Residents from the southeast tip of Iowa and even some from northeast Missouri sat together in the Keokuk Middle School to discuss the three approaches presented at the town hall conversation.

Participants held a lengthy discussion on the government’s role with regard to financial security and health care. Several ideas were entertained including a program to grant incentives to citizens to acquire health care and encourage citizens to save their money for the future. An idea for preventative care was to have government require specific operations only be given to those who meet certain parameters, such as not smoking, if the procedures were to be paid for by the government.

There was a strong negative sentiment for individuals being left to take care of themselves, without any government assistance. Many participants agreed that the reason why there are so many problems now is indeed because of their inability to get better jobs, government help or insurance on their own.

One gentleman proposed a hands-on approach to financial education for students. He thought parents should include their children in budgeting by having them look at their paycheck and then subtract the real-life expenses (gas, bills, food, health care, etc.) over the course of a month. Would this approach help students understand the importance of budgeting?