Jesse Ventura on Jobs Former Independent MN Governor; possible Presidential Challenger

Improve the Competitive Position of Rural Minnesota

Make Agriculture Competitive Anywhere in the World

We need to work to “level the playing field” in both international trade and national farm policies so that our farmers and agri-businesses can compete in a fair, competitive arena. In addition, we need to improve and increase marketing opportunities, both domestic and foreign, not only for our major commodities, but also for unique specialty crops and products.

Training and retraining to resolve workforce shortage

Subsidize ethanol like we subsidize oil

There are some things we ought to be doing, both for the environment and for our own best interests. I think we should encourage and subsidize the use of ethanol, alcohol from corn, as a gasoline alternative. Why not? We subsidize the use of foreign oil by keeping a military presence in the Persian Gulf.

Unions support Democrats even when interests are elsewhere

[My running-mate & I] were the only vested union members [in our race], yet we couldn’t get one union endorsement because all the union leaders were in league with the Democrats. We had union members supporting us, but union leaders would have nothing to do with us.

Supports prevailing wages but not living wages

A living wage, on the other hand, does nothing but make government grow and the economy suffer. With a mandated living wage, the government dictates to businesses what they have to pay their employees. If the government tells your employer to pay you more, guess who’s going to get [more tax revenue out of the additional pay]? The government! And what happens when government gets more money? It grows! We have to avoid policies that blindly make government grow.

Moreover, there’s evidence to show that a rise in the living wage costs jobs. I think this issue should be left up to the employee. If you don’t think a job pays enough, don’t take it! it’s called individual choice. No one makes you take that job or accept a wage you don’t think is suitable.

Strongly pro-union; and a union member

We were on our way to speak at Hibbing Community College when the union goons showed up. When Mae and I started to walk into the auditorium, they formed a line across the entry to stop us. I walked up to the biggest one; I got nose to nose with him, looked his straight in the eye, and said quietly, “I suggest you get out of the way.” He stepped aside and let us in.

But the goons were so disruptive once we got inside that it was impossible for us to speak. They scared the students away and kept shouting us down. I shouted back, “Mae and I are vested union members. This is how you treat union brothers and sisters?”

State instead of federal rules for animal operations.

• WHEREAS, Midwestern governors have undertaken successful partnerships with the agricultural community in their respective states to promote sustainable agriculture, address water quality and public health impacts as the result of farming activities, and promote common-sense stewardship of farmland and natural resources; and
• WHEREAS, The members of the Midwestern Governors’ Conference support the guiding principles and goals of the Unified National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs) released by USDA and EPA, but are concerned that the Strategy is too prescriptive, permit oriented, and emphasizes process over environmental performance; now, therefore be it
• RESOLVED, That the Midwestern Governors’ Conference supports the implementation of a national AFO strategy which allows states to implement functionally equivalent alternative programs that result in meeting national environmental performance standards, and such alternative state programs should include nutrient management plans, technical and financial assistance, proactive inspections, complaint response and enforcement, and statewide water quality monitoring; and be it further
• RESOLVED, That State programs, including permit, non-permit, and voluntary compliance programs, must be allowed to operate in lieu of the federal Strategy, so long as these alternative State programs include the above elements and meet national environmental performance standards.