Of all the weeks on the calendar, this may be the week Iowa taxpayers look forward to the least.
On one hand, this week marks the deadline for filing federal tax returns. Many Iowans will likely write bigger checks to both the federal and state government this year.
On the other hand, this is also the week where every school district in the state must certify their budget for the upcoming school year. Normally, this might not seem like a particularly noteworthy annual occurrence to everyday Iowans. But due to the recent actions by Governor Culver and legislative Democrats, property tax increases are on the way.
Last fall, when Governor Culver made his 10 percent across-the-board reduction after three years of unsustainable spending and irresponsible budgeting, hundreds of millions of dollars were slashed from Iowa’s schools. This left a gaping divide between the money schools had to spend and the budget they had been following.
This forced school districts to further trim their expenses, raid their cash reserves (if they had any to begin with) and increase property taxes.
Fast forward a few months and the same problems still persist.
Even though Governor Culver and legislative Democrats spent the second highest amount of money in Iowa history this legislative session, they underfunded the K-12 per-pupil education formula by $162 million dollars.
Though most school districts have made drastic cuts to adjust to the decrease in funding from the state, many school districts have had to dip into their cash reserves and in most cases, substantially increase property taxes. Conservative estimates show that Governor Culver’s property tax increase this year will be in the neighborhood of $182 million dollars when all of the other non-school funding related increases are also added in. It could possibly end up larger.
It’s hard to miss the headlines popping up all over the state this week reminding Iowans of the higher property taxes headed their way. (Special Request: How big was your property tax increase this year? Please e-mail me at [email protected])
Iowa already has some of the highest property taxes in the nation. At a time when we should be encouraging entrepreneurs, employers and small businesses to invest and expand in Iowa to help grow our economy and create jobs, this property tax increase will sting badly. The simple truth is that property tax increases badly hurt job growth and business development.
Unfortunately, it was all avoidable.
Every year, our schools receive over four billion dollars. Of that, half a billion dollars comes with a whole series of strings and unfunded mandates attached. In order to assist our schools and shield the taxpayers from the governor’s property tax increases, Senate Republicans offered a bold plan this past session to suspend these mandates and remove these strings to allow greater flexibility and local control.
Normally, these dollars cannot be used for a school’s general fund. However, our common sense plan would allow schools the flexibility to use that money to pay for any expense.
Instead of having to abide by mandates created by lawmakers and bureaucrats in Des Moines, Senate Republicans believed it would be better to give local school boards and administrators the flexibility and local control to spend that money as they see fit.
Regrettably, it was defeated with all Senate Democrats voting to raise property taxes and all Senate Republicans voting to give our schools more local flexibility and more protection for the taxpayer.
Governor Culver and legislative Democrats instead chose to mandate school districts drain their cash reserves. When our school districts replenish their cash reserves in the future, that money will again come directly out of the pockets of Iowa’s property taxpayers.
Is there any wonder why tea parties are popping up all over the state, demanding an end to the policies of the last four years here in Iowa? Iowans know we cannot afford to have the same out-of-control agenda continue to be repeated year after year.
In the coming weeks and months, Senate Republicans will continue to advocate for property tax relief, private sector job creation and responsible and sustainable budgets. We believe that is the recipe for a smarter, healthier and more abundant future for Iowans.
As always, I welcome hearing from you and can be reached by phone at 515-281-3560 or by e-mail at [email protected]
In full harmony with the wreckless abandon that led to two northeast Iowa communities getting a combined total $100,000 in relief money for weather related damage that never happened to them, news that Cedar Rapids residents who need relief are going to take second place to other community projects.
There are some great Des Moines Register reader comments at the story site above. Many questions, most pointed being “What is being done to ensure the next flood doesn’t cause this kind of damage?”, are being asked. And while I can certainly agree that when rebuilding from the ground up one would want to start afresh instead of just rebuilding the same structure in the same location, one can also rebuild in phases, designing facilitities to ensure that basic services and features are available while leaving additional work for later years or donations to provide additional space.
And that is all well and good for things like the Library. Museums can wait a bit. I would go so far as to say that Iowans as a whole, as generous as they are, would rather see any money going to building homes, levies, drainage systems, etc. instead of non-essentials (though desirable) such as a museum.Â
Also, in rethinking the Libraries that need to be rebuilt, I can undestand needing to provide additional space for internet workstations. But with all of the content that available digitally, how much paper-based primary sources for research are really needed? I can see liesure reading material as important, but there should be a lot of content that can be left for internet access these days, it seems.Â
All that said, this topic should be about priorities and limits. Identify the things that truly need to be fixed or replaced (like peoples homes, especially if they are living in FEMA housing), but I don’t agree with spending state money, during such hard times economically, on non-essentials. Let the private donors solve that for now, and wait for better times to fund more cultural projects.
But government won’t change their direction just because I say they should. Or even if the majority of Iowans say they should. That is, until those Iowans show up at the voting booth and find better leaders.
More evidence that we need to put better controls on our government. And before you discard this discussion as “more of the same government stupidity” that we’ve become accustomed to writing off as just “how the system works”, stop and read through this. And really think about it.
I am loath to speculate on what specifically happened here, that is, how Rebuild Iowa managed to send $100,000 out to the towns of Dunkerton and Fairbank despite the lack of need or request for the money. The story makes it sound like they just, well, used National Weather Service information.Â
But I can’t wait to hear what the Governor’s office has to say about it. If anything.
As you may know, Rebuild Iowa is a state project to coordinate spending the money allocated by the Legislature to help Iowa communities recover from the weather-related damage of 2008. From the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier story:
Tina Potthoff, a spokesperson for Rebuild Iowa, said the Iowa Legislature approved the funds with no application process and with Gov. Chet Culver’s blessing. The money came from the state’s general fund.
“Since it’s state money, it comes with less restrictions than federal money,” Potthoff said.Â
I am certainly glad that we were able to provide necessary funds to help the tornado and flood ravaged communities to recover, but there is an operational principle at work here that is a key to the gutting of our state’s financial resources:
If government money has been allocated, it needs to be spent on something, anything, quickly before someone decides to take it back.
After all, it’s free money, right?
The only problem is that it’s not free. We are getting a superb opportunity to see how the state government, from the Legislature to the Governor to the folks that have been carelessly given free reign to just spend a huge chunk of money as they see fit (and feel compelled to spend every bit of it), and the folks who are recipients of our state’s enourmous generosity.
I don’t blame the leaders in Fairbank and Dunkerton. The money is likely to be put to good use and may even help prevent loss of life in the future. They may, however, become unwitting villains in a story they had no hand in writing. I hope, for the sake of our state finances, that they decide to return the money to the state and await an appropriate opportunity to finance what things they truly need. But I also wouldn’t blame them one bit if they kept the money and used it as they saw fit.
The State of Iowa, however, needs better accountability. We already know that the current leadership of the General Assembly has become drunk with power and the unfettered ability to spend our state into oblivian. The Governor is the author of what can, at best, be described as a constitutionally unauthorized bond measure that will keep the state in debt for decades. And the Legislature puts no real constraints on the Governor appointed boards who are authorized to spend millions in tax dollars, in some cases for good cause, but in no case with appropriate public accountability.Â
The spending needs to stop, or we will pay for it, either through higher taxes or other increased costs.
We, as the citizens and taxpayers of Iowa, are the ultimate holders of accountability. We have lost the opportunity to address the legislation that led to this chaos. We must voice, and continue to voice, our objections to the feckless manner in which our Legislature and Governor have brought us here, and take whatever appropriate action we can, including writing, phoning, and emailing them to voice those objects. And then vote them out of office.
I would even advocate recall elections. At this point I have no idea what that involves or what it would cost the state. The question becomes whether the financial cost of such elections would be outweighed by the continued impact of another year with these folks in power.
Energy Tax Disaster:Â Congressmen Boswell, Braley, and Loebsack vote to raise energy costs on Iowans by about $400 a year for Iowa families and cost Iowa jobs.
ACTION ITEM:Â Call Senator Harkin, IMMEDIATELY, and tell him to vote
NOon cap and trade (HR 2454)!
You can reach his Washington, DC office at:Â 202.224.3254
Last Friday was a dark day for our country. Dark because the U.S. House of Representatives, with the support of Iowa’s three Democrat members, voted for energy legislation that will dramatically increase energy costs for Iowa consumers and turn the lights out on Iowa’s economy with staggering job losses.
Congressmen Boswell, Braley, and Loebsack all sided with California’s Nancy Pelosi and Henry Waxman in support of HR 2454, even though data from the Energy Information Administration and Congressional Budget Office show the bill will increase electricity costs in Iowa and most of the rest of the country (while actually lowering them in Pelosi’s and Waxman’s home state of California). Click here for the report.Â
In fact, with energy costs estimated to rise by $250 million a year in Iowa as a result of this legislation, that equates to nearly $400 annually for an Iowa family of four.Â
In addition, research from the Heritage Foundation shows Iowa will lose nearly 18,000 jobs by 2012 if HR 2454 becomes law (this is in addition to the more than 90,000 Iowans currently out of work). Click here for the report.
Higher energy costs for Iowa families and fewer jobs for Iowa workers. Reps. Boswell, Braley, and Loebsack have a lot to answer for when they come home to face Iowa voters.
THANK YOU to Republican Congressmen Steve King and Tom Latham. Thank you for standing up for Iowa families, Iowa farmers, and Iowa businesses in opposition to this economy-killing legislation.
Now, it is not too late to stop this terrible legislation from becoming a reality. We need EVERY Iowan to contact Senator Harkin’s office, IMMEDIATELY, and ask him to vote NO on HR 2454 (the cap and trade bill).
You can reach his Washington, DC office at:Â 202.224.3254
Below please find talking points on this legislation from the Republican National Committee:
Â
The so-called “cap and trade” plan proposed by President Obama and Congressional Democrats is nothing more than a huge multi-billion dollar national energy tax that will hit almost every American family, small business and family farm.
President Obama and Congressional Democrats will tax our lights out — families and businesses will face higher energy costs every time they flip on a light switch, start a car or delivery truck, or manufacture a product.
Various studies also show that between 1.8 million to 7 million jobs could be lost.
Those hardest hit by this massive tax will be the poor and middle-class who are already struggling to make ends meet in today’s recession.
President Obama himself said on the campaign trial that if “cap and tax” were to pass families’ utility bills would “necessarily skyrocket.”
The American people want energy independence and a cleaner environment without a national energy tax.
Republicans have a better way – an “all of the above” approach that would lead to lower energy costs, more jobs, a cleaner environment and greater energy independence.
Republicans want to increase the use of all energy sources that will reduce carbon emissions, especially nuclear, clean-coal and renewable energy technologies.
Republicans want to increase environmentally-safe energy production to take advantage of abundant supplies of energy right here in America on remote lands and far off our shores.
Republicans would do all this while reducing frivolous lawsuits and encouraging Americans to conserve energy to preserve and protect our natural resources.
Members of the president’s own party oppose his national energy tax scheme.
John Dingell (D-MI): “Nobody in this country realizes that cap and trade is a tax, and it’s a great big one.” (Rep. John Dingell, Subcommittee On Energy And Environment, Energy And Commerce Committee, Hearing, 4/24/09)
Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN): “And you also run the risk of taking jobs away and not actually solving global warming.” (MSNBC’s “Hardball,” 3/25/09)
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA): “I just don’t think an economy-wide cap and trade works.” (Gerard Shields, “La. Democrats key figures in federal emissions debate,” The Advocate, 5/2/09)
Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA): “I believe this bill would create an undue burden on families who are already paying too much in energy bills…” (Gerard Shields, “La. Democrats key figures in federal emissions debate,” The Advocate, 5/2/09)
•Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA): “Any way you do it, it hurts Pennsylvania, especially western Pennsylvania. I think cap and trade is bad policy.” (Alex Isenstadt, “Cap and trade hits speed bumps,” Politico, 4/27/09)
CALL Senator Harkin, TODAY, and help stop this legislation from becoming a reality. YOUR voice can make a difference, so call Senator Harkin, NOW! Â
You can reach his Washington, DC office at:Â 202.224.3254
Tired of Democrats taking our country in the wrong direction? Donate, NOW, to the Iowa GOP and help us continue the fight to take back our state and nation.
I voiced my concerns to Senator Harkin about this. Here’s my email:
Dear Senator Harkin:Â
Please vote “no” on the Senate version of HR2454. I am convinced that this bill is bad for both Iowans and all Americans. While I agree that we have a need to gain better control over how we manage the Earth and its resources, including the environment as a whole, this bill appears to do nothing more than tax Americans, through energy industries, to death.
I’m sure you’ve seen the information from the Heritage Foundation, and the analysis they’ve conducted has yielded compelling information. Thousands of Iowans will lose their jobs. Average Americans will see hundreds of dollars of added energy expense each year. Gross Production will be negatively impacted.
I believe that you care about Iowans and Americans, and the needs of people, and I can’t see how you could support this bill. I hope you will vote against it and vigorously oppose its passing.
Thank you for your efforts on our behalf in the US Senate.
Regards,
Art Smith
More of a national view on this at TCR’s Main Web Site, including automated updates on the bill in the sidebar!
The following are Iowa Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley’s (R-Chariton) final remarks delivered Sunday morning:
Thank you, Mr. President. Friends and Colleagues:
I know we are about to drop the gavel for the final time on this year’s legislative session and I know we are all a little tired but before we go home to the people in our districts, I think it might be necessary to look back at the last 104 days and provide the people of Iowa with some needed perspective. After all, it is the people of Iowa who are our employers and it is the people of Iowa who make our communities unique and our state something we can all be proud of.
These three million people elected us to act as their voice and their vote. They sent us to represent them. They are the hardworking people who truly make this state work. Yet, many Iowans have been left wondering whether their opinion really matters and if legislators are really listening to them.
It would be a mistake for us to forget what our very own Constitution says in Article 1, Section 2. The first sentence simply states: “All political power is inherent in the people.†Government is supposed to be of the people and for the people but sometimes this session I was left wondering at times if this was government versus the people.
We have witnessed the frustrations of so many Iowans who just want their government to live within its means. This Legislature has now spent more money than any Legislature in the 163 year history of the state of Iowa. There has been too much spending and too much borrowing and as a result, Iowans have become discouraged. As a result, we witnessed several thousand Iowans gather not only here at the capitol – but across Iowa and this country on April 15 to protest the spending and taxation policies of their government. They feel like their government is not listening to them.
When hundreds of Iowans packed the gallery of the House of Representatives to show their disappointment with a proposal to eliminate federal deductibility, force Iowans to pay a tax on a tax and raise taxes on Iowa families and employers in literally every single tax bracket, they were removed from the chambers and the doors were locked. The public was removed from a public hearing – 600 employers were kicked out of the people’s house by one employee.
Iowa families and employers are making tough decisions every day and yet they witness state government continue to tax and spend and borrow and spend while all this spending is not the solution needed to grow Iowa and bring about prosperity and opportunity.
There are over 80,000 Iowans out of work and yet there was no major piece of legislation passed that would help get those Iowans back into sustainable and permanent jobs. Iowans asked us for leadership on creating jobs – not creating government work through overwhelmingly unpopular bonding and debt proposals. Did we answer their call?
Earlier this month, seven elites on the Supreme Court struck down Iowa’s Defense of Marriage Act and opened up the definition of marriage to be something other than between one man and one woman. For the past three weeks, Iowans have been clamoring for a voice on this issue just as they have wanted a say in other important issues too. Yet, Senators in this body are obstructing the opportunity for the people of Iowa – the people we are here to represent – to have a say in this important and emotional issue. Before you leave this building today, do you want to go home without beginning the process of giving the people of Iowa a chance to vote on a Marriage Amendment? Ignoring the voices of the Iowans we are here to represent is a troubling trend that certainly needs to end.
Just over three months ago, I stood here on the floor of the Iowa Senate on the first day of session and said that we, as Republicans, would work tirelessly to offer solutions that would grow Iowa – not grow government and give a voice back to the people.
I am proud that we, as Republicans and Democrats, were able to find plenty of opportunities where we were able to find common ground and work together to deliver true bi-partisan results for the people of Iowa – the people we were sent here to represent. Yet, we all know there are major differences between the two parties and I think those differences in priorities were also apparent this session.
As I mentioned on the first day, Senate Republicans’ over-arching goal has been and will continue to be the need to re-establish a concept that I believe has been forgotten in recent years: the notion that it is Iowans who run government and not the other way around. Though I am confident and optimistic that we can eventually be successful in fully returning the government to its rightful owners – the people of Iowa – I do believe we have plenty of room for improvement.
I just want to conclude by reminding you of a wonderful Iowa story. I told this story on the first day of the session and I think it will serve as something to think about every day as we work during this interim to start to developing policy for next year’s session.
Economic opportunity is the great equalizer in a free society and it is economic opportunity that turns a dream into a business. It was a dream that David Vredenburg, a good southern Iowa boy, had in the 1930s. Months after the worst day on Wall Street, Mr. Vredenburg and a friend, Charles Hyde, opened a small general store. They opened a store at a time when the only thing more scare than money was hope. As unemployment began ramping up to one quarter of the population and a different bank closed every day the southern Iowa dreamer kept working. Today, as you know, Mr. Vredenburg’s legacy that began as a depression-era general store has become 220 Hy-Vee stores across the Midwest and boasts 55,000 thankful employees.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am going to leave here today with a sense of optimism because I believe in this state. I believe every community has many future David Vredenburgs and Charles Hydes and I hope that we can, in the future, work to make it easier for those Iowans to fully realize their dreams and aspirations.We must never forget that Iowans have common sense, are hardworking are some of the best educated in the world. This state has boundless potential and opportunity and I look forward to working to unleash the ingenuity, creativity and imagination that exists all throughout our great state.
Until we meet again, lets work to restore the public’s trust by truly having a government that’s responsive to the people’s wishes and needs. Thank you.
From Iowa Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley:
