Christian Fong

The Budget Crisis

Saddling future generation’s with debt to fund out-of-control government spending goes beyond simple mismanagement.  There is something grossly immoral about taking from our kids to pay for our addictions.  Iowa’s government should balance its budget, and the Governor should veto any bill that spent one cent over the 99% spending limits, or raided reserves to get there.

I am a businessman who has made tough decisions to make payroll and stay profitable.  I am a husband and father who has guided family finances through a recession.  Yet the “experienced” political leaders spend, grow the reach of the state and expect hard-working Iowans to shoulder the yoke of not just big government, but bad government.  It must end.

Bloated Cost of Government

The cost of state government is growing at an out-of-control pace.  I promised to shrink the size of government by 5% in my first year. The culture of out-of-control spending requires an executive order ending the spending of taxpayer dollars to fund lobbyists.  Those lobbyists come back and ask for even more taxpayer money!  That cycle must come to an end.

Strong executive leadership should stop outsourcing the job of negotiating with government employee unions. The Governor must lead the negotiation of future contracts, making it clear that the state’s private-sector employees are not second-class citizens to government employees.  Public employee unions must stop obstructing, and instead partner with the Governor to streamline government and make it accountable, transparent and accessible.

Life

On the issue of life, I am clear.  I am pro-life. The Governor should take all possible steps to defend human life, that most basic of human rights, from conception to natural death.

Support of Traditional Marriage

When the Supreme Court overturned Iowa’s definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, I dropped what I was doing and immediately published where I stood.  It took Governor Culver four days to decide to flip-flop and play politics on the issue of marriage.

My position reflects the values of most Iowans: I believe Iowans should be able to vote on a constitutional amendment on marriage.  It is an amendment I will personally support.

Jobs

The Iowa Dream is not about any old job, it is about a fulfilling career that allows us to provide for and enjoy our families and communities. Those stable,  long-term jobs are more rare than ever. Clearly, the Iowa economy is going backwards.  Getting it back on track will require supporting Iowa’s Right to Work law.  I will resist any repeal. The Governor must protect the rights of workers to decide for themselves whether they want to join a union.  Iowa’s Right to Work law leads to better wages, more jobs, and better opportunities for Iowa workers. 

I support economic development that supports and celebrates the growth of local businesses.  It will require an economic development policy that is based on lowering the barriers to starting a new business and hiring employees.  It will require lowering taxes on productivity, to spur job creation in the knowledge and advanced manufacturing industries that are building the long-term, stable high-wage jobs of the future.

Celebrating the Iowa Family

Iowa is made strong when its families are strong.  I would declare a Year of the Iowa Family, to celebrate the sort of hard-working Iowa families that make us strong.  Imagine leaders that actually get out to all 99 counties, to talk to Iowans week after week, not just coming for donor meetings or making an appearance during campaign season!

Sliding Standards in Education

In 2010, our high school drop-out rates are rising, even as our expectations drop for our education system.  Our teacher standards are so low that an elementary teacher could miss every math question on the Praxis certification exam, and still be considered qualified to teach our kids!  I am engaged with education professionals across the state to rethink and recreate what can be the best schools in the world.  I believe that every Iowan, rural or urban, whether public, private or home-educated, should have a world-class education. 

To get there, we need to stop defending what does not work. We need to innovate.  We need to stop treating our schools like assembly lines – a model fit for the early 20th century – and begin thinking of them as centers of thinking, leading and learning.  A classroom of thirty kids all learning the same things should be replaced by settings where each child can excel in a unique and individualized setting.  We need to make sure most of our education budget flows straight to the classrooms. This will require a transformation of our education system, giving real school choice to parents, consistently excellent teachers to kids and twenty-first century resources to teachers.

Disaster Recovery

I led the grassroots efforts to rebuild homes, get businesses back on their feet and keep my community focused on the priorities of its citizens.  My wife and I even took a flood family into our home for eight months.  All the while Governor Culver deliberated, delayed and betrayed the trust of my community by making the flood an excuse to grow government, build bureaucracy and play the blame game - rather than empowering people and solving problems.  Some politicians “never let a crisis go to waste” in furthering a personal agenda, instead of serving the people whose lives were disrupted.

There will always be a future disaster.  It is up to Iowans to make sure we don’t compound it by having poor leadership in place when it occurs.  I have demonstrated, through true community leadership, that with the support of willing community leaders, we can do much better.

Good Government

Serving Iowans is a noble calling.  Our leaders must treat it as such.  I believe that good government acts on the belief that people are not a means to an end, but unique individuals who are each a valued part of our our shared community.  Good government is transparent, committed to the highest standard of ethics and the greater good of all Iowans, not just special interest groups.  Good government is dedicated to smart, efficient delivery of high quality services, modern infrastructure and trustworthy public safety.