At the Cass County Fair, I had some interesting conversations with folks from all walks of life, political ideals and worldviews. We agree on several important issues. Let’s talk about these together as our children’s future depends on the directions we take now.

Here are some real basic common sense things that help guide the future of our nation, state, county and townships:

1. We must become energy independent! Most believe we need presidential leadership on the scale of Kennedy’s charge to put man on the moon by the end of the decade. I was a kid when that speech was made and it inspired several generations. July 20, 1969, is a date that’s solidified in the hearts and minds of every American alive at the time. Where were you when astronaut Armstrong made that giant leap? Where will we be if America becomes energy independent by 2020? What will our economy, workforce (jobs), military and society be like if our nation takes this charge seriously and makes it happen?

2. We need to trash the nation’s 71,000-plus pages of insane tax code and reduce it to like 15 total! Every one of us knows the tax code is full of carve outs, handouts and corrupt cronyism that hurts our nation. Our state has problems competing with other states because of its complex and high tax codes. We need to simplify our codes and I hope eliminate the state income tax altogether to bring more jobs to Michigan.

3. When I was in high school, basic shop classes were mandatory with advanced available. Today, ask your high school about shop classes and listen careful to the answers, complaints and reasons for eliminating them (i.e., No Child Left Behind). If we truly want high-value-added jobs to come here, we must prepare the children for those jobs. Parents, where will your children go when they graduate from high school? Will they stay in Cass County or will they relocate to somewhere else that has jobs?

3. I learned that Southwestern Michigan College has some manufacturing classes available. I hear they have one CNC lathe to train with and some manufacturing training with welding options. I asked about ID/OD grinding, and other complex high-tech processes needed in industries like defense, energy, medical devices, etc., but the answers were incomplete. Short and sweet: Our children need training for high-value-added if we want such jobs to come here.

4. Our nation’s debt will collapse the American system if we don’t stop spending more than we bring in. We must force those in D.C. to stop increasing the debt, stop increasing the size of government by reducing/eliminating unconstitutional departments and offices and stop giving money away to other countries, agencies, or groups that prefer our demise. Check out this site: theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-u-s-economy-by-the-numbers-70-facts-that-barack-obama-does-not-want-you-to-see.

There are more of these and in the future, I will let you know more of what I learned and heard.