| April 3, 2013 |
The world is upside down when state subsidies of business are presumed to be essential, and when a leading newspaper criticizes those who dare to question it.
Guest Opinion. Or PDF. |
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| March 30, 2013 |
| It's time for a little accountability. Far from the positive example of economic development as the business lobby claims, the research activities credit is a
poster child for reform. Guest Opinion. Or PDF. |
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| March 1, 2013 |
| If Iowa is to make changes in its property tax treatment of commercial and industrial property, the first thing it should do is look to finance the cost of these changes through closing existing tax loopholes and subsidies. Guest Opinion. Or PDF. |
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| February 24, 2013 |
| Rather than finding more ways to give money away, the first order of business in the General Assembly should be to ensure that existing tax credits achieve the public goals for which they are intended. Guest Opinion. Or PDF. |
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| January 15, 2013 |
| Gov. Terry Branstad’s claim that Iowa has added 100,000 jobs since January 2011 is nonsense. ... Iowa’s leaders can move these discussions forward constructively, but that starts with ending the politicization of basic economic data, as the governor’s staff has done with numbers on job growth. Guest Opinion. Or PDF. |
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| December 9, 2012 |
| It might come as a surprise to find that a report with the ostensible goal of advising states on how best to achieve growth and prosperity argues that the public sector has little constructive role to play. Such is the case with “Rich States, Poor States,” an annual publication of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. Guest Opinion. Or PDF. |
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| September 28, 2012 |
| Every year thousands of new jobs are created in Iowa businesses that expand or build new plants, most without state incentives. This point is frequently missed in commentary from Gov. Terry Branstad’s office, as we saw in the wake of the Orascom deal. Guest Opinion. Or PDF. |
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| September 26, 2012 |
| Every year thousands of new jobs are created in Iowa businesses that expand or build new plants, most without state incentives. Complaints about Iowa’s business tax system are puzzling, because businesses get a really good deal here. Guest Opinion. Or PDF. |
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| July 31, 2012 |
| A federal EPA investigation clearly showed serious inadequacies in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ efforts to watch over Iowa’s animal feeding operations. The DNR cannot do its job without adequate funding, and funding has been lacking. Guest Opinion. Or PDF. |
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| July 2, 2012 |
| While many are focusing on the political and judicial ramifications of the Supreme Court ruling affirming the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, it’s important to focus on how the law will affect health coverage. Guest Opinion. Or PDF. |
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| June 14, 2012 |
| It will not be surprising, in the post-Wisconsin-recall world, if policymakers feel emboldened to challenge public employee compensation. Sure enough, it already has surfaced in Iowa. Guest Opinion. Or PDF. |
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| June 11, 2012 |
| Can we soon afford improvements in work supports? Of course we can.Guest Opinion. |
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| May 19, 2012 |
| Little or nothing happened to correct tax-increment financing abuses until this session, when the Legislature at least started to reform Iowa’s TIF law. What do the changes achieve, and where do they fall short? Guest Opinion. |
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| March 18, 2012 |
| The decisions to close Polk Elementary School in Cedar Rapids and the Price Lab School at the University of Northern Iowa have the same underlying cause: The Iowa Legislature is underfunding education. Guest Opinion. |
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| February 24, 2012 |
| If passed by the Iowa House and signed by the governor, a Senate-passed bill to raise the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit would provide a significant boost to thousands of working families. Guest Opinion. Or PDF. |
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| February 5, 2012 |
| The case for reform of Iowa's most expensive economic development program — tax increment financing, or TIF — is compelling. Guest Opinion. |
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| January 19, 2012 |
| If efforts to reform tax-increment financing are going to be more than tinkering around the edges, some fundamental issues need to be more widely understood. Guest Opinion. |
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| October 18 , 2011 |
| State and local government is a large and important part of the state economy. And it is the only part that our legislators have real control over. Guest Opinion. |
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| October 5 , 2011 |
| If Coralville's plans to pirate Von Maur from Iowa City do not make abundantly clear the need to reform Iowa's TIF law, nothing will. Guest Opinion. |
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| September 17, 2011 |
| To deal with the federal debt debate, one must avoid the distractions and forget about silver-bullet, easy-answer "solutions." Start with a firm foundation of facts, then move forward. What are the pertinent facts about national deficits and debt? Guest Opinion. |
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| September 12, 2011 |
| In developing a health insurance exchange, the task for Iowa lawmakers is to craft a marketplace that attracts consumers and maintains a level playing field to benefit everyone — not just Wellmark. Guest Opinion. |
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| August 20, 2011 |
| Sound budgeting principles demand that tax credits are targeted and easy to police, benefit the broader community or economy, and have reasonably accurate cost estimates. The vetoed increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit would have met those standards. Guest Opinion. |
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| August 16, 2011 |
| Lessons for today's policy makers from the experience of Iowa's native-born President. Guest Opinion. |
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| August 12, 2011 |
| The "comprehensive and holistic" approach the Governor wants for taxes invited his signing of an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, not a veto. Guest Opinion. |
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| August 10, 2011 |
| Are we willing to adopt public policy that helps low- and moderate-income working families and the Iowa economy? Guest Opinion. |
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| June 23, 2011 |
| We can fund quality K-12 and higher education, clean air and water and safe streets. Guest Opinion. |
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| May 22, 2011 |
| Fundamental questions about unaccountable tax credits need answers before officials presume to tell us we don’t have enough money to fund education, law enforcement or environmental quality. Guest Opinion. |
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| May 21, 2011 |
| At a time when the number of uninsured tops 50 million, some lawmakers are suggesting policies that would only inflate that number and accelerate economic insecurity. Guest Opinion. |
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| May 12, 2011 |
| If truth in advertising were required of legislation, the property tax bill that just passed the Iowa House would have to be labeled “Homeowners: Pay More for Less.” Guest Opinion. |
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| April 17, 2011 |
| Iowa should not open the door for any more sales-tax TIFs. Guest Opinion. |
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| April 16, 2011 |
| So much of the rhetoric that surrounds tax day and taxes in general is inflamed by emotion, devoid of fact and not driven by a public spirit. Guest Opinion. |
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| March 13, 2011 |
| The recession clearly put a hole in state revenues. But the Iowa Legislature is ignoring the adage: If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. Guest Opinion. |
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| March 7, 2011 |
| Once again, lawmakers are proposing big special breaks for business but fundamentally misrepresent who will benefit. It's the big and the wealthy, at the expense of everyone else. Guest Opinion. |
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| January 16, 2011 |
| Health care reform is working. Though the bulk of the 2010 Affordable Care Act’s provisions won’t go into effect for another three years, the provisions that have are making a difference. Guest Opinion. |
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| December 28, 2010 |
| The only threat to Social Security benefits for the present young generation is from those who want to cut their benefits. Guest Opinion. |
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| October 22, 2010 |
Our health, businesses and children's economic future cannot sustain a further reduction in state services. We need a state government that is adequately funded to help us stay healthy, keep our economy growing, and secure economic opportunity for future generations. See the guest opinion, or download PDF.
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| August 29, 2010 |
Now is no time for new tax cuts for the wealthiest in America. Seven years of preferential treatment for that tiny sliver of society have given us the greatest deficits and debt we have ever seen. See the guest opinion.
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| August 3, 2010 |
| Those who call for repeal of the estate tax want a special exemption for millions and even billions of dollars that in many cases have never been taxed. Guest Opinion. |
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