Local Des Moines Business Leaders Share Thoughts on Caucus Issues
This morning, the Iowa Caucus Consortium hosted a CEO Roundtable at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. The purpose of this morning discussion was to receive some valuable insight from local business leaders whose businesses and acumen are not only crucial to Iowa, but the global economy. Jay Byers, CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership introduced the men who would be sharing their thoughts that morning. The Panel Moderator was Gerard D. Nugent, President and CEO of Knapp Properties and the panel itself consisted of: Fred Buie, President of Keystone Electrical Manufacturing; Dan Houston, President and CEO of Principal Financial Group; Bob Ritz, President of Mercy Medical Center; and Paul Schickler, President of DuPont Pioneer. These leaders are all involved in daily transactions with the U.S. Federal Government and so are keenly involved and apprised of national issues all while traveling all over the world to manage their different interests.
“As a business leader what affects your business the most?”
Mr. Buie cited “staff development” and “getting the team to operate at a higher level” amidst changing industry dynamics as a current issue affecting Keystone Electrical Manufacturing. Mr. Houston expressed from his perspective that his aging employees do not have enough money to retire and indicated that even within Principal, a financial firm that manages millions of retirement accounts, this is true. Also, the perpetual challenge of trying to generate income for seniors without too much risk is something Principal Financial continues to work on. Mr. Ritz, as the only healthcare expert on the panel, had a different perspective and cited a continual challenge for Mercy as “the unintended consequences of ‘good policy.’” Oftentimes, legislators create new laws with good intentions that end up having an enormous impact on the healthcare industry, Ritz opined. Most notable, though, was when Mr. Ritz expressed deep concern for “the demise of the public image of healthcare” in America. “Something has to be done” he said. It is true that in the last several years as we sought to restructure our healthcare system, its credibility has also taken a hit for purely political reasons as critiques must precede proposals for reform of any existing system. The president of DuPont Pioneer had an interesting take on this question linking his company’s high research standard to the national dialogue on higher education. “Higher education is extemely important to us” Mr. Schickler said. DuPont Pioneer deals in innovation to deliver exceptional products, products that are highly protected by intellectual property regulations, so it’s no surprise that an educated workforce and high quality pool of potential employees to choose from would be integral to the successes of DuPont Pioneer. “Only 1% of the US population is involved in agriculture” Schickler pointed out. “We need to do our best to increase food security.”
“Are there issues that you look at more from a business perspective than a personal?”
Mr. Schickler expressed business concerns about oil prices, commodities trading, currency rates, and the health of other countries, such as emerging nations. “The country is focused on economic issues and [we must] look globally.” Mr. Houston said that it was “hard to separate the two” since much of what affects the industries also affect people personally. Houston also indicated that Americans take national security for granted and that cyber security is a real challenge as we try to build up our ability to “anticipate and deter cyber attacks” that can cripple our infrastructure. Houston also believes that America has unique natural resources that need to be taken care of and are important to both business and personal endeavors and that we must remain aware of the global economy. Mr. Buie also echoed these sentiments saying that personal and business challenges are blended and are essentially the same. At Keystone, they try to provide good stable jobs that people can see themselves working for long periods of time in order to support their families.
“How has the passage and implementation of ACA changed things?”
On this, Mr. Ritz answered the question alone in a well balanced response. Ultimately, he believes that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has improved the amount of people who have access to healthcare, but that the delivery system reform is probably the most important for the future. “The passage of the act helped us to reorganize what we were already doing” Ritz said. The payment reform is about paying less not more yet the cost of restructuring the industry is astronomical. So, “Is it good? Yes.” Ritz said. However, the challenges associated with Obamacare stem from implementing all of the changes at once. “51 changes have been made since ACA passed” Ritz said “It’s a good thing for us but we need to make it better…the demands on the system are outstripping the supply.”
“Thoughts on the trans pacific partnership?”
“We are very supportive of TPP” said Mr. Schickler. “Everyone is affected by global trade…NAFTA was a huge boost for the U.S. economy.” Schlick also indicted that since 2 billion people are going to enter the world in the next 30 years, demand for trade will increase with food demands and so the U.S. should and will be able to capitalize on this growth. “The growth is not in this hemisphere” Houston jumped in. “Most of exports are affected by TPP... We need to be competitive in the global marketplace.”
“Do you hold concerns about the national debt and do you have any advice for the next administration?”
All of the panelists expressed deep concern for the U.S. national debt which is at just over 18 trillion dollars.
Mr. Buie, having acquired his company’s debt, knew personally how important it is. In his football analogy, he described how debt limits our ability to maneuver. “My advice to the administration is to control costs and grow the economy” Buie finished. “This number is really concerning and it isn’t getting better…we have to deal with these issues..there is a silent paralyzing impact to come with not dealing this” Mr. Ritz added. “Everyone in this room has debt, it is natural, but the problem is when it gets too big” said Mr. Schickler.
“Who would you choose to be the next president?”
Mr. Houston expressed favor for a candidate who would negotiate well and perhaps raise the federal income tax as he believed corporate taxes were high enough, even if they were relatively low on a global perspective. He also expressed that corporate foreign earnings will inevitably taxed in the future. “We have polarized the discussion and thus aren’t able to come to decent compromises…we need a candidate who can negotiate.”
“How do we keep digital intellectual property secure and what role does the government have?”
“It’s integral to our industry…and we are very very active in litigation and protecting [trade secrets]” Mr. Schickler said. Schickler also indicated strong support for laws protecting intellectual property because “it is good for business and consumers” as it allows for innovation for the public good.
As Greg Edwards, President and CEO of the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau gave his closing remarks at the morning roundtable, the big takeaway for me was that businesses sincerely want to work with the government to achieve their goals and that they, at least the businesses represented on the panel, genuinely believe their work in their respective industries are helpful to the American people. There is no doubt that this is the case. However, no discussion was had about campaign finance reform, shadow elitism or the fact that many, including Princeton University, consider the United States as an oligarchy because the rich and influential elite, such as those who filled the DuPont room where the roundtable was held, are influencing politics too heavily. None of the business leaders endorsed a candidate or declared who they thought might win the Iowa caucus on Monday night or the presidency in November, but many of their concerns in regards to economics, foreign affairs and political civility only brought two candidates to my mind and The Des Moines Register just endorsed them both.
Still, it seems there may still be room for an upset. I had the privilege of hearing Tom Brokaw speak at The Greater Des Moines Partnership’s annual dinner on Monday night and he indicated that be believes that the billionaire and former NYC mayor, Michael Bloomberg, may run for president, too. It would seem that business leaders are most interested in someone who can bridge the gap between the parties and grow the economy whilst limiting spending and not over regulate American industries, at least not without their input.
