U.S. Senate Republican: Mark Jacobs

Elections are about choices. This election is no exception. We can either elect another career politician and hope for different results or we can choose a different path by selecting a political outsider - a battle-tested businessman who knows how to get things done.

Career politicians speak in message points but often lack substance behind the rhetoric. I want Iowans to know my top priorities and how I will achieve them.

There are a lot of parallels between the fiscal challenges that I faced and overcame in the private sector and the fiscal mess our federal government is facing today. I brought people together to find solutions to complex problems. It's exactly those experiences that I will take to Washington.

The core issue in America is a lack of good jobs. As someone who has spent his entire career in the business world, I know that the private sector, not the federal government, creates jobs. We must create an environment that unleashes our potential. I am the only candidate in this race with a plan to create jobs and opportunity. Here are the key points of my plan:

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Emphasize community colleges and vocational schools to close the skills gap and helping individuals acquire new skills.

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Expand domestic energy production, including renewable fuels.

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Tackle job-killing regulations by requiring a cost-benefit analysis by an independent group before any new regulation is enacted.

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Implement a competitive tax policy.

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Repeal ObamaCare and replace it with patient-focused market solutions.

We must also address America's $17 trillion debt and runaway budget deficits. Congress has not demonstrated the ability to live within its means. Building on lessons learned throughout my business career, I have five ideas to reduce the deficit:

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Pass a balanced budget amendment;

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Enact a 10 percent across-the-board cut in all federal agency administrative budgets.

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Bring the know-how from the private sector to root out fraud and wasteful spending.

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Establish a bipartisan commission to develop recommendations to achieve long-term solvency for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

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Increase the rate of economic growth because spending cuts alone will not solve our financial challenges.

You hear a lot of politicians say they want to 'reduce the debt” but very few have any ideas on how to do so. Here's one idea I used in the private sector: selling unused assets. The federal government owns significant assets, many of which are providing no value today. For example, experts estimate that there are as much as $100 trillion of oil and gas reserves on federal lands and waters. We should sell the mineral rights to these reserves so that they can be developed in an environmentally responsible manner. One-time proceeds should be used to make a down payment on our debt.

As Iowa's next senator, I will use my private-sector experience to help get America back on track and deliver solutions, not just sound bites. Washington needs more leaders with real=world common sense, whose focus is making headway instead of headlines.

' Mark Jacobs is a Republican candidate for U.S. senator from Iowa. Comments: mark@jacobsforiowa.com