If you ask most Florida families what they’re worried about right now, the answer isn’t complicated.
It’s affordability.
It’s the cost of groceries. The cost of filling up the truck. The cost of insurance. The cost of housing. The cost of simply trying to build a future.
People are working hard, doing everything they’re supposed to do, and yet too many feel like they’re falling behind.
Washington spends a lot of time talking about affordability. Unfortunately, too few people in Washington have ever experienced the realities that drive those costs in the first place.
That’s because many of the people making these decisions have spent their entire careers in politics.
They’ve never had to make payroll.
They’ve never had to balance a budget when fuel prices suddenly spike.
They’ve never had to figure out how to absorb rising costs without passing them on to customers.
They’ve never had to produce something families depend on every single day.
As a dairy farmer and cattle rancher, those challenges aren’t theoretical to me.
They’re part of everyday life.
When diesel prices rise, I feel it.
When fertilizer costs increase, I feel it.
When regulations become more burdensome, I feel it.
When inflation drives up the cost of feed, equipment, repairs or labor, I feel it.
And ultimately, consumers feel it too.
That’s the part many politicians miss.
The affordability crisis didn’t happen by accident. Rising costs often result from decisions made by people who never have to live with their consequences.
When Washington makes it more expensive to produce food, energy, housing or goods, those costs don’t simply disappear. They show up in the prices families pay every day.
The people who best understand affordability are often the ones closest to production.
Farmers understand it.
Ranchers understand it.
Small-business owners understand it.
Manufacturers understand it.
The people who grow our food, build our communities, move our products and create jobs understand that every decision has a real-world impact.
That’s why Congress needs more people with real-world experience and fewer people whose only experience is politics.
America’s founders never intended public office to become a lifelong profession. They envisioned citizen leaders bringing their experiences to Washington, solving problems and then returning home.
Somewhere along the way, we lost that.
Today, Congress is filled with attorneys, consultants, political operatives and career politicians. There is value in those professions, but there is also value in having people who understand what it means to build, grow, produce and manage risk.
There is value in having people who understand the challenges facing working families, as they themselves face many of those same challenges.
As Florida continues to grow, we need leaders who understand both opportunity and responsibility. We need leaders who know economic growth is important, but that growth must be accompanied by policies that make life more affordable for the families who call our communities home.
We need leaders who understand that food security, energy security and economic security are all connected.
Most importantly, we need leaders who understand that government doesn’t create prosperity. The American people do.
Farmers create it.
Workers create it.
Small businesses create it.
Entrepreneurs create it.
Washington’s job should be to help create an environment where those people can succeed.
Affordability won’t be solved by another news conference or another talking point. It will be solved by bringing more real-world experience into the room when decisions are made.
That’s one of the many reasons I believe it’s time to send a farmer to Congress.
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Ben Butler is a Republican candidate for Congress in Florida’s 9th Congressional District and a ninth-generation Florida dairy farmer, cattle rancher, businessman and agricultural leader. He serves on the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board, where he has worked on Everglades restoration, flood protection, water supply and natural resource management across South Florida.
Ben Butler and family. Image via campaign.