More jobs and higher take home pay was at the center of Mitt Romney’s message to a crowd of almost 700 who attended an early morning event at the Des Moines Public Schools’ Central Campus. Romney holding his only public event in Iowa this week entered the warm auditorium to a standing ovation. Prior to his speech, Iowa House Republican candidate, Rob Taylor, who is running to represent eastern Dallas County in Iowa House District 44 told the group that he was looking for his next President to be “more than a community organizer” and somebody who “will know that a budget is not a fairy tale or a myth.”
Congressman Tom Latham (R-IA) said to the Iowans gathered that “we need a President who understands the Constitution” criticizing President Obama’s use of executive orders to implement policy changes when he is unsuccessful seeing legislation passed by Congress.
Romney said that President Obama had broken several promises. He said President Obama promised to lower health insurance premiums. Instead health insurance premiums have gone up by $2000. Romney pointed out that President Obama promised that the stimulus would lower unemployment below 8%, instead we’ve seen unemployment be consistently above 8%. Romney also noted that gas prices have doubled, the median income has dropped by $4000, and he has more than doubled the deficit.
He said Obama’s polices are increasing the debt obligation of the next generation. He said his policies are “not just bad economics, but it is immoral.”
He introduced his plan for a “stronger middle class” which he promised would create 12 million jobs.
He said first that our nation needs to take advantage of America’s energy resources. He mentioned oil, gas, wind, etc. Both renewable and non-renewable energy sources. On that note, Romney’s position to not renew the wind tax credit to expire isn’t being received well by prominent Republicans in Iowa.
He also touted his education plan saying he wanted adults and kids to have the skills to succeed. Calling for better education as the United States finds itself trailing numerous countries, he eluded to his school choice plan saying, “I want to make sure that every parent has a choice of which school to send their child to, and that every child has a chance.”
He also criticized President Obama removing the requirement to work from welfare. As President, Mitt Romney said that he would restore that requirement.
Romney called for increased trade within the Western Hemisphere in particular. He promised to “crack down on any nations that cheat like China.” He also called for cutting the deficit in order to get the federal government on track to balance the budget. Romney noted that entrepreneurs are held back by the uncertainty that the deficit causes which discourages them from creating jobs and taking risks. “We need to show entrepreneurs that we’ll reign in our excesses.” He said that he would filter every program with the question, “Is this program so critical that we need to borrow from China to have it?” He promised the first thing he would do to reign in the deficit is to end Obamacare which was received by applause.
Touting job creation his final point was that he would champion small business. Romney said that in the last 16 years 64% of all jobs were created by small businesses. He noted that small business job creation was now at a 30 year low. He promised to make sure tax rates are not raised, and to reign in business regulations that are onerous. He supports unions, but said that unions should not be forced on employees. He noted that one problem for small businesses is in the inability to receive loans. He blamed Dodd-Frank for hurting the community banks that make loans to small businesses, and that it has done the opposite of what was intended – limiting banks from becoming too big to fail. Instead they have become bigger, and community banks have been crushed by the impact of the Dodd-Frank law.
He brought up Obama’s comment that small business owners didn’t build their businesses themselves. He said he was criticized by the Obama campaign for taking the President out of context. “I then read the context, and it was even worse,” Romney claimed. He likened the President’s comment to a kid making the honor roll. He said that while a bus driver may help to get a student to school when that student makes the honor roll the credit goes to the student, not the bus driver.
Closing his speech he said, “I want to restore a spirit of independence, I don’t want to install the spirit of dependence on government… (Obama) looks at government as the source of our greatness, I see our people as being the source of our greatness… I don’t want to change America I want to restore us to our principles.”