Adamson: Use economics background in Pierre

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Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of four articles featuring the four District 7 candidates for the South Dakota House of Representatives.

BROOKINGS – Bill Adamson wants to be a District 7 representative so he can make sure the South Dakota Legislature isn’t distracted by things that are not important to citizens.

“I don’t think the majority of South Dakotans agree with underfunding K-12 and then causing the property taxes to go up for local property owners,” he said. “Things like the transgender rights and recruiting of gun activists and so forth, I mean, those are just kind of diversionary things. You’re not spending your time on the real issues that are important to South Dakotans, and I don’t think that’s a measure of good government.”

Adamson, a Democrat, along with Democrat Louise Snodgrass and Republicans Tim Reed and Larry Tidemann are vying for two District 7 seats in the South Dakota House of Representatives. Early/absentee voting has already begun, and the general election is Nov. 3.

Adamson grew up in Washington State, graduating with a Ph.D. in economics from Washington State University. He taught at Northern State for three years before coming to South Dakota State University in 1989 to teach economics.

He and wife Gina have two daughters and five grandchildren.

He said he understands what needs to be done with the budget process and tax policy.

“My background in economics gives me great qualifications,” Adamson said. “Any policy you have has an economic impact.”

Adamson retired from SDSU in 2017. He served on boards in conjunction with the Council on Higher Education, of which he was state president. He went to Pierre to argue against the ban on collective bargaining for university faculty because it “was a bad idea” and would hurt universities’ ability to hire and retain professors due to losing tenure.

“It just goes to show some of the extremism we’re seeing in the South Dakota Legislature,” Adamson said.

“On top of that, you saw them try to put restrictions on transgender youths, on their medical rights and on their social rights. When I was out there testifying, they were trying to recruit gun activists from different states to move to South Dakota. I just don’t think those are sound policies for the state,” Adamson said.

Social issues like the “bathroom bill” should be handled on the local level, he added.

Adamson said the state Legislature in 2019 also “didn’t follow the K-12 funding formula, they only gave a 0 percent increase.”

One example he gave of the Legislature’s inefficiency was not expanding Medicare/Medicaid.

“Many jobs simply don’t provide health care benefits,” Adamson said, adding that expanding health benefits would pick up low-income households.

He said 50,000 people would have been covered under the expansion, with the federal government picking up 90% of the cost and the state handling the rest. It would have helped out Native Americans, Adamson said.

“That type of agreement would free up about $67 million or so in state, in funds that currently go to pay for Native Americans that receive Medicaid reimbursement,” he said, adding the cost of expansion would be roughly $57 million. It would be worth it, he said, because people would be healthier “and they’re more productive and you generate more state income.”

A priority right now is COVID-19.

“Just a simple mask policy might prevent us from having to go through an economic shutdown, and I would say I’d rather wear a mask than shut the economy down,” Adamson said.

He thinks the money South Dakota is getting from the CARES Act should be spent on PPE for medical professionals and teachers, “a big issue that (lawmakers are) just ignoring,” he said.

Since the state didn’t accept FEMA’s $400 supplemental unemployment insurance benefit, Adamson thinks that’s where the CARES money should go.

“People can spend the money and you wouldn’t see businesses suffer as much,” he said.

He likes how Brookings’ future looks, since SDSU draws industry like Bel Brands.

“They came to Brookings specifically because there was a dairy program … at SDSU. I think that’s why you need a strong university system, especially in Brookings, because it’s such a strong driver of economic development in Brookings,” Adamson said.

He’s looked at the top growth prospects in employment.

“Virtually all the forecast increase in job growth requires at least, certainly, a tech school degree and primarily a four-year college degree,” Adamson said, especially for jobs in the medical and technology fields.

With his background, he really believes in quality education.

“If we keep investing in our universities and have a good K-12 system, (then we’ll) be able to have students ready to come into the universities” instead of them having to take remedial courses, Adamson said.

A good education is tougher to obtain.

“I think there’s some real issues that education, and college education in particular, has become rather unaffordable for middle class kids,” Adamson said, adding it starts with college tuition. “Certainly, the highest paying jobs require a four-year degree.”

He wants the young adults to go to college here so they will stay here.

“That’s your best type of economic development, you have somebody working a high-wage job in the state,” Adamson said.

Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.