Trust in sweat equity

For months, I have been bedeviled by a TV ad with a handsome young couple meeting with their “wealth advisor.” The couple stirs from their daydreams about going on safari for their honeymoon when their advisor asks what they would like to invest their money in. They reply that they would like to buy a ranch, with horses, in Montana.

Now I know, from a lifetime as part of the agricultural sector and 24 years in the State Senate, that the best farms and ranches, the greatest pillars of their communities, for multiple generations have been those operations where “sweat equity” is a major component of their success. If this nice young couple ever sweats, its probably in a gym.

Knowing our senior United States Senator Jon Tester and having visited his farm, I have seen that his operation continues to exist because he has, like so many others, invested “sweat equity” in his agricultural business. From that experience, I know he understands the challenges that the small business person, the mill worker, the teacher and all other Montanans face in their daily lives and that he will devote his energy to serving them.

Since the conclusion of his military service, I worry that Jon’s opponent, like that naïve young couple in the TV ad, has only had occasion to work up a sweat in front of the TV cameras for his political campaign.

I encourage Montana voters to re-elect Senator Jon Tester this election year.

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Greg Jergesen is a former state senator and president of the Montana Public Service Commission