Zach Lahn: Homegrown Companies in Iowa Should Have the First Say to Incentives by the Economic Development Authority

TRANSCRIPT:

LAHN: "So I think what we need to prioritize, rather than of looking at this specifically, we need to prioritize the ability for companies that are Iowa-based companies to expand, and this is where a lot of my effort has been. You know, right now we have the Iowa Economic Development Authority and a lot of the -- a lot of the incentives that they’re giving out are going to multinational companies that oftentimes are coming into the state of Iowa and competing against Iowa-based business. What we want is long-term, stable employment for the people in the state, because almost every company I talk to is paying far above the minimum wage. I think that there are jobs at the minimum wage for entry-level people, especially people in high school and things like that, but what we really want to prioritize are the long-term job jobs. And the reason I believe Iowa's homegrown companies should have first say at these incentives is because they’re the ones that when the economy goes bad, they're the last people to cut the jobs of their friends, their neighbors and the people they go to church with. Oftentimes they are actually reaching into their own pockets to keep people employed."