Tom Vilsack: The rescue begins in our heartland

Tom Vilsack  —  10/05/2008 1:22 am

The summer of 2008 will be remembered as a tough time for most Americans' budgets, when both food and oil prices skyrocketed, just as the subprime mortgage scandal threatened a global economic meltdown.

Once the election is decided, a new administration will inherit these challenges with families all across America struggling to keep up with rising costs and wondering if relief is on the way.

Congress scrambles to supply Band-Aids when we need bold new leadership. Our greatest potential lies not in our nation's capital, but in America's heartland and the fields of our great plains and foothills of our Western states.

A major step to economic recovery would be to reduce our dependence on foreign energy that too many Americans can no longer afford.

During my eight years as governor, Iowa successfully changed farm fields into energy fields. We changed the traditional idea of agriculture and became the national leader in renewable fuel and energy production. If you drive around Iowa today, you will see a changing landscape marked by new ethanol and biofuel production plants and wind farms. As a state, we became more economically, environmentally and energy secure.

The next step is to increase carbon productivity through the modern-day equivalent of the Industrial Revolution. Back then we increased labor productivity 10-fold; now we need a 10-fold increase in "carbon productivity." We must harness American ingenuity and the entrepreneurial spirit and figure out how to get more goods and services out of each unit of carbon emissions.

American agriculture and renewable energy, produced on American farms, holds the key to increasing carbon productivity. The manufacturing base required to support this growing rural industry will create more than 5 million new and better-paying jobs that will enable us to better support our families and communities.

We must go beyond drilling and the destructive energy extraction of the past, to apply the latest technologies in conservation and sustainable management. Initiatives like the Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program, with its ability to build infrastructure and over $16 billion in loan and grant programs, have great potential to stimulate our rural economies.

Energy independence must be accompanied by a commitment to food security. This spring saw Americans' grocery bills skyrocket. Milk and egg prices rose 25 percent and 40 percent respectively, according to Labor Department data.

We must work to protect our family farms and encourage the American tradition of local farming and food production. We have the technology and know-how to shift our agricultural practices toward sustainable production and a focus on food security that will help see this country through tough times if need be.

During my childhood, my mother battled addiction, causing my parents to separate. Our family struggled as my father tried to keep his business alive. As I've said before, my mother dug herself into that hole, but then she dug herself out. In time, my parents got back together, and in doing so they taught me valuable lessons -- that the courage to create change can overcome anything, and never to give up on people, family or community.

This is my view of America. Faith in the American people and our community will be essential as we turn our nation around in the next four years. Our strength will lie in our resilience and our determination to overcome. The obstacles we face are also opportunities to harness the resources and ingenuity of the Midwest that have been the backbone of our nation for generations.

Together, with the courage to create change, let us build a 21st century rural economy of cutting-edge companies and technologies that lead us to energy and food security. Such an investment will revitalize rural America, re-establish our moral leadership on climate security, and eliminate our addiction to foreign oil. And it could be obtained for a small fraction of the cost of the bailout plans now on the table.

Thomas J. Vilsack served as the governor of Iowa from 1998 to 2006, and is of counsel in the Dorsey Trial group in Des Moines.

Tom Vilsack  —  10/05/2008 1:22 am