Growing the U.S. economy by 4% annually will require action on multiple fronts, Jeb Bush said Wednesday in his first appearance in Iowa since joining the crowded Republican field.

During his announcement speech Monday, the former Florida governor identified that annual growth rate — robust by modern standards — as a top goal should he be elected president.

He fleshed out the steps that must be taken to achieve that goal in a news conference following a meet-and-greet outside a family home here in southeast Iowa.

“To grow at 4%, we have to have a better workforce,” Bush said. “We have to have a better educated population, we have to embrace our energy future, we have to reform our taxes and deal with our regulation.”

Immigration reform and a system that welcomes “economic immigrants,” too, is a necessary component to economic growth, he said.

Bush touched on several topics in a speech, a question-and-answer session with attendees and the gaggle with reporters, drawing heavily on his gubernatorial experience and leaning on the rhetorical contrast made possible by appearing in a town named “Washington.”

“Doesn’t it make more sense to shift power away from Washington, D.C., lower tax rates, eliminate as many deductions, bring back common sense, shift power back to communities and states so that we can grow at a rate where median income in Washington, Iowa, is growing and maybe median income in Washington, D.C., starts to shrink,” Bush said. “That’s what I think we need to do.”

In a lighter moment, a reporter asked Bush about the advice he’d give his son, Jeb Bush Jr., who is traveling with the campaign in Iowa, just as Jeb Bush Sr. campaigned with his father, George H.W. Bush, during the 1980 presidential campaign.

“My advice is have fun, do it with joy in your heart (and) don’t get too wonky,” Bush said.