. One way to do this would be to make the HAWK-I program a graduated program so people don't slide through the cracks.

Smith: Last year he worked on the Healthy Kids Act and Health Care reform bill and we are well on the path to become the first state to cover all children.

Closing Statements

Heil: Education is the key to getting people out of poverty. We must empower people to be upstanding citizens. We can give people a fish that is filleted and fried or teach them to fish.

Sodders: Asks what are Iowans worth? He believes everyone is worth affordable and quality health care, a quality education, and a state that people want to stay in after they graduate.

Jech: Brings up the expansion of preschool and says the money should be put into existing programs and not dumped into K-12 education.

Smith: Makes push for people to register to vote and asks people for their support. Says tonight we talked a lot about people with different incomes, but the one place where everyone is equal is the voting booth and he would encourage everyone to vote.

Best line of the night

Rep. Mark Smith: A living wage is enough money to cover the basics and "allow parents to have a little jingle in the pocket, so they can afford to go to the movies on Saturday night and enjoy time with their families."