Sean Dengler.

What everyone wants is freedom. It does not matter if it is from the government or from industry. Everyone wants to be able to make the best decisions for themselves without outside influence. The centralization of decision making is not great for experiencing freedom. This is why when one owns their own business, like a farmer, the ultimate freedom comes from running the show. Having this freedom is not only reserved to business owners but to everyone.

Growing up in northern Tama County, I never realized the amount of freedom one had in our community. While certain items must be obtained from outside the community, other needs could be satisfied like food, medical (if it were not too severe), or an education. These needs could be met within a five-to-ten-minute drive. McDonald’s might not be close, but Sunnyside always had delicious greasy food ready to go.

There was a local place to have one’s eyes checked. Getting a physical for school athletics was easy to obtain at the local clinic. Needing to atone for one’s sins was easy to do with the many denominations of churches. If food is needed in a pinch, the local grocery store can provide.

There might not be a ton of options in each need category, but it was possible to not rely on outside forces for many of the needs. This is what people want. They want the freedom to live in a society where their own community is not at the whims of others outside of the community. Many communities used to offer more options, like Clutier used to have more local eateries and a grocery store. While they do not have these options in the present day, it is not because the free market solely dictated this issue. It is partially due to policy choices made around the economy by giving up the ability to make decisions which benefit people and not only big business.

For example, enforcing the Robinson-Patman Act would help. By enforcing this law, two bags of potatoes being delivered to the independently-owned grocery store and Walmart would cost the same. This law prevents price discrimination and does not allow Walmart to only use its market power to demand lower prices. When it comes to democracy and participating in the economy, everything should be fair. Everyone knows the show The Price is Right. In today’s economy since the 1980s, there would be two versions of this show, one for Walmart and one for everyone else. Be it the consumer and Walmart competitor, everyone should have the freedom to have Walmart to compete fairly and not by market power.

Having freedom to receive health care is another option. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicaid financed nearly half (47%) of births in rural areas in 2023. Low Medicaid reimbursement rates and difficulty recruiting and retaining providers are the biggest challenges to providing obstetrics care in rural areas according to the Government Accountability Office. These challenges have led to 238 rural hospitals closing their obstetrics units while only 26 opened new units from 2010 to 2022. When I have a friend from southern Iowa who traveled two and half hours to give birth in the Des Moines metro, this is a lack of freedom.

Freedom to a variety of jobs to work at is important. What used to be a significant part in rural areas and provide stable income to workers and farmers needing a second job was manufacturing. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis in November 2025, the number of employees working in manufacturing is nearly 40,000 less than at its high at the turn of the century. While the number of employees has rebounded since the Great Recession and COVID, it has seen a slight downturn since the end of 2024. When looking at manufacturing across the entire United States, employment in manufacturing is more than a third less than it was at its peak in June of 1979. While it does not have to be only bringing back manufacturing, outsourcing job opportunities in any industry reduces people’s freedom to work.

Giving people freedom, including places to go, places to work, and places to enjoy is important. The United States has done this before after the Great Depression when political and economic power was spread out too much. When power is centralized, this can lead to worse outcomes for the people. By creating stronger employment laws and stronger antitrust enforcement, this can lead to better competition and more freedom. Through policy choices, Clutier was able to have a grocery store, and Traer had a medical clinic. It takes recognizing people can have the say in how their economy should be run, not only those in faraway states in boardrooms. It does not have to be this way, and we do not have to let it. With the Iowa state legislature starting again this week, let your legislator know what is possible.

Sean Dengler is a writer, comedian, now-retired beginning farmer, and host of the Pandaring Talk podcast who grew up on a farm between Traer and Dysart. You can reach him at sean.h.dengler@gmail.com.