By Rob Wasinger
November 10, 2008

After countless speeches and endless promises, the 2008 election cycle is finally over.

Since the campaign rallies and speeches are now over, hopefully our elected leaders can put aside their partisan differences and get back to the business of the people.  Certainly the number one issue during the final months of the campaign was the economy and the turmoil in the financial markets.

After a long period of sustained economic growth, our national economy shrunk in the third quarter.  Many people believe we are currently in a recession.  Without question our economy has slowed down and the impact of this slowdown has been felt across the nation.

America is at a crossroads.   

We can go one of two ways.  One way involves increasing taxes on small business and individuals, erecting trade barriers with other nations, and making it harder for our nation to produce our own sources of energy.  This road has been tried before and has been proven unsuccessful.   

Another way is the proven road to prosperity, particularly prosperity for rural America.  I believe the greatest strength of our economy is the ingenuity of the American worker.  When not burdened by high taxes and suffocating regulations, the American worker has proven to be the sparkplug that drives the global economy through innovations and advances in the workplace—from the farms, to the factories, to the small businesses on Main Street across rural America.

Perhaps now more than ever, our elected leaders need to refocus on how best to spur economic growth.  Specifically, the new Congress can start by ensuring the American worker won't have more taxes taken out of their paycheck.  More money left in the farmer's pocket means more money to be spent downtown on Main Street and not sent to Washington to be redistributed.   

Another specific item Congress can focus on is passing trade agreements that get our American made products in more foreign markets.  This is especially the case for our farmers.  Over one-third of all agriculture products in Kansas are exported.   

The Democratic leadership in Congress and President-elect Obama have both signaled an end to our nation seeking trade agreements across the world.  That would be a shame, and we would pay the price.   

During times of economic hardship, we should be seeking to grow our market share worldwide, not shrink it.  If we were to stop trading globally, each Kansas farm would either shrink by one-third, one-third of Kansas farmers would be out of a job, or some combination of the two.  This can't be an answer to help rural America.  A prospering rural America needs free trade

Finally, most Americans recognize the major role domestic energy production will play over the next several decades.  America has an ample amount of natural resources that will not only allow us to be more independent, but also create good, high paying jobs in the process.   

We must look for ways to increase our oil production, whether in Kansas, in the Artic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR), or off of our coasts.  We should do this while continuing our commitment to the usage of renewable fuels like ethanol and biodiesel.  These are domestic fuels made in rural areas that will expand our economy.

We must also continue to look for innovative ways to utilize our abundant amounts of coal in this country, with some estimates saying we have 250 years worth of domestic supply.  Burning coal remains the cheapest and most efficient way to produce electricity.   

Recently President-elect Barrack Obama said his administration would "bankrupt" coal companies in America.  For all the promises he made during the campaign, I hope this is one he doesn't keep.  Eliminating coal from our electricity portfolio would increase the use of natural gas, which would drive up its price.  This would not only make electricity more expensive for everyone, but also the fertilizer our farmers use to produce their crops, as natural gas is the main feedstock of fertilizer.  Eliminating coal from our energy portfolio will not help Americans prosper.

A company from my hometown of Hays, Sunflower Electricity, is leading the charge to find new and innovative ways to use our coal supply.  I am convinced their planned expansion of their Holcomb facility is the way to go.  They will use coal-fired plants as an engine for their bioenergy center, which will produce biodiesel from algae and ethanol.  This is the type of American ingenuity I mentioned as the source of our economy's strength.  It's this ingenuity that will propel us forward and ensure prosperity for rural America for years to come.

The campaign speeches and rallies are finally over, but the real work now begins.  Hopefully our new and reelected leaders will allow the American worker to continue to find ways to grow our economy.  Keeping taxes low, continuing free trade, and increasing domestic energy production will get our economy back on track and help ensure prosperity in rural America.