News/Blog Roll

Posted 3/11/2010 by IPP Staff

Iowa’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 6.6% in January from the December rate of 6.5%. Iowa Workforce Development spokesperson, Kerry Koonce, says the small increase is a positive sign. Koonce says when they look at trends in unemployment, they don’t see a tenth of a percent change over one month as being drastic, but instead say it is relatively stable.

Koonce says the total non-farm jobs increased by 4,600 in January, even though some industries saw a downturn. Koonce says the unemployment rate increased despite the new jobs as more people entered the job market.

Koonce says the change is the difference in the overall labor force and the number of people who’re considered unemployed. She says college graduates entered the labor force at the end of December and that led to the increase in the number of people looking for a job, which was not offset by the number of new jobs.

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Radio Iowa
Dar Danielson

Posted 3/11/2010 by IPP Staff

Governor Culver has signed a state government reorganization bill into law. It eliminates 14 different state boards and commissions and consolidates state computer systems.

It also seeks to reduce the number of “middle managers” in state government. Representative Mary Mascher, a Democrat from Iowa City, started working on the reorganization project last summer and she spoke shortly before the governor signed the bill into law.

“The bill is the largest reorganization effort in the history of the state,” Mascher said. Senator Staci Appel, a Democrat from Ackworth, worked alongside Mascher for the past eight months to craft the legislation. “Some of these decisions were simple solutions,” Appel said, “and others were difficult and tedious to sort out.”

Most Republicans in the legislature voted for the reform package and while a few dozen Democrats from the House and Senate stood behind Culver for today’s bill signing, only one Republican lawmaker attended the event. Top aides to Republican legislative leaders say there was no organized boycott by Republicans and Culver, a Democrat, praised Republicans for joining Democrats in passing the bill.

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Radio Iowa
O.Kay Henderson

Posted 3/11/2010 by IPP Staff

The state’s troubled film tax-credit program took center stage again Wednesday with critics questioning its payback value and backers promoting its draw to keep and attract young workers.

“It’s absolutely a complete boondoggle giveaway,” said Victor Elias of Child and Family Policy Center, who cited numerous studies indicating film tax credits in other states have produced a poor return on investment at pennies on the dollar. He said the money spent on moviemaking could have paid for 1,500 to 4,000 school teachers.

Neil Wells, a writer and filmmaker, countered that the program has been a windfall — directly from movies shot and produced in Iowa and spinoff spending, jobs and image benefits associated with those projects. He said recent state budgeting decisions, not “evil Hollywood people,” are responsible for the state’s financial woes.

The comments were made during a Senate Ways and Means subcommittee meeting on a bill seeking to end the film tax credit. A separate subcommittee approved a measure to suspend the program at least through June 2011 while legislators revamp the credit.

State Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, an Iowa State University economics professor, said he sees no way to fix the film tax-credit program under a suspension that would make it pay.

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Quad City Times
Rod Boshart

Posted 2/15/2010 by IPP Staff

Gov. Chet Culver's economic recovery I-JOBS program is off to a slow start, with only $20.7 million - or about 3.5 percent - spent from $596.5 million awarded over the past eight months for roads, bridges, community centers and other projects. The program was created to help Iowa escape the grip of a two-year-long national recession, but the state can't expect an economic boost with so little of the money actually being used, some economists and business leaders say.

"You don't get results until the money is spent. That's just all there is to it," said David Swenson, an economist at Iowa State University. "It's one thing to project impact, but it's another thing to realize it. And what you see is that there's been precious little impact to date." Culver has touted the $830 million I-JOBS program as key to putting many of the state's 110,800 unemployed residents back to work. "We're moving as fast as humanly possible," said Culver on Friday. "I'm very happy with the progress we're making. I see it firsthand as I travel around the state.

"And I guarantee you by late spring and summer, we're going to have a record amount of job creation and economic development in the state." But economists see - and state data show - little evidence so far. Iowa has 7,700 fewer construction workers employed in December than a year earlier. Overall, Iowa has lost 40,100 jobs compared with December 2008. January employment data won't be released until March. A Des Moines Register analysis of data available at the I-JOBS Web site shows little spending for most projects:

- 1,135 of 1,500 total projects had no money funneled into them so far. About 300 projects had less than $100,000 spent on them. - The largest amount of money awarded so far - nearly $200 million to about 570 projects - has no completion date set. - Some of the state's largest spending - such as $100 million to renovate and replace University of Iowa buildings ravaged by flooding - is three to five years away. Culver initially estimated the program would create as many as 30,000 jobs, but backpedaled last month, saying he hoped I-JOBS would create "hundreds if not thousands of jobs." The state expects to release a tally of I-JOBS jobs this week.

"We see some impact, but it's very isolated," said Scott Norvell, chief executive of the Master Builders of Iowa. Norvell said the state needs to refocus spending so that more I-JOBS money is getting spent on "vertical infrastructure" such as courthouses, arenas and schools than "horizontal construction" - roads, bridges and sewers. "The I-JOBS program is well-intended, but the bulk of craft workers with vertical construction - 23 trades - is significantly unemployed, probably upwards of 25 percent," said Norvell. The state unemployment rate in December was 6.6 percent.

Boom in construction coming, state says

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Des Moines Register
Donnelle Eller

Posted 2/15/2010 by IPP Staff

“Absolutely devastating numbers for Iowa Gov. Chet Culver.”

-Chris Cillizza, “The Fix”, Washington Post, February 14, 2010

Posted 2/10/2010 by IPP Staff

All Iowa employees who work at least 20 hours a week would get paid when they are home sick, under a bill before the Legislature. Business owners and industry groups immediately expressed worries about how much that would cost. But Sen. Tom Courtney, who proposed the bill, said he thinks businesses could save money in the long run with greater employee retention and better productivity among healthy workers. "On the surface, this looks like this is going to be expensive for business," said Courtney, D-Burlington. "I think we need to get them over that feeling and help them realize this would be good for them. All the studies point to the facts that workers who have some sick leave are better workers, and that's better for everyone."

Democratic lawmakers said Monday the proposal likely will not go anywhere unless employers have a voice in crafting it. The bill is in the very earliest stages in the Legislature. A subcommittee considered the bill on Monday; the same group of senators will meet on the topic again Wednesday. As of last year, about 33 percent of full-time Iowa employees did not have paid sick days or flexible paid time off that can be used during an illness, state work force agency records show.

Among part-time workers, 81 percent did not have such paid time-off offered to them, according to a survey of a random sampling of Iowa employers by Iowa Workforce Development. Courtney said in an effort to tamp down the outbreak of H1N1 flu virus, public-health leaders pleaded with people to stay home when they feel ill. But many workers ignore that advice because they can't afford unpaid days off, he said. Workers who deal closely with the public, such as service workers and restaurant workers, typically do not get paid to be home sick, Courtney said.

"So they're mixing my salad and coughing, which scares me," he said. Nasty colds have made sandwich delivery driver Dustin Creagan of Des Moines crave bed rest. But the need for money and a desire not to disappoint his boss when he's short-handed have prompted Creagan, 21, to go to work anyway. "If I'm sick and I go out to any customer, I shake hands and exchange money. That's a lot of germs passed around," Creagan said. "I haven't really felt guilty about it in any way. It's been like, 'Here's your sandwich.' What else can you do?"

Creagan added: "I live off tips right now. If I don't make those tips, I don't have any money for that day." When he heard about the proposed bill, Creagan said: "Nice! I think that would be fair." However, one restaurant owner, Jim Lacona of Noah's Ark restaurant in Des Moines, said the expense would drive up costs for Iowans when they go out to eat. "I don't think we could afford to pay it without passing it on to the consumer," he said. None of Lacona's 55 employees gets paid sick time. "My first response is everybody's going to be out sick," he said.

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Des Moines Register
Jennifer Jacobs

Posted 2/10/2010 by IPP Staff

Gov. Chet Culver’s proposed budget is at least $25 million above the state’s legal spending limits largely because of inaccurate calculations, State Auditor David Vaudt said this morning.

Culver released his proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 to the legislature last month.  By law it must not exceed 99 percent of the projected revenues.

According to Vaudt’s report:

¦Culver budgeted $341 million in savings to the general fund, the chief operating budget of the state based largely on recommended savings from a consultant. Even if the consultant’s findings are completely enacted, at least $83 million of the savings would be allocated to other accounts outside of the general fund.

¦The consultant’s recommendation of savings are overestimated. One item to modernize unclaimed property searches was estimated to pump $40 million into the general fund but that is money that belong to taxpayers and must be returned, Vaudt said.

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Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth

Posted 2/8/2010 by IPP Staff

One of the state's largest public employee unions has registered against a union-related bill that it supported in previous years.

The proposal is commonly known as "fair share." It would allow public employee unions to charge nonunion workers a fee for services they provide for such things as handling grievances and taking the lead in arbitration.

Opponents said the bill, House Study Bill 702, erodes the state's "right to work" law, which prohibits requiring the payment of union dues or fees as part of employment. Advocates, however, said it simply would provide payment for services that unions provide.

The Iowa State Education Association, which has roughly 34,000 members, registered Friday against the bill.

The problem? The bill is too watered down, said spokeswoman Jean Hessburg.

The bill applies only to state executive branch employees. Local governments, including schools that are not one of Iowa's three state universities, would not be affected.

“You will have a situation where some employees at a regents university would be covered and then just across the street at a public school they are not covered,” Hessburg said.

Race could signal direction of GOP

Republicans in Iowa will be watching a GOP candidate forum in Pocahontas next week for a test of "tea party" strength and a glimpse at the potential impact of divisions in the party.

Republican primary opponents Tom Shaw of Laurens and Steven Richards of Algona will meet on Friday to discuss with party activists the race for Iowa House District 8.

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Des Moines Register
Iowa Politics Insider

Posted 2/4/2010 by IPP Staff

Gov. Chet Culver bolstered his ties to organized labor Wednesday by signing an executive order sought by construction unions, although he quickly emphasized he won't try to repeal Iowa's right-to-work law.

Critics seized on the issue and indicated Culver's support for unions could become a rallying cry for Republicans as they try to oust the Democratic incumbent in the fall election.

Culver signed an executive order Wednesday that will require all state departments and agencies to consider using so-called project labor agreements, known as PLAs, on large state construction projects. He received a standing ovation from union members attending the 57th annual state convention of the Iowa State Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO, at the Hotel Fort Des Moines.

A PLA is an agreement designed to coordinate labor relations, including wages and benefits, between multiple construction trade unions and contractors on a specific construction site. Supporters say PLAs ensure that large projects are completed on time and in an efficient manner. Opponents disagree, saying the deals discriminate against nonunion contractors and drive up costs for taxpayers.

Culver's critics said they were alarmed at Culver's executive order, describing it as a significant effort to erode Iowa's right-to-work law, which is more than six decades old. The law means that employees who work in Iowa, except on federal property or for a railway or airline, have a right to resign from union membership and not pay union dues or fees. Twenty-one other states have right-to-work laws, mostly in Southern and Western states.

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Des Moines Register
William Petroski

Posted 2/4/2010 by IPP Staff

Gov. Chet Culver encouraged lawmakers to make a run at prevailing wage legislation that led to a three-day standoff in the Iowa House last year as majority Democrats struggled to find a 51st vote.

“I still believe we need to push forward,” Culver said Wednesday after signing an executive order telling state agencies to consider using project labor agreements on large-scale construction jobs. “We’re talking about paying a carpenter, a pipe-fitter a couple more dollars an hour at a time when, again, families need more income, they need to work, they need to have good wages and that’s what prevailing wage will do.”

Although there’s been no action on prevailing wage this year, House Labor Committee Chairman Rick Olson, D-Des Moines, is having a bill drafted he thinks might be more palatable to the so-called “six-pack” of Democrats who refused to vote for prevailing wage last year.

House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, kept the voting machine open for

68 hours in March, waiting for someone to change their vote to give Democrats a majority on the prevailing wage bill. It didn’t happen.

“It’s what you might call a softer bill,” Olson said, noting it would require the state, regents and community colleges to pay prevailing wage on projects of $100,000 or more. However, local government — cities, counties and school districts — could opt-out of paying prevailing wage on a project-by-project basis, Olson said.

His bill also would set prevailing wage — the hourly wage, usual benefits and overtime paid to the majority of workers, laborers and mechanics for each trade and occupation in a given area — on a county-by-county basis.

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Quad-City Times
James Q. Lynch

Posted 2/3/2010 by IPP Staff

Iowa's economy has likely cleared the recession's grip, a new state report shows. But expect Iowa's recovery to be long, without rapid job growth or a push to the state's income, economists say. "We're on the path to recovery, but we still have a long way to go to get back to normal," said Amy Harris, an Iowa Department of Revenue analyst. "A lot of people are still unemployed." For the first time since April 2007, a state index that tracks Iowa's economy showed all eight of its components - from farm profits to building permits and manufacturing hours worked - improved over the previous month.

Looking at longer trends, the December report indicates the state has escaped "recession territory," said Harris, who compiles Iowa's Leading Indicators Index. Charles Whiteman, an economist at the University of Iowa and interim director of the U of I's Institute for Economic Research, said, "All of those components moving in the right direction is really a good sign. "Our prediction since October has been that things were looking up." Iowa employment is expected to climb in the third and fourth quarters, inching 0.2 percent higher for 2010, the group said. Also, 2011 will bring "recovery numbers" in job growth, climbing 1.8 percent, Whiteman said.

Next year's projected job growth would outpace employment gains in 2007 and 2008 combined, the group's data show. "The recovery is beginning now," Whiteman said. "Recovery to what is the $64,000 question." Harris said the gains that Iowa experienced in December factor in the recession that began about a year ago. The index's monthly values are calculated using a 12-month rolling average. "If you look at things like building permits and unemployment claims, yes, they're positive contributors," she said. "But the levels are a long way from normal December levels."

For example, weekly unemployment insurance claims in December were 14.3 percent less than December 2008 claims, but they were 57 percent higher than the average December claims for 1987 to 2007. "We're seeing some strength, but it will take a while to get back to where we were in 2008," Harris said. Fred Abraham, an economist at the University of Northern Iowa, said Iowa may never see the return of some jobs, especially in manufacturing. "We've been losing jobs in manufacturing for a long time, both statewide and nationally," he said. "A lot of the goods we consume come from other countries. ... And productivity in manufacturing has increased."

Employment is always going to lag in a recovery, Abraham said. "The unemployment rate didn't rise as rapidly as output fell," Abraham said. "And when you get into recovery, the unemployment rate doesn't fall as rapidly as output rises. "You don't get the jobs back that fast. It's going to be a while before we get back to 4 percent unemployment rate in Iowa." Iowa's unemployment rate in December was 6.6 percent. In December 2008, the rate was 4.4 percent.

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Des Moines Register
Donnelle Eller

Posted 1/29/2010 by IPP Staff

January 29, 2010

McKinley’s Memos

Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley

 As it looks now, if the governor’s plan is adopted, Iowans can expect more of the same fiscal problems that have plagued our state during the last three years.

Last year, Governor Culver signed the largest budget in state history at a time when our economy could not support it. As Republicans, we offered hundreds of millions in common sense savings but nearly all were ignored or voted down in partisan fashion.

Only months later, after the governor had denied he spent too much all summer long, he could no longer ignore his unbalanced budget any longer. He was forced to make a ten percent across-the-board cut in October. Unfortunately, this was all avoidable.

To be clear, Iowa does not have a revenue problem – we have a severe spending problem. Governor Culver should have scaled back his spending, listened to Iowans and accepted the Republican solutions. There was a real opportunity to sign a sensible budget that reflects the true priorities of our citizens. Iowans did not receive the fiscal leadership they deserved.

As the new budget discussions begin anew, Governor Culver has a fresh opportunity to put Iowa back on a path of sustainable and responsible spending that does not add to the tax load already burdening taxpayers. The question is, will he take this occasion to do just that?

If his initial budget outline is any indication, that answer is no. His new proposed spending is over $400 million dollars larger than the level the state’s budget is at today. At a time when families and employers are still forced to make sacrifices and cut backs, the spending increases continue.

Unless a more fiscally responsible vision for Iowa is adopted in the coming weeks, Iowans will continue to see their taxes increase. Already, Governor Culver’s actions have lead to property tax increases estimated at approximately $270 million dollars. He likes to say he has not raised taxes but Iowans know better and they can point to their property tax bills to prove it.

This new budget is also crafted by continuing the practice of using one-time dollars for ongoing expenses. He plans to raid Iowa’s savings and rainy day funds by over $200 million dollars, leaving the state’s reserves dangerously low. He continues the practice of using one-time federal bailout dollars that will not be available in the years ahead. Unless the programs are ended, a new revenue source will have to be found to pay for them and that will result in higher taxes.

Much of his projections are based on hypothetical savings from an out-of-state, highly taxpayer paid consultant. Yet, when the non-partisan analysts who work for Legislature look at the same proposals, they find results that are only small fractions of what was originally touted. For example, the consultants said one all-inclusive aspect of the government re-organization bill being pushed through the Legislature in the next few days would save $200 million dollars. Yet, when the non-partisan analysts scored it, they found it to be closer $43 million. Those kinds of financial discrepancies are found in several aspects of the governor’s budget statement and could easily leave the state’s budget unbalanced by hundreds of millions of dollars if not corrected.

If Iowans are looking for bold action in making it easier for jobs to be created, this budget proposal is also sure to disappoint. Senate Republicans believe this session should be all about jobs and growing our state. Governor Culver continues to only focus on trying to create temporary government make-work positions through his unsuccessful I-Jobs debt program, but nowhere in his budget does he make it clear that long-term private sector job creation is a priority. Instead, the higher property taxes that will come as a result of this budget are only going to erect more barriers to the creation of real sustainable jobs.

Not a single Republican in either the House or Senate voted for the budget last year because we all understood the people of Iowa were sick of the out-of-control spending and we knew the budget was unbalanced.

As Republicans, we will continue to offer our suggestions and solutions because Iowans want their senators and representatives to work hard on their behalf. But if the unfettered spending continues as it has the past three years, you can expect Senate Republicans to once again cast our votes in favor of families’ budgets rather than bigger government budgets.

As always, I welcome hearing from you and can be reached by phone at 515-281-3560 or by e-mail at paul.mckinley@legis.state.ia.us

Paul McKinley

Senate Republican Leader

www.mckinleyforiowa.com

www.facebook.com/paulmckinley

www.twitter.com/mckinleyforiowa

Posted 1/25/2010 by IPP Staff

State Auditor David Vaudt is taking issue with Gov. Chet Culver's plans to reduce the cost of state government, saying he merely shifts costs in one case and raises state revenue in another.

Culver's proposal to use Road Use Tax Funds to pay for the Iowa State Patrol is no savings, Vaudt said. It merely changes the use of funds already collected and obligated, he said.

"Taking costs from one pot of taxpayers' money and moving those costs to another pot of taxpayers' money does not reduce spending," the auditor said. "Simply shifting costs out of the general fund does not result in savings for the taxpayers of Iowa."

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Sioux City Journal
James Q. Lynch

Posted 1/21/2010 by IPP Staff

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver is asking Congress for a second round of economic stimulus money and appealing to the Obama administration to ease rules for existing aid that could force the state to reverse some spending cuts.

Culver told a Senate appropriations subcommittee on Thursday that Congress should extend federal unemployment benefits and provide additional aid to states for education, health care and other needs.

“No one has been immune form these economic realities that we’re dealing with,” Culver told the panel, which was chaired by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia.

Some 40,000 Iowans have exhausted their state unemployment benefits, which usually last 26 weeks, he said.

While he was Washington, Culver also asked the U.S. Education Department to waive rules in the 2009 stimulus bill that were designed to prevent states from slashing their budgets and filling the gap with federal stimulus money.

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Des Moines Register
Philip Brasher

Posted 1/19/2010 by IPP Staff

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver on Friday scaled back expectations for the number of jobs his $830 million public works program enacted last year would create.

The Democrat said his 2009 legislative centerpiece, known as I-JOBS, is as much aimed at building Iowa's 21st-century infrastructure as it is about creating jobs.

"I don't think people should expect huge job numbers," Culver said at a meeting with Des Moines Register editors and reporters. "But if you're one of these employees who was just hired by a contractor on a road project in Estherville, this is a big deal."

In urging the program's passage last year, Culver had said it could create 21,000 to 30,000 jobs. Friday, Culver trimmed the estimate to "hopefully hundreds if not thousands."

But he stressed the long-term benefit of rebuilding roads and bridges, telecommunications and energy infrastructure.

"These are, I think, very smart investments in Iowa's future," he said.

About 1,400 projects receiving $530 million from the program have begun.

The Iowa Finance Authority on Thursday is scheduled to release a report showing how many jobs the program has created.

Foes have attacked I-JOBS as increasing Iowa's debt by $600 million and costing $360 million in interest payments in the next 25 years.

Culver, running for a second four-year term in the fall, also expressed his support for the 2007 Iowa Power Fund, a centerpiece initiative in his first race for governor.

He pitched the program as a $100 million, four-year account to spur the renewable energy industry and create jobs. Analysts and Culver foes have questioned the program's job estimates.

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Des Moines Register
By:Thomas Beaumont and Jason Clayworth

Posted 1/8/2010 by IPP Staff

Gov. Chet Culver's chief of staff thinks there's "a legitimate chance" legislation will pass this year allowing public employee unions to charge nonunion employees for some expenses.

But he said he did not think it would apply to private employers.

The idea is among four that unions have pushed in the Legislature since Democrats took charge of the Statehouse in 2007. But they have failed amid strong resistance from the state's construction and business lobbyists.

It's an explosive issue for some state lawmakers and business leaders, who say they want to preserve Iowans' freedom to work without being forced to pay any money to a union.

Labor unions refer to their union-expenses proposal as "fair share," arguing that nonunion workers should have to pay their share for services that unions are required by law to provide. Opponents call that forced unionism.

"Fair share, I think, has a legitimate chance of success," chief of staff John Frew said in an interview with The Des Moines Register this week.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said no fair share proposal is on the table at the moment.

"If the governor is proposing a piece of legislation, we'll certainly keep an open mind, but we haven't seen anything yet," said McCarthy, D-Des Moines.

The 2010 session of the Legislature opens on Monday.

Frew said a pared-down version of fair share was the most likely to pass of the four labor union priorities.

The others are a so-called prevailing wage, a rate private companies would have to pay employees when working on government projects; allowing injured workers, instead of their employers, to choose the doctor who treats them; and an expanded list of topics that governments would be required to discuss with unions at the bargaining table.

"Whether one or all four of the pieces of the labor legislation will see the light of day is a big question," Frew said. "But fair share is one that we expect to see some significant traction."

Frew said Culver is not dictating the bill's provisions and suggested they depend on what House Democrats will accept.

"We would anticipate that this would be a narrow application of the concept and would only apply to the public sector," Frew said. "I haven't heard anyone suggest that it would involve the private sector."

The Senate passed a bill in 2007 that would have allowed government unions to assess nonunion workers a fee for services they provide, but the proposal failed to advance in the House.

Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs said the concept still "has a pretty fair shot in the Senate," but consensus is less certain in the House.

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Des Moines Register
Jennifer Jacobs and Thomas Beaumont

Contact your leaders today and let them know you do not want 'fair share'!

Posted 12/28/2009 by IPP Staff

Minnesota Governor Seeks Limits in His State and Amendment to U.S. Constitution

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, considered a possible 2012 Republican presidential candidate, is calling for strict spending limits as states and the federal government confront enormous deficits.

Mr. Pawlenty has proposed an amendment to the Minnesota constitution that would limit spending during any two-year budget period to the amount of revenue collected during the previous budget cycle. At a Republican fund-raiser in New Hampshire on Dec. 16, the governor also pushed the idea of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would force Congress to pass, and the president to sign, a balanced budget.

"Government spending in the country and in many states is progressing at an unsustainable, irresponsible and reckless pace," Mr. Pawlenty said in an interview this week. "The bathtub is overflowing onto the floor, and the first thing we need to do is shut off the faucet."

Although the U.S. economy is showing signs of improvement, states are coping with major revenue shortfalls. States' budgeted general-fund spending for the current fiscal year totaled $627.9 billion, down 5.4% from a year earlier, according to a Dec. 2 report from the National Association of State Budget Officers and the National Governors Association. Even after those cuts, state deficits total $14.8 billion for their current fiscal year, which for most began July 1.

At the federal level, the Senate voted Thursday to temporarily raise the nation's debt limit, currently $12.1 trillion, by $290 billion. The House passed the measure Dec. 16.

All states except Vermont have at least a limited requirement to balance their budgets. The federal government has no such restriction.

Previous efforts to pass a national balanced-budget amendment have foundered in Congress. Many lawmakers believe deficit spending can help boost the U.S. economy during downturns, and calls to balance the budget sometimes fade as other priorities surface.

Changing the U.S. Constitution requires a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress, followed by approval of three-fourths of states. State legislatures have petitioned Congress about a balanced-budget amendment, but they haven't reached the threshold needed to call a constitutional convention.

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The Wall Street Journal
Amy Merrick

Posted 12/13/2009 by IPP Staff

A state audit alleges that the Iowa Workforce Development failed to track spending for a computer system that handled unemployment insurance taxes.

In a report issued recently, state auditors say they couldn't determine the cost of the nine-year project because the agency's budgets were vague and rules on competitive bidding weren't followed, among other problems.

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Chicago Tribune/Associated Press

Posted 12/11/2009 by IPP Staff

December 11, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Don McDowell (515.281.6043)

McKinley: New REC Projections Another Reminder

of Culver’s Serious Spending Addiction

Growing Iowa’s economy through private sector job creation is the way forward

DES MOINES, IA – Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley (R-Chariton) issued the following statement today regarding the Revenue Estimating Conference’s new projections:

“The new projections today once again serve to underscore how short-sighted and fiscally irresponsible it was for Governor Culver to sign and legislative Democrats to pass the largest amount of spending in the state’s history when Republicans were consistently warning them to control their overspending addiction. Just today, another $50 million dollar hole was discovered as a result of Governor Culver’s extravagant spending.

A flourishing Iowa economy that provides jobs is the best way to move Iowa forward and put Iowa’s fiscal footing back on solid ground after too much spending. Iowa needs a commitment from its leadership to enable long term private sector job creation and Senate Republicans will continue to advocate for policies that will accomplish that goal.”

-30-

Don McDowell

Office of the Senate Republican Leader

don.mcdowell@legis.state.ia.us

Office: 515.281.6043

Cell: 712.324.1243

www.mckinleyforiowa.com

www.facebook.com/paulmckinley

Posted 12/8/2009 by IPP Staff

Gov. Chet Culver's team of economic advisers believes that Iowa has seen the worst of the recession, but that employment will not begin to grow again until next summer. "If things go to history, and we have a lot of history, we should see better times starting pretty much right now," said Charles Whiteman, interim director of the Institute for Economic Research at the University of Iowa. The personal income of Iowans will rise 1.1 percent in the fourth quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, Whiteman predicted.

For now, Iowa will continue to see a decline in employment, but forecasts show growth in nonfarm jobs will begin again in the third quarter of 2010, he said. The state's unemployment rate stood at 6.7 percent as of October, up from 4.3 percent in October 2008. "There are a lot of little positive signs," Whiteman said. "None is particularly striking, not like an in-your-face thousands of jobs being created, but it looks like things are getting better."

Another member of the Governor's Council of Economic Advisers said Monday that to prevent erratic spending and cuts in state government, Iowa could base its future budgets on an average of tax collections in past years rather than relying on predictions for the future. Culver has been seeking ways to change budget forecasting so Iowa does not face big hits like the 10 percent, $565 million cut he ordered in state government general-fund spending in October.

"It's a very interesting concept," Culver said of the suggestion. Now, a three-member team called the Revenue Estimating Conference sets the amount of money state lawmakers can spend each year. The group next meets on Friday. Culver will use its estimates in January to craft his proposed budget for fiscal year 2011, which begins July 1. Culver said Monday he is heartened that revenues from sales taxes and corporate income taxes are better than the Revenue Estimaing Conference anticipated in October.

However, he cautioned that tough cuts still lie ahead for the 201l budget. The Legislative Services Agency has forecast a gap of $1 billion between projected revenues and expenses for 2011. Legislative leaders note that some federal stimulus money will still be available, and they can dip into the state's cash reserves, but that still leaves a gap of $500 million or so. "I think we're still going through a really tough time," Culver said. "We're not out of the woods yet. ... I think there was a general feeling that we're slowly seeing some signs of improvement, and that's good news for the people of this state."

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Jennifer Jacobs

Posted 12/7/2009 by IPP Staff

You decide... From today's Des Moines Register...

Iowa's largest government employee union wants state government to cut 365 of its nearly 2,000 supervisory positions, but opponents say that could erode efficiency and dismantle oversight.

Leaders of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees say the move would create efficiencies by focusing resources on front-line workers doing the hands-on work to deliver public services.

Union and government insiders refer to the issue as "span of control," which refers to the number of subordinates per supervisor.
 
Union members want the state to increase its supervisor-to-employee ratio from 1 to 11 to 1 to 14. That would eliminate 365 positions, which cost taxpayers at least $27 million a year.

Most supervisors are not union members, as outlined in Iowa law.

Continue reading here.

Posted 12/7/2009 by IPP Staff

Iowa's total government debt has grown by almost $3 billion in the past five years and is expected to take another jump in the current fiscal year, partly because of Gov. Chet Culver's $830 million I-JOBS program.

Iowa's total state and local government debt, including schools, is $11.6 billion, according to an annual report released last week by State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald. Cities had the greatest amount of debt, with $4.3 billion, followed by schools, with $2.3 billion. State government authorities and agencies have a combined debt of $2.56 billion.

"It shows that the schools, counties and others have had to borrow more money," Fitzgerald said of the past year's nearly $693 million growth in debt. "In these tough times, to keep things going, governments have had to access their credit more."

Several rankings show Iowa's public debt per person is lower than that in most states. Iowa ranks 16th-lowest in total government debt, according to the Census Bureau. Moody's investment services company this year rated Iowa second-best in the nation, trailing Nebraska, when looking at tax-supported debt compared per capita to personal income ratios.

Still, some officials worry about the increased borrowing.

"I don't think Iowans would mind if they believed the borrowing was absolutely necessary for effective governance, but just because you have a credit card doesn't mean you should use it," said Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley of Chariton.

Culver promoted I-JOBS, signed into law in May, as a way to help recover from the 2008 floods that crippled Cedar Rapids and caused damage in nearly every area of the state. He also portrayed it as a way to strengthen Iowa's economy and to preserve or create thousands of jobs.

The program includes $115 million for repairs to bridges and roads, $600 million for flood recovery projects such as home and building reconstruction, and $115 million for repairs and construction at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University.

Iowa will borrow $601 million for I-JOBS. Interest over the 25-year life of the loans will cost Iowans $360 million, according to the state treasurer's office, which is less than $5 per person per year.

Opponents favored a pay-as-you-go approach. Iowans agreed with them in an Iowa Poll taken in early April. When asked, "Is it a good idea to borrow money for state projects now, or better to pay as the state has money over time?" 24 percent thought it better to borrow, and 71 percent wanted to pay as the state had money.

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth

Posted 12/7/2009 by IPP Staff

Gov. Chet Culver was at the wheel when the state’s budget hit a red-ink blizzard and slid off the road and into a billion-dollar ditch. So who is to blame? The forecasters.

Culver says a three-member panel of experts that tries to forecast state tax collections isn’t looking at enough economic “indicators” to get its predictions right. He’s also unhappy that state lawmakers, who are required to use a tax estimate crafted in December to build the state’s budget, are instead waiting for a potentially rosier estimate in March.

Before we get too far into the fiscal weeds, the bottom line is that Culver is suggesting the mechanics of estimating and budgeting are the real problem here. If only the forecasts were better, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

Gov. Tom Vilsack also tried tinkering with the revenue estimating process when the budget busted under his watch. So there’s precedent for tinkering.

But I’d be more sympathetic to Gov. Culver’s argument if I hadn’t watched him spend months insisting that everything was fine and dandy while gloomy, dire economic indicators piled up all around him. It’s tough to hear a call for more indicators from a chief executive who tried to convince us endlessly that a triple A bond rating was the only indicator that mattered.

In the fall of 2008, while the economy was commencing its spinning butt-fall, Culver insisted to our editorial board that the downturn wouldn’t affect Iowa. A chorus of smart people warned otherwise while he and Democrats crafted a $6 billion state budget balanced with smoke and mirrors and lots of one-time federal stimulus money. No worries, was the reply.

And now we face a $1 billion budget shortfall. This is not simply the margin of error in a faulty revenue forecast. If that’s what Culver is selling, we’re not buying.

Posted 11/30/2009 by IPP Staff

Chet Culver continues to bailout big labor and campaign cronies while Iowa families suffer  

Des Moines, IA – The Iowa Progress Project (IPP) launched a new TV ad calling on Governor Culver to start putting hardworking Iowa families ahead of campaign cronies. The ad campaign began running yesterday.

Last week, the bi-partisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA) released a report that Iowa will face a $1 billion budget shortfall. The rate of spending under the Culver administration is unsustainable and those who will suffer from his out of control spending habits will be hardworking Iowa families.

Instead of cutting back like most Iowans, Culver increased spending by $1 billion dollars over the past two years. As a result of his spending spree, funding for K-12 schools and public universities has been cut, and the state’s unemployment is at an all time high of 6.7 percent – an estimated 112,700 Iowans are out of work.

Culver has been racking up huge deficits when Iowans can least afford it – Now is the time for Chet Culver to put hard working Iowa families ahead of campaign cronies.

“Sacrifice” is running in the Des Moines TV market.

You can view the ad at www.YouTube.com/IowaProgressProject

 IPP: 30 TV – “SACRIFICE”

ANNCR:

As the recession worsens… more bad news from Chet Culver.

K-12 education…cut.

College funding…cut.

Massive unemployment

Why?

Because for three years, Culver bailed out his big labor allies and corporations and spent like there was no tomorrow.

Racking up huge deficits and crippling debt when we can least afford it.

So now you sacrifice…to fix Culver’s mistakes.

Tell Chet Culver:

Help Hardworking Iowans… Not Campaign Cronies

(515) 281-5211

IowaProgressProject.com

PAID FOR BY IOWA PROGRESS PROJECT

Posted 11/30/2009 by IPP Staff

More Iowans consider themselves to be conservatives than moderates or liberals, offering the state's Republican Party a potentially large pool of converts as it struggles to win back voters, according to a new Iowa Poll.

Most current and former Iowa Republicans agree on two reasons why the party has lost elections and voters. It has nominated lackluster candidates, and officeholders have neglected to make spending control a top priority, according to the poll.

But Iowans who have fallen away from the GOP differ with current members in how they view the party's tone and tactics:

- By roughly 2-to-1, former Republicans say the party's lawmakers have become too partisan, have become the party of "no," and have made some people feel unwelcome.

- Three times as many former Republicans as current members say the party is controlled by the religious right.

- More than 60 percent of Republicans who have left the party say it has focused too much on social issues such as abortion, compared with roughly 40 percent of party regulars.

Iowa Republican leaders say they're optimistic about the 2010 elections, citing rising dissatisfaction with majority Democrats at the Iowa Statehouse and in Washington, D.C., and a national swing among independent voters away from the party in charge.

But Iowa Republicans will not capitalize on unhappiness with Democrats unless they find a way to reignite interest from conservatives in their ideas, national Republican pollsters say.

Forty-three percent of Iowans consider themselves conservatives, 36 percent say they are moderate, and 17 percent say they are liberal. Fifty percent of Iowans consider themselves fiscal conservatives, while 42 percent say they're conservatives on social issues such as abortion rights and same-sex marriage.

"I think the conservative brand is generally fine," said Republican pollster David Winston. "But the Republican brand has difficulty at this point. And there's no question that, until the party stops being the opposition party and starts being the alternative party, it's not going to help its brand."

The predominance of conservatives in Iowa tracks closely with national patterns. Conservatives represented 40 percent of the national population last month, up from 37 percent in 2008, according to a Gallup Poll. Moderates made up 36 percent of the population and liberals 20 percent.

The Iowa Poll, conducted Nov. 8 to 11 for The Des Moines Register by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 800 Iowans age 18 and older and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. It includes responses from 477 current and former Republicans, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

Frustration on fiscal matters tied to decline in Republican affiliation

Iowans' greater identification with conservatism than other political philosophies has not equated in recent years with support for Republicans.

Republicans led Democrats in voter registrations midway through the decade, but now Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 105,000 and account for 35 percent of registered voters. Registered voters who affiliate with no party narrowly outnumber Democrats.

Iowans have elected Democratic governors in the past three elections and Democratic state legislatures in the past two. They went with Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain for president last year.

More than 60 percent of current and former Republicans say the party has declined because its leaders have not focused enough on fiscal issues, according to the poll.

Fiscal conservatives became frustrated with spending allowed by Republicans in Congress under President George W. Bush, such as expanded health care and education programs, said longtime Webster City Republican activist Drew Ivers.

In Iowa, conservatives saw majority Republicans go along with elements of former Democrat Gov. Tom Vilsack's agenda, including expanded access to preschool education.

"We had enough power to change the role of government, and the Republicans did not deliver on their promise," said Ivers, Iowa coordinator of the conservative Campaign for Liberty. "That's when the Republicans lost their credibility. It's desperation on the part of the electorate, hoping to find someone who can deliver on the promise of limited government."

Roughly 80 percent of Iowa conservatives disapprove of the job Obama is doing in managing the budget deficit, according to the poll. However, conservatives think recent increases in several areas of state spending have been justified.

Posted 11/25/2009 by IPP Staff

Iowa next year will face the largest budget gap in its history: more than $1 billion, a new budget review projects.

The review, released today by the state’s Legislative Services Agency, shows Iowa lawmakers will face a projected shortfall between revenue and expenses of $1.07 billion in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The review notes that across-the-board cuts made this year by Gov. Chet Culver are automatically restored, leaving it up to the governor and lawmakers to make the cuts in a more thoughtful way.

Culver, last month, called for $565 million in cuts in the current fiscal year due to falling state revenue.

The latest projections are based upon October revenue projections.  The state’s Revenue Estimating Conference meets Dec. 11 when new revenue estimates will be made. Those estimates will influence the current gap projection, the report notes.

The state has $541.6 million in reserves, today’s report shows.  Lawmakers, however, have cautioned about relying upon that money since it would be considered a one-time fix. Democrats and Republicans alike have said that long-term spending cuts will be necessary in the upcoming budget year.

The LSA has previously projected a shortfall of around $903 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth

Posted 11/10/2009 by IPP Staff

Iowa has hired 752 people since Gov. Chet Culver called for a hiring freeze 11 months ago, records obtained by The Des Moines Register show.

That’s nearly the number of state workers initially pegged for layoffs to meet Culver’s order of a 10 percent across-the-board budget cut.

And it is about half the 1,525 staffers hired during the same period the previous year. The state had 1,167 unfilled jobs as of Oct.1.Some of Culver’s political foes say the hundreds of hires at a time of economic distress demonstrate disregard for Iowa’s finances and a betrayal of public trust.

But advocates of social programs and at least one national taxpayer watchdog said the hirings are necessary to continue to run programs that protect the public or assist the most economically vulnerable families.

Most of the hires are for front-line workers, such as those at residential treatment centers or correctional officers and nurses in the state’s prisons. But a handful of the jobs represent high-level executive or managerial positions, including Culver’s chief of staff, a $254,000-a-year administrator in the state’s corrections department, and executive positions in the state’s natural resources and finance departments.

The eight highest-paid new employees make more than the governor, whose salary is $130,000. The top 10 will collect more than $1.5 million in base pay annually, records show.

“This is unconscionable,” said Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley of Chariton. “Government has grown too big, and the governor puts one face on for the public and does exactly the opposite. That’s why we’re in a mess.”

State assesses whether workers are needed

Culver enacted the hiring freeze in December, saying only the most critical jobs would be filled and only after departments justified hires through the state’s management department.

The Department of Management reviews other departments’ applications to hire workers on a weekly basis. Only positions that use money from the state’s general fund require the review. Jobs paid with federal money are not subject to the approval process.

Department of Management officials make the decision to hire or keep a job vacant based largely upon how essential the positions are considered for an agency’s mission, said Dick Oshlo, the state budget director.

The process to fill only the most urgent jobs has worked, said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines. The majority of open positions are not being filled, he said.

“If there are partisan statements about this, saying government is expanding in a time period when we’re in a recession, that’s not the case,” McCarthy said.

Many jobs are paid for without state money

Many of the positions that have been filled are funded by sources other than the state’s general fund, such as federal money or state special funds or fees.

All 73 of the transportation department’s new hires, for example, are paid with money from gas taxes or other taxes, while the majority of the salaries of the 105 people hired at Iowa Workforce Development are paid by federal grants. Failure to hire some of those employees would require the state to return millions of dollars in federal help for such things as unemployment assistance, said Kerry Koonce, a spokeswoman for Workforce Development.

“We have told everyone we have hired that is related to the stimulus or other federal funds that it has a life span, and if it’s not renewed, the position will go away,” Koonce said.

An account of how many of the new employees are paid out of the state’s general fund was unavailable last week through the state’s administrative services or management departments. The 752 workers would be paid $31.5million if their employment continues for a year.

Whether the money comes from the federal or state treasuries or out of the state’s general fund is not the issue, said Ed Failor Jr., president of Iowans For Tax Relief, a conservative taxpayers’ rights group in Muscatine.

“The federal dollars, stimulus dollars, we pretend there’s some magical tree, but every dollar came out of taxpayer pockets,” he said.

Failor said many jobs that have been filled are essential, but he expressed doubts about others, such as positions in the governor’s office.

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth

Posted 11/10/2009 by IPP Staff

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver's office took a close interest in the state's film promotion efforts long before questions about spending and bookkeeping prompted the governor to freeze the program, e-mails obtained by The Associated Press indicate.

The 224 e-mails between the Department of Economic Development and governor's office from mid-2007 to fall 2009 show Culver's office was kept fully abreast of the Iowa Film Office's efforts to lure moviemakers to the state by offering them big tax breaks. The AP requested the communication through the state's open records law.

None of the e-mails were sent directly to Culver.

The governor's oversight of the film office has become an issue since allegations surfaced in September of inappropriate tax credits and sloppy bookkeeping. Culver fired the film office manager, Thomas Wheeler. Department of Economic Development director Michael Tramontina and a deputy director abruptly resigned.

Among the e-mails was a June 3 message to Culver aide Cindy Jones from film producer Doug James, noting the governor's availability to speak with him.

"I am thrilled to have the governor's ear, so to speak," James wrote. "Promise not to become a pest."

Another e-mail in 2007 from Economic Development official Shawn Rolland sought the governor's availability to talk with Terry Trimpe, a movie producer who was considering a production in McGregor.

"Gov will have time to talk with Terry," Culver aide Brad Anderson replied. Lauren Burt, the governor's event coordinator, notified Rolland that she would be sure Culver had background on Trimpe's plans.

"I will put this information into the brief for the governor and inform the staffers who will be with him in McGregor," Burt said in an e-mail to Rolland.

Despite the numerous e-mails, Culver spokesman Troy Price said the communications didn't deal with film office details.

"The vast majority of them did not deal with the operation of the film office, until this was brought to our attention," Price said. "After that, obviously we paid close attention."

However, e-mails showed there was interest in the film office's actions.

For example, one from October 2007 from Wheeler to Culver aide Brad Anderson offered details of spending on two movies, "Sugar" and "Duck Farm."

Click here to continue reading.

Associated Press/Washington Examiner
Mike Glover

Posted 10/27/2009 by IPP Staff

All summer long, this sober Midwest city rubbed shoulders with actors such as Forest Whitaker, Adrien Brody and Elisabeth Shue. No fewer than four Hollywood productions were shooting in town.

"It was very surreal," says Michael Braun, a 25-year-old bartender at the Continental, a restaurant near the state capitol. He recalls watching Nick Stahl in the HBO series "Carnivale" one day before work and then serving the actor dinner at the bar that night. "You don't expect that in Iowa," Mr. Braun says.

Now, Des Moines, population 200,000, is dealing with a nasty hangover. A lavish tax-incentive program that brought Hollywood to its doorstep has come to a halt amid allegations of faulty oversight, poor record-keeping and potentially criminal abuse.

One director bought himself a $61,000 Range Rover and a feather bed, as well as an iPod for his 15-year-old son. Another picked up a new Mercedes-Benz for $67,000. All the purchases were made with the help of a 50% tax credit, courtesy of the good people of Iowa.

Iowa's small but growing film industry is now in a state of suspended animation. Gov. Chet Culver temporarily halted the tax credits. The state film program's director was fired, and his bosses at the Iowa Department of Economic Development resigned. The state attorney general has launched a criminal investigation.

At least a dozen Hollywood projects that were to shoot in coming months are taking the action to other states, diverting millions of dollars from Iowa's economy. A half-built pirate ship sits in a city mall turned soundstage for a fantasy film called "Blackbeard" that may never be made. Many young Iowans who thought they had found a promising homegrown industry are considering leaving the state.

"Three months ago, everything was looking rosy," says Nicole Tiernan, 32, who was laid off as a paralegal in March last year but quickly shifted into a series of behind-the-scenes movie jobs. "Now, it's a big freakout."

Many states have chased silver-screen fantasies with generous incentives to lure filmmakers. Results have been mixed. Iowa went whole hog, taking a cue from the most famous film ever shot there, "Field of Dreams," the 1989 Kevin Costner vehicle that popularized the slogan: "If you build it, they will come."

In 2007, the state legislature passed the film incentive program, which granted filmmakers a 50% tax credit on their spending in the state. Since they couldn't use the credits themselves, the filmmakers sold them at a discount through brokers to businesses and individuals who owe Iowa taxes.

The program, billed as "Half Price Filmmaking," was slowly winning over Hollywood. By this past summer, 22 films had received tax credits totaling $32 million. And more than 100 projects were in various stages of applying for hundreds of millions more before the program was put on hold.

Thousands of Iowans have hammed it up as extras earning minimum wage on projects like the cable-TV remake of Stephen King's "Children of the Corn," shot near Davenport, and the theatrical do-over of George Romero's camp horror flick "The Crazies," shot in tiny Lenox.

Posted 10/26/2009 by IPP Staff

Declining demand for washers and dryers will cost Iowa roughly 850 jobs over the next year as Electrolux shifts all its North American manufacturing to Mexico, the company announced Friday.

Production of Frigidaire washers and dryers in Webster City and Jefferson is scheduled to end sometime in the first quarter of 2011.

Electrolux said it now employs roughly 925 people in those communities. The Swedish company has already eliminated more than 1,000 Iowa jobs since 2006.

The announcement surprised no one at the Webster City plant, said longtime employees Dick Golberg and Don "Butch" Burton.

"We knew it was coming," Golberg said. "When they built the plant in Juarez, we knew it was going to happen sooner or later. We were just waiting for the date."

Electrolux built a $100 million factory in Juarez, Mexico, just across the border from El Paso, Texas, for laundry products in 2007. That came after the company said it was eliminating 700 jobs in Webster City.

Burton said there was little reaction from workers who gathered in the warehouse area for the announcement Friday.

"There was no crying, no yelling or hooting and hollering," said Burton, who has worked at the plant for more than 26 years. "It took five minutes."

Iowa State University economist David Swenson said Electrolux, like many of its competitors, has been rumored to be on the verge of moving appliance production out of the United States.

"This is one of those closings that's been a long time coming," Swenson said. "It's not a surprise.

"That's going to have one heck of a multiplied-through economic impact," he said. "They were really good jobs for that area. ... Everything in that entire Webster City area is going to realize a hit from that."

Growing manufacturing losses like those at Electrolux have hammered Hamilton County. The unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in September, spiking from 3.6 percent a year earlier.

It's not just the Electrolux production jobs that will be lost. A sister warehouse across the street will likely close, and suppliers of pallets, plastic parts and other products will likely have to cut jobs.

"It's a lot of smaller businesses that will be hurt, too," said Golberg, who has worked at the plant for 24 years.

The plant closing will hit more than Webster City. Its workers come from places like Stanhope, Eagle Grove and Fort Dodge.

"It's going to hurt Main Street USA," Burton said.

According to data from Iowa Workforce Development, roughly 35 percent of Hamilton County residents made their living from work in factories this year. In 2007, the most recent information available, the average Hamilton County worker was paid $30,871; median household income was $47,603.

Burton and Golberg said workers cannot compete with wages paid in Mexico. The men say workers at the Mexico Electrolux plant are paid about $2.50 an hour. The average union wage here is about $16.50.

Workers at the plant have already struggled with reduced hours as the recession has cut demand for products. Burton will work one day next week, Golberg four. It was a different story five years ago. The men worked six, seven days a week. "We got tired of the overtime," Golberg said.

Click here to continue reading.

The Des Moines Register
Jeff Eckhoff and Donnelle Eller

Posted 10/9/2009 by IPP Staff

The Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) announced Wednesday state revenue for the 2010 budget year will be $5.438 billion, down $415 million since March.

Holly Lyons, a member of the panel of financial experts, called the figures “probably the worst I’ve seen.”

Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said the state is still reeling from “economic earthquake caused by the biggest recession since the Great Depression.

“It’s clearer than ever that the aftershocks of this deepening national recession will require quick action to balance the current state budget,” he said.

Republican lawmakers put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Democrats.

“The news from the Revenue Estimating Conference, while troubling, is not surprising,” House Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said. “Gov. [Chet] Culver signed the largest budget in the history of Iowa and his $1.7 billion borrowing plan has not worked. The out-of-control spending and lack of fiscal discipline expressed by legislative Democrats has caused the economic mess Iowa is currently in.”

Posted 10/9/2009 by IPP Staff

Hundreds of layoffs are on the horizon for state employees, and the pink slips are likely to appear quickly.

State government leaders were left reeling Thursday by Iowa Gov. Chet Culver's order to immediately whack an unprecedented $565 million from the state budget.

"We will start cutting today," Culver said.

The 10 percent across-the-board cut will mean a wide swath of Iowans - including the poor, unemployed, mentally ill and elderly - will feel the pinch of reduced state services.

The Iowa Constitution requires that the state budget be balanced. Culver had to make only a 7.1 percent cut to do that, or $415 million, but he instead chose to go deeper. Raising taxes isn't an option, he said.

The decision came about 24 hours after a three-member panel of budget experts predicted that collections of taxes and fees will plunge between now and the end of the fiscal year in June. The Revenue Estimating Conference lowered its March prediction of $5.853 billion in tax and fee collections to $5.438 billion.

"The fact is clear," Culver said Thursday. "Iowa has not spent too much; rather our revenue has fallen off by significant amounts as the result of this national economic recession."

Culver said no government office that gets money from the state's general fund will be spared.

The exact number of layoffs is unclear, but it will "certainly be hundreds of state employees," he said.

State workers - and that means everyone from corrections workers to school food service staff, state librarians, workers at the school for the blind, addictive disorder counselors, social workers, state attorney general's office staffers, auditors, state crime investigators and treasurer's staff - now face the uncertainty of possibly losing their jobs.

"I would assume there's a great deal of them sitting around on pins and needles," said Danny Homan, president of Council 61 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 20,000 state employees.

"I think this will have the magnitude of a plant closing," Homan said. "This is the most devastating thing that could happen to the state of Iowa at this particular time.

A mid-2008 report put state employment at 63,400.

AFSCME members have a contract giving them a 2 percent wage increase on July 1, 2010, and a 1 percent raise on Jan. 1, 2011. Homan said it will be up to members to decide whether to renegotiate that.

Union layoffs are by job classification and seniority. Culver appointed Joni Klaassen, deputy chief of staff for administration, to help unions address reduction in the state government work force.

The cuts will be felt immediately at the state's universities. David Miles, president of the Iowa Board of Regents, ordered a systemwide freeze on hiring for positions paid through general operating funds, and a moratorium on all new building construction projects, except those directly related to flood restoration projects at the University of Iowa.

Posted 10/2/2009 by IPP Staff

The survival of Iowa’s film incentives program is very much in question, a top state lawmaker said this morning.

“If it’s all just a great big give-away with no long-term job creation or economic growth in this state or people having full-time employment, then this isn’t a very good deal for the state of Iowa,” said Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs.

When the next session of the Iowa Legislature begins in January, the same state lawmakers who created the film tax credit program will examine it to see if it will truly keep industry in the state over the long run and create high-paying jobs that lead to more cash in to the state treasury, Gronstal said.

Asked if he regretted his "yes" vote on the film incentives legislation, Gronstal answered: “I may regret having created this. ... I think it’s very much in question as to whether this made sense.”

Gov. Chet Culver put the film program on hold while state authorities investigate reports of abuse and mismanagement.

Iowans in the film industry have pleaded for the state keep the program alive, saying it has brought a slice of Hollywood to the state and has been a ray of hope during a bleak recession.

During a taping of the public television show "Iowa Press" this morning, Gronstal said it’s not inevitable that it will get the ax.

“I think it’s 50-50 as to whether this survives because people are going to take a very hard look at this. And right now, the hundreds of millions in potential credits, I think you can see very little in terms of potential benefits.”

Filmmakers made a rush to capture tax credits before a $50 million cap took effect on July 1. Gronstal said: “If we have existing commitments we’ve made out there as far as I’m concerned we will respect those commitments, we’ll do what we have to do what we have to to honor those commitments, as long as there hasn’t been fraud involved, and we don’t know the answer to that.”

The state is expected to release a report today or Monday with an accounting firm’s review of the program. The report is expected to document problems that arose from scant oversight, a lack of manpower, and exploding interest in the state's best-in-the-nation film incentives.

Click here to read more.

The Des Moines Register
Jennifer Jacobs

Posted 9/25/2009 by IPP Staff

Today, Gov. Culver took $45 million from Iowa's emergency cash reserves to balance the FY 2009 budget. Instead of cutting spending and slashing unnecesary programs, he took from Iowa's rainy day fund. This is a dishonest way of balancing the state's budget. 

Culver claimed this was all done "without raising taxes, like many states have done, and we did it without holding a special legislative session, like many critics said would be needed. We did it because, in good times and bad, we’ve managed the state’s finances."

Unfortunately the grim reality is Culver has borrowed Iowa into an $800 million debt which will be paid off over the next 20 years with interest - totalling over $1 billion dollars. This does include the lastest state tax credit film fiasco which will cost the Iowa taxpayers an additional $400 million dollars. In addition, the fiscal bureau estimates there will be a $1 billion shortfall in the FY 2011 budget.

Governor Culver can "claim" he balanced the budget, but the truth is Iowa taxpayers deserve an open and honest analysis of the state's financial situation. It's time for fiscal restraint from our elected leaders.

You can read the Governor's statement and executive order here.

Posted 9/23/2009 by IPP Staff

Remember the Train to Nowhere? That was a story of taxpayer dollars appropriated to a train depot in Dubuque where a trainline didn't even exist. In today's Des Moines Register there is another kind of "Train to Nowhere". This time Gov. Culver is riding it... 

Culver's trek began earlier this summer with a train rider from West Des Moines (Valley Junction) to the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market, followed by a pleasant journey from Western Iowa back to Des Moines, stopping in small towns along the way, and now the trip continues... and at who's expense? Yes, the Iowa Taxpayers.

Read all about it here.

Posted 9/22/2009 by IPP Staff

A state official said Monday criminal charges could be forthcoming in the wake of widespread mismanagement and abuse reported in Iowa’s tax-credit program for filmmaking.

“I would not rule that out,” said Chief Deputy Auditor Warren Jenkins. “It appears there was a failure to do what is required by law."

Gov. Chet Culver on Monday asked Auditor David Vaudt’s office, the Department of Revenue and Attorney General Tom Miller to assist in a review of a state tax-credit program run out of the Iowa Department of Economic Development’s film office.

“I am very troubled by reports of the lack of oversight and accounting procedures of tax credits under this program,” Culver said. “My first priority on this issue is to the taxpayers of Iowa, and I know that Attorney General Miller and Auditor Vaudt will help us to quickly identify changes that need to be made and how we can best move forward.”

Failure to perform duties required by law is a crime in Iowa. Those who exceed the authority of their office, make contracts “that contemplate expenditures ... known by the person to be in excess of that authorized by law” or who fail to report receipt or expenditures of public money are, at the very least, committing serious misdemeanors under existing statutes. Knowingly making false records of any sort (documents, certificates or receipts) amounts to a felony.

Neither the auditor’s office nor Iowa’s Department of Revenue was consulted by economic development officials about problems in the mushrooming film program until problems surfaced last week, according to both revenue Director Mark Schuling and Jenkins. (Auditor David Vaudt was tending to a medical emergency in his family.)

“I think it’s very unusual to not be informed or at least involved,” Jenkins said. “And to me, it’s unusual to hire an auditor without even talking to us.”

Culver on Friday froze the tax-credit program, officially known as the Film, Television and Video Promotion Program, administered by the Iowa Department of Economic Development. The state’s DED director, Mike Tramontina, resigned his post after a still ongoing audit uncovered poor management and record-keeping and apparent abuses by film producers.

Tom Wheeler, manager of the Iowa Film Office, was placed on paid administrative leave. Wheeler was juggling a reported 50 to 60 current projects and proposals for projects.

Culver said new tax-credit certificates would not be issued until questions about the administration of the program were answered.

Click here to continue reading or here for more breaking news.

Posted 9/16/2009 by IPP Staff

Governor Chet Culver says there are no big changes in store for IPERS, the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System, to ensure future beneficiaries get their benefits. IPERS provides retirement benefits for government workers, including teachers, fire fighters and cops. There are over 300-thousand active and retired “members” in the IPERS system today.

“There’s no need for alarm,” Culver says. “We’ve already taken some steps, legislatively, to give IPERS a little more flexibility in terms of some additional investments and I doubt that we’ll have to do anything next (legislative) session other than to hope that we continue to have economic recovery.”

The stock market collapse put a huge dent in IPERS. On June 30th of 2008, the IPERS fund was worth over $22-billion, but a month and a half ago the IPERS fund was worth just under $18-billion. The fund is paying out over a billion dollars in pension benefits annually. A consultant hired by IPERS fund managers has suggested cutting IPERS benefits for future retirees or having the state plug general state tax dollars into the system.

Click here to continue reading.

Radio Iowa
O. Kay Henderson

Posted 9/15/2009 by IPP Staff

by William Petroski

Billions of dollars in investment losses have put Iowa's largest public employees' pension fund in long-term jeopardy.

A bailout might require more money from Iowa taxpayers and sacrifices by some government workers, a consultant warned Monday.

The Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System has 312,000 members. They are current or former employees or retirees of state government, cities and counties, public school districts and other government agencies.

The Iowa pension fund's market value dropped to $17.99 billion for the 12 months ending June 30, down from $22.4 billion a year earlier.

The problem is even worse considering that IPERS' actuarial projections had anticipated a positive investment return of 7.5 percent, said Patrice Beckham, a pension consultant with Milliman Inc., an international actuarial firm.

Pension funds around the country have experienced similar drops in the past year. In Iowa's case, even before the steep downturn in world markets since fall 2008, the pension fund had already been facing a long-term actuarial shortfall of about $2.7 billion.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 9/11/2009 by IPP Staff

Iowa's revenue has dropped $406.7 million during the past 12 months compared with the previous year, a report released Thursday shows.

Monthly revenues for August were down $25.8 million from the previous August, according to the report from the Legislative Services Agency.

July's were up roughly $12 million compared with the previous year, but that's largely because of a reporting correction made in July 2008 that made that month's totals lower, said Jeff Robinson, an employee of the services agency.

Monthly reports give a glimpse of Iowa's difficult budget picture but are far from complete. Multiple factors can play into one-month totals, ranging from the number of workdays to various tax collection timelines.

Estimates from the Legislative Services Agency show there will be as much as a $903 million shortfall between revenues and expenses in the budget year that begins in July 2010.

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth

Posted 9/9/2009 by IPP Staff

Gov. Chet Culver said Tuesday the fiscal 2009 budget numbers are playing out as projected and he expects to balance any shortfall in revenues with existing authority and no special legislative session.

Shortly after fiscal 2009 ended June 30, Culver said lower-than-expected state revenues and other factors could result in a shortfall of about $58 million, and that whatever budget shortfall might ensue could be erased with a $45 million ending balance and up to $50 million he has the authority to temporarily transfer from the state's cash reserve.

With state agencies finalizing their year-end accruals, revenues and other data based on an Aug. 31 cutoff, Culver and his budget experts said the assumptions appear to be holding form with favorable tax refund totals, higher lottery profits and other factors that have offset slumping tax collections. The final balance sheet should be released by the end of September, said Culver budget director Dick Oshlo.

"Everything looks as we had projected in terms of having enough to balance in '09 and we feel good about that fact," Culver told reporters Tuesday. "We don't think a special session will be required."

Click here to read more.

Quad-City Times
Rod Boshart

Posted 9/9/2009 by IPP Staff

Key budget saving recommendations kept secret by Gov. Chet Culver for almost a year will be released, his top budget director said today while being publicly pressured by Republicans.

But, after the meeting, he retracted the offer, saying instead that he’ll have to check with the governor’s legal team, first.

“I’m going to have to talk with Jim Larew about it,” said Culver’s Budget Director Dick Oshlo, referring to Culver’s staff attorney.

Oshlo said there was some confusion over which records Republicans were requesting, even though the request was made very clear multiple times during the public meeting.

The issue stems from actions Culver took in November of last year when he asked for budget-saving ideas from each state department before deciding on Dec. 9 how to cut $40 million from the current state budget. The cuts were largely accomplished by freezing hiring and limiting out-of-state travel.

The governor and his staff, however, have repeatedly declined to share the proposals with the public, asserting that the recommendations are privileged communications between the governor and employees of the executive branch.

Republicans and open record advocates have argued that the suggestions not seen by the public could help the state save millions of additional dollars.

Posted 9/8/2009 by IPP Staff

Steelworker Dennis Green says he feels fortunate on Labor Day to have a job.

"We're still selling tires for John Deere tractors" and other farm equipment, said the Des Moines Firestone worker. "We're lucky. We're not looking the recession dead in the eye. A lot of workers are losing jobs or hours or weeks of work."

As job losses mount in Iowa, about 1,000 union members gathered Labor Day in Des Moines to hash over issues such as health care reform, eroding wages and the economy. Gov. Chet Culver and Rep. Leonard Boswell were among the leaders offering hope that state and federal stimulus spending would create jobs for unemployed workers.

"At a time when families are struggling to make a good living, we're investing nearly a $1 billion in Iowa's infrastructure," said Culver, touting his $830 million I-JOBS program that's expected to create or save thousands of jobs. The state also is expected to receive $2.5 billion in federal stimulus spending.

By July, Iowa had lost 47,100 jobs compared with a year earlier and the unemployment rate had climbed to 6.5 percent, the highest it's been in nearly 23 years.

Click here to read complete Des Moines Register article.

Posted 9/4/2009 by IPP Staff

September 4, 2009

McKinley’s Memos

Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley

Iowa’s fiscal house is a mess and Governor Culver and legislative Democrats, who currently control all aspects of state government, have repeatedly ignored the growing budget, spending and financial problems facing Iowa. Instead, they have only pursued a path of additional spending and borrowing that is only making the problem worse. Late last week, State Auditor David Vaudt, the state’s top taxpayer watchdog, once again issued a statement strongly advising Governor Culver and legislative Democrats to immediately take action and get the state’s budget back on solid footing again.

Senate Republicans have real solutions to help solve Iowa’s budget crisis and protect the very family budgets that will be at risk if bold action is not taken soon. We are offering three important solutions that will protect taxpayers, help guard your family budget and keep government living within its means.

First, Senate Republicans will propose and support an amendment to the Iowa Constitution to limit state spending to no more than 99 percent of state revenue. The current budget limitation law does not work and, just last year, Democrats authorized nearly 70 loopholes in the current law to allow their unsustainable spending increases. Only an amendment to the Iowa Constitution can stop lawmakers from creating record setting budget deficits and searching out loopholes to spend more of your hard earned money. Limiting spending to 99 percent of revenue ensures a balanced budget and the annual deposit of money into a rainy day fund. Amending the Iowa Constitution takes a few years so in the meantime, Iowa Republicans pledge not to give approval to any budgets that exceed the 99 percent limit.

Iowa families must live within their means - state government should be no different.

Secondly, Senate Republicans propose requiring a two-thirds supermajority vote of both houses of the Legislature to authorize new state borrowing. Never again should one party have the sole authority to create these long-term debt burdens. At the local level, a 60 percent vote of the people is required to adopt new public debt to ensure there is widespread community support for the projects to be funded. At the state level, a two-thirds supermajority vote of the Legislature will help guarantee the same kind of broad support for similar taxpayer funded efforts.

This year Governor Culver and legislative Democrats passed a series of bonding debt bills designed to create some temporary government work – but not sustainable good jobs. As a result, Iowa taxpayers are on the hook for a $1.7 billion debt over the next 30 years. The average Iowa family’s share of that debt is more than $2,000 and this year’s college freshmen will be nearly 50 years old before that debt is finally paid off.

This debt was passed without a single Republican vote and was done despite statewide polling that showed over 70 percent of Iowans opposed to this debt scheme. Iowans need greater protection from runaway spending and these decisions should require more than a simple majority vote - especially when the repayment of the debt may extend for more than two decades and impact future taxpayers that are not yet born.

I support pay-as-you-go budgets as the best method for funding state programs. However, if borrowing is at some point necessary to meet critical needs, Senate Republicans want to ensure the proposals only move forward if they have broad supermajority support.\

Thirdly, Senate Republicans propose a systematic process wherein every program funded by state government will be sunset (de-authorized) by a date certain unless the governor and Legislature reauthorize that program or policy. This important process will force a thorough top-to-bottom review of every existing program funded by your tax dollars to determine whether the program is an effective and efficient use of tax dollars.

During these difficult economic times, every Iowa family has been forced to gather around their kitchen table and examine every aspect of their personal spending. They ask difficult questions, go line by line through their budget and set new spending priorities to ensure their essential needs are met. Yet, these common sense budgeting practices are rarely seen in government.

Those programs that are no longer relevant or functioning at a high level will be eliminated, reorganized, or the resources diverted to other priorities - just the way Iowa families eliminate spending that no longer meets their needs or fits their budget.

Iowa’s current budgeting practices are broken, inefficient and have led to a bloated and expensive state government that is both unsustainable and a drain on Iowa taxpayers. Senate Republicans will streamline state spending and state programs in a way that protects taxpayers from excessive state spending and ensures a better delivery of services to those in need.

Iowans are looking for answers and I am offering an optimistic vision built on a foundation of common sense solutions and the right priorities. Republicans are working hard to earn the trust of the taxpayers of Iowa and in return, the taxpayers of Iowa should expect a new direction that focuses on keeping government within its means, giving citizens a greater voice and returning to policies that protects your family’s finances while keeping the state’s budget at a responsible and reasonable level.

As always, I welcome hearing from you and can be reached by phone at 515-281-3560 or by e-mail at paul.mckinley@legis.state.ia.us

Paul McKinley

Senate Republican Leader
www.mckinleyforiowa.com
www.facebook.com/paulmckinley
www.twitter.com/mckinleyforiowa

Posted 9/2/2009 by IPP Staff

August was another red-letter month - as in negative growth - for net state tax collections.

Last month's 2.8 percent decline in state revenues marked the seventh straight monthly decline. Legislative Services Agency senior tax analyst Jeff Robinson said November 2008 was the last time tax receipts registered a "true" positive when processing factors didn't artificially skew the numbers.

"I would say that this was a bad month," Robinson said of the 2.8 percent August decline that drove year-to-date receipts to a negative 4.1 percent compared with the first two months of fiscal 2009.

So far, current year revenues lag behind a year ago by $41.5 million and the 4.1 percent decline is below the 0.5 percent yearly drop for fiscal 2010 envisioned by the state Revenue Estimating Conference.

Posted 8/31/2009 by IPP Staff

State Auditor David Vaudt on Friday urged Gov. Chet Culver and leaders of the Democratic-controlled Legislature to consider taking corrective budget action now to avert deeper spending cuts later.

Vaudt issued a statement expressing concern that state tax collections have fallen below projections for four straight months — pointing to a likely revenue shortfall — and that the governor has not reconvened the state Revenue Estimating Conference to get revised revenue projections or consider spending adjustments.

“The longer the governor and Legislature wait to determine what action is warranted to adjust the state budget, the more severe the impact will be on public services,” the auditor said.

“If declining net receipts require, for example, a 3 percent spending cut for the year and the governor waits six months to implement that cut, it will require a 6 percent cut for the remaining year because agencies would need to implement the 3 percent cut in the six months remaining in the fiscal year,” the two-term Republican stated.

Posted 8/28/2009 by IPP Staff

Big agencies like Iowa's Department of Human Services are likely places a team of consultants will scour for budget-cutting ideas in the next four months, the president of the consulting firm hired by Gov. Chet Culver said Thursday.

Eric Schnurer, president of Public Works Inc. of West Chester, Pa., said the biggest agencies are often the ones in which savings and inefficiencies are easiest to identify.

"I haven't been told anything is off the table," said Schnurer, whose firm is being tapped to help resolve a shortfall of $900 million or more projected for the state's 2011 budget year.

Schnurer said he and his team of eight to 10 consultants will have their work cut out for them: Culver has given them four months to do a complete review of spending across state government. The process, he said, usually takes about eight months.

"This is the shortest turnaround that we've had" for any such project, he said.

Click here to read the entire article.

The Des Moines Register
Lee Rood

Posted 8/27/2009 by IPP Staff

State officials are seeking $46 million in federal aid to support three passenger rail applications for Iowa under the government economic stimulus package.

Gov. Chet Culver said Wednesday the requests to the Federal Railroad Administration seek $2 million for planning activities for passenger-rail service along the entire Chicago-to-Omaha corridor, and another $44 million to reduce congestion and delays along the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe line through southern Iowa.

The BNSF line carries Amtrak's California Zephyr, which makes stops in Burlington, Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa, Osceola and Creston. The projects involve installation of high-speed crossovers and improvements to the track, the governor said.

"It's time for Iowa to 'Get on Board,'" Culver said in a statement. "The $3 million in my I-JOBS legislation was the first spike in improving current and establishing additional intercity passenger rail service in Iowa; the (federal) Recovery Act funds will help us get the trains rolling."

Posted 8/25/2009 by IPP Staff

Gov. Chet Culver's staff this week is finishing plans to spend $300,000 to hire a government efficiency company, hoping to find new savings to close a budget shortfall of as much as $1 billion for 2011.

Culver could have referred to an existing road map for cost-cutting and government reinvention that he inherited from former Gov. Tom Vilsack, a fellow Democrat.

During his eight years as governor, Vilsack and his top administrators spent an extraordinary amount of time, state resources and money - $6.35 million - working with another company to devise a new model of how state government could run during lean times.

But Culver abandoned the state's relationship with that Minnesota firm and scrapped its model of rewarding state agencies and department heads for meeting performance-based goals, such as raising new revenue or reaching agreed-upon quality benchmarks. Rewards for some state agencies included exemption from more sweeping budget cuts if savings were realized, while granting them freedom from bureaucratic rules that could cost time and money.

Instead, Culver has invoked a more top-down approach to budget cutting that promises to include another round of across-the-board cuts for next year, coupled with a more modestly priced approach to finding efficiencies, top state administrators say.

Culver spokesman Troy Price said the governor wants to harness all of his executive decision-making authority to make the tough decisions ahead, without being restricted by agreements made in the past.

"When we saw what was coming down the road, we decided we needed all the tools possible at our disposal," he said.

The state auditor's office and others have projected next year's shortfall could represent as much as 15 percent to 20 percent of the state's budget, although Culver's staff contends it's smaller. Culver has solicited ideas from state agencies and has pledged to work with a legislative committee charged with reorganizing state government.

Posted 8/24/2009 by IPP Staff

A grim state unemployment report Friday gave Iowans little reason to believe the worst of a recession is behind them:

- The unemployment rate spiked to 6.5 percent from 6.2 percent in July and 4.1 percent a year earlier. The last time Iowa's jobless rate was that high was nearly 23 years ago. It could push to above 7 percent before an economic recovery takes hold, says one expert.

Still, few expect the state to return to the highs of the 1980s farm crisis, when the unemployment rate was 8.5 percent for six straight months.

"We're a long ways from that. The economy would have to get significantly worse," said Kerry Koonce, a spokeswoman for Iowa Workforce Development.

- The state lost 47,100 nonfarm jobs in July compared with a year earlier. Most of the losses came from manufacturing, climbing to 30,900 compared with a year earlier. Iowa added jobs last month in professional and business services, construction, and leisure and hospitality, but the gains only shaved year-over-year losses.

July was the sixth consecutive month of job loss, said Iowa Workforce Development.

- The number of unemployed Iowans grew to 109,100, an increase of 39,800 workers over July 2008. There were 5,600 more unemployed workers than in June.

At the same time, Iowa's labor force is shrinking, mostly likely because discouraged workers have stopped looking for jobs, said Ernie Goss, an economist at Creighton University in Omaha. Iowa had 3,700 fewer workers looking for employment from June to July.

Click here to read more.

Des Moines Register
Donnelle Eller

Posted 8/21/2009 by IPP Staff

How does the Governor of Iowa show up at the ground breaking of a new state building and NOT know how it got there? 

Must see video here... click below to watch.



 

Posted 8/21/2009 by IPP Staff

August 21, 2009 | For Immediate Release
Contact: Don McDowell (515.281.6043)

McKinley Statement on Iowa’s New Unemployment Rate
2009 session was missed opportunity to grow Iowa’s private sector economy

DES MOINES, IA – Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley (R-Chariton) issued the following statement today in response to the new 23-year high unemployment rate figures released today by Iowa Workforce Development today showing over 109,000 unemployed Iowans:

“Today's unemployment numbers are another unfortunate reminder why Governor Culver and legislative Democrats’ agenda of higher taxes on disaster victims, unbalanced budgets, record deficits and unpopular billion dollar debt schemes is the wrong direction for Iowa.
 
While Democrats failed to talk about jobs and instead obstructed Republican legislation that will grow Iowa’s economy during the legislative session, Republicans will continue to offer smart solutions for growing Iowa’s economy and cutting Iowa’s government because our state cannot afford to continue down Governor Culver and legislative Democrats’ path of fiscal mismanagement and inexcusable inaction on creating sustainable job opportunities in the private sector.”

Posted 8/18/2009 by IPP Staff

Tax breaks will take a $160 million bigger bite out of Iowa's revenue this year than last, including sizable increases for movie productions and historic renovations, a state report released Monday shows.

The $478 million total projected cost of tax breaks - a 50 percent spike from the previous year - will place more stress upon an already troubled state budget, both Democrats and Republicans acknowledged.

The $478 million projection is roughly $43 million higher than one published four months ago.

The additional cost could ultimately jeopardize money allocated to government services that offer protection and safety to citizens through such programs as food inspections and disease prevention, state officials agreed.

The report prompted some government reform advocates to renew their call Monday for a moratorium on any new Iowa government tax breaks.

"The budget situation we're in now is at least as much a reason of declining revenues through giveaway programs as spending," said Victor Elias of the Child and Family Policy Center, which advocates for state spending in support of those groups.

Click here to read the entire article.

Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth

Posted 8/17/2009 by IPP Staff

State Auditor Dave Vaudt has a new presentation about the state budget and he's ready to hit the road. Vaudt, a Republican, charges Democrat Governor Chet Culver's recent budget numbers are bogus, and he's put together charts and graphs to make his point.

"It's very important that the information that we provide to the public is all the information that the public needs to make the appropriate conclusions," Vaudt says. "Omissions of certain facts can be very confusing for people."

Read the entire article here.

Radio Iowa
O.Kay Henderson

Posted 8/13/2009 by Chris Rants

SIOUX CITY, IA – Rep. Chris Rants released the following in response to the ongoing national healthcare debate and the added costs it would bring to state government. 

“Iowa taxpayers can’t afford the $630 Million increase in state spending that will be mandated under any of the three versions of Obama-care being discussed in Congress,” stated Representative Christopher Rants. “Congress is out of touch, and the cost is too much.”

“With all the outrage being expressed at congressional town halls over Obama’s public healthcare option, I’m worried that important details are being ignored – like the cost to our state government.  We need a governor to speak up and tell congress that a $630 million increase in spending is something Iowa taxpayers can’t afford.  Unfortunately Governor Culver has never seen a spending plan he didn’t like, no matter the cost to taxpayers and future generations.”

“The Kennedy-Dodd proposal would put another 335,879 adults on Medicaid at a cost of $629,604,166.  We are able to establish that number and cost because just a year ago the Iowa legislature commissioned a study by the Lewin Group to analyze the cost of exactly that change.”

Medicaid eligibility is restricted, on average, to families earning 68 percent of the poverty level, or about $15,000 for a family of four in 2009. Childless adults who are not disabled are generally excluded from the program.  Under the Kennedy-Dodd proposal the adult eligibility for Medicaid would increase to 150% of the poverty level. According to the Lewin Group study, 85,383 parents could be covered at a cost of $391 per month.  The study also found that 250,496 childless adults could be covered at a cost of $439 per month.  The total annual cost of providing Medicaid coverage to the 335,879 Iowans identified by Lewin would be $1,720,229,964.  Iowa’s share of this would be $629,604,166 as the state pays about 1/3 of Medicaid costs, with the federal government picking up the rest.

“Just last week, Senator Baucus was quoted in Congressional Quarterly as saying ‘we cannot let U.S. taxpayers pay the full state bill’ for expanding Medicaid.  The Blue Dog Democrats in the House have already moved to have the states pay.  Well, how do they expect Iowans to pay this bill?” added Rants.

“Iowa will spend just over one billion dollars on Medicaid this year.  What Congress is proposing would be a 60 percent increase in that budget – something taxpayers simply cannot afford.”

Posted 8/10/2009 by IPP Staff

Government in Iowa spends more money on lobbying state government than any other type of industry except business, an analysis by The Des Moines Register shows.

The Register also found that it's impossible to know exactly how much money is spent on lobbying because many clients - and some highly paid lobbyists - don't follow all the rules.

An analysis of the data, flaws and all, shows that clients shelled out more than $13.7 million to lobby state lawmakers, the governor and state agencies in the past year. Taxpayers paid for more than $1.8 million of that, according to lobbyist client reports. That's far less than the $7.8 million spent on lobbying by businesses and their associations.

The analysis sheds light on what organizations are spending for lobbying and who's earning it.

"The citizens of Iowa have the right to know who is being paid and how much to influence the laws and rules that all of us have to live by," said Charlie Smithson, director of the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

Click here to read entire article.

Des Moines Register
Jennifer Jacobs

Posted 8/10/2009 by IPP Staff

Gov. Chet Culver huddled with key economic advisers, conceding the ravages the recession has dealt the state but saying he won't be driven by "doom and gloom" because there are early signs of recovery.

"I'm an optimist by nature," the governor said. "I have faith there are better times ahead."

That was the message the governor was getting from his key economic advisers, who generally said the recession is slowing, though a turnaround isn't likely until next year.

"I'm delighted to say that things look slightly stronger," said University of Iowa economist Charles Whiteman. "The general picture here is I'm very, very cautiously optimistic about the turn."

Whiteman noted that personal income is projected to fall by roughly 1 percent in 2009, but his forecast sees that number growing by about 1.2 percent next year. He said the biggest worry most economist have is employment, which is projected to remain tepid even in to next year.

Posted 8/7/2009 by IPP Staff

Governor Chet Culver says he's "getting the job done" and is unconcerned about criticism from Republicans who say he's misleading Iowans about the state's finances.

Earlier this week Culver's budget director touted a small uptick in state tax receipts in July, while the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency concluded overall state tax collection still lag behind last year. The chairman of the Republican Party says Culver either doesn't understand the budget or is intentionally misleading Iowans. Culver, a Democrat, says that's just rhetoric.

"We're coming up on an election year and I think what you're seeing is a lot of kind of political rhetoric and any number of people considering running for governor and that sometimes can add to the level of partisanship," Culver says.

Click here to read the entire article.

Radio Iowa
O.Kay Henderson

Posted 8/6/2009 by IPP Staff

Democratic Iowa Gov. Chet Culver on Wednesday rejected suggestions from Republicans that he convene a panel of budget experts to deal with potential spending cuts in state spending.

The governor said much of the criticism he's getting on his handling of the state's budget is sparked by the looming gubernatorial election.

Culver said it's important to wait until there is a clearer picture on state tax collections, adding that those collections have been strong enough in the first months of the budget year to wait until fall before making a decision on possible budget cuts.

"It's very important to wait until all the numbers are in," Culver said. "We have about 60 days to go to get a complete and accurate look at the budget picture."

The state's budget year began July 1, and that the governor has said state tax collection grew by more than 1 percent during that month, a number Republicans dispute.

Click here to read the entire article.

Associated Press
Mike Glover

Posted 8/5/2009 by IPP Staff

In the face of a steady stream of worrisome economic news, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver consistently expresses unshakable confidence in the state's financial prospects.

Optimism is fine, but the truth is nobody can say for sure what the state's economy will do over the next 12 months, and there is little evidence of a turnaround coming anytime soon.

Although Culver acknowledges that state government may yet be in for more painful cuts, his sunny outlook rests on slim evidence. In a statement Monday, Culver said new state revenue figures for July "suggest we may be seeing the early signs of improvement in the economy." The July numbers, however, are not terribly reassuring, and one month by itself is not enough to support long-range projections.

The governor's office took advantage of a one-time accounting change to say state sales-tax receipts were up by nearly 41 percent last month compared to the month of July a year ago. That figure, however, included revenue from the 1-cent sales tax collected by the state and distributed to public schools for building projects. When that amount is deducted, actual sales-tax revenues went up just 1.9 percent.

Click here to read the entire article.

Des Moines Register

Now check out our "Rose-Colored Glasses" article from 2008.  Real_Truth_Economy.pdf

Posted 8/4/2009 by IPP Staff

A message that went out over the weekend via Twitter said the Rebuild Iowa Office had been flooded. R-I-O's Intergovernmental Affairs Director Susan Judkins posted a message calling the incident ironic. She wrote "R-I-O is recovering from a weekend flood in the office caused by burst drinking fountain pipes in the Wallace Building."

But R-I-O spokesperson, Tina Potthoff, says there wasn't a flood and it's not ironic. " We had a minor leak in the drinking fountain in our area that was found over the weekend. It was clean water. We don't have standing water but we do have a dehumidifier and floor fans that are going to make sure the space is properly dried," Potthoff said.

Click here to read the entire article.

Radio Iowa
Darwin Danielson

Posted 8/3/2009 by IPP Staff

A report on the Iowa Power Fund shows it has created only 100 jobs but could generate many more if state-backed alternative energy projects are successful.

The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency, which researches issues for lawmakers and prepared the report, said $47.7 million from the four-year Power Fund has been matched by $85 million in federal funding and $101 million in private money. The money has financed a number of alternative energy projects such as biofuel production and the storing of energy generated by wind turbines.

Ron Robinson, a senior analyst for the Legislative Services Agency, said that if the projects succeed, they could create 850 to 1,000 jobs.

Despite the potential for future jobs, some critics focused on the small number created so far.

"I don't know many Iowans who think spending a half-million dollars per job is a very good return on investment," said Sioux City Rep. Christopher Rants, who is seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

Click here to read the entire article.

Associated Press
Mike Glover

Posted 8/3/2009 by IPP Staff

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver says $5 million in state money is now available to assist those whose homes were damaged in last year's flooding.

Culver says the housing money can help with mortages or down payments on replacement homes. The bulk of the money, about $2.3 million, will go to the Cedar Rapids area.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Associated Press

Posted 8/3/2009 by IPP Staff

The governor's office and the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency disagree over the latest data on state tax revenue.

The governor's office concludes overall state tax collections are up about 1.2 percent, while the Legislative Services Agency analysis concludes tax collections dropped about six percent. It's a bit of a bookkeeping dispute.

Both agree personal income tax payments to the state fell by about six percent in July of 2009 compared to July of 2008. The difference of opinion is how to explain the nearly 41 percent increase in sales and use tax payments to the state. Dick Oshlo, Governor Culver's budget director, says it's a "healthy increase" that may indicate there's been a turn in the economy.

"Hopefully, it's reflective of some good news that we're hearing on the national economy and some reports even on the Midwest states that the recession may be softening and we may see some hope in the future," Oshlo says.

But the Legislative Services Agency notes a one-month bookkeeping change inflates the sales and use tax payments by about $40 million -- and that means there was no "healthy increase" in sales taxes

Posted 7/31/2009 by IPP Staff

Tens of thousands of unsafe or decaying bridges carrying 100 million drivers a day must wait for repairs because states are spending stimulus money on spans that are already in good shape or on easier projects like repaving roads, an Associated Press analysis shows.

President Barack Obama urged Congress last winter to pass his $787 billion stimulus package so some of the economic recovery money could be used to rebuild what he called America's "crumbling bridges." Lawmakers said it was a historic chance to chip away at the $65 billion backlog of deficient structures, often neglected until a catastrophe like the Minneapolis bridge that collapsed two years ago this Saturday.

States, however, have other plans. Of the 2,476 bridges scheduled to receive stimulus money so far, nearly half have passed inspections with high marks, according to federal data. Those 1,123 sound bridges received such high inspection ratings that they normally would not qualify for federal bridge money, yet they will share in more than $1.2 billion in stimulus money.

The wooden bridge built in 1900 carrying Harlan Springs Road in Berkeley County, W.Va., is one of the nation's unsafe structures not being repaired. About 2,700 cars cross it every day. But with holes in the wooden deck and corroded railings and missing steel poles, only one car at a time can travel the 300-foot rickety span.

The bridge is an example of how Obama's call to spend recovery money quickly — on "shovel ready" projects to get people back to work — has clashed with other goals of the stimulus, such as targeting high-unemployment areas and rebuilding the nation's infrastructure. State transportation officials say the need for speed makes it hard to funnel money into needy counties or to take on extensive bridge repairs that can involve years of planning and construction.

Click here to read the entire article.

Associated Press
Brett J. Blackledge and Matt Apuzzo

Posted 7/31/2009 by IPP Staff

Posted 7/30/2009 by IPP Staff

With tax revenue plunging and states struggling to balance their budgets, officials from several states acknowledged Wednesday that they're more focused on immediate problems than long-term issues.

Officials from 10 states gathered in Des Moines to discuss how they were handling billions of dollars from the federal stimulus and hopefully learn what has worked and what hasn't.

For many, the lesson seemed to be that when the economy is troubled, they don't have time to worry about what will happen when the federal funding runs out.

"We're down $1 billion in revenue and it's continuing to fall," said Leslee Fritz, who is heading economic recovery efforts in Michigan, which has been especially hard hit by the slumping economy. "We'll use a lot of the money just treading water."

Other states also have used the federal money primarily to keep their heads above water.

"The way it's being rolled out is stabilizing state budgets," said Mark Cavanaugh, who works out of the Colorado governor's office.

Tom Hanson, a Minnesota budget official, said his state would have faced a financial disaster without the stimulus money.

Click here to read the entire article.

Associated Press
Mike Glover

Posted 7/27/2009 by IPP Staff

Though Gov. Chet Culver is pushing passenger rail service from Iowa City to Chicago, at least some people are saying buses are better travel options.

Eugene Hibbs, station agent for Burlington Trailways and Greyhound in Iowa City, said buses are cheaper, faster and more environmentally friendly. And they’re available today without spending billions of taxpayer dollars.

Hibbs won’t say how many people make the Iowa City-to-Chicago trip by bus, though he conceded it’s a fraction of the 187,000 passengers the Iowa Department of Transportation estimates for an Iowa-Chicago rail connection.

“Where are they coming from?” Hibbs said. Achieving that total, he said, will take more than Iowans making a once-a-year pilgrimage to Wrigley Field or an annual Chicago shopping vacation.

Click here to read the entire article.

GazetteOnline
James Lynch

Posted 7/24/2009 by IPP Staff

Economists warn that the success of Iowa's $830 million I-JOBS program depends upon how long the national economy remains in the dumps.

Posted 7/24/2009 by IPP Staff

Plans for a study needed to revive Des Moines-to-Chicago passenger train service have been put on a side track at least until next year, state officials say.

But Amtrak passenger train service to Dubuque and the Quad Cities appears likely in about two years.

Amtrak had been expected to complete a feasibility study sometime this year for twice-daily train service between Des Moines and Chicago. But the railroad has been deluged with requests for studies elsewhere in the wake of a national push to expand passenger train service, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said in Chicago.

As a result, Amtrak won't finish the Des Moines study until money issues are resolved to ensure service between Chicago and Iowa City, Magliari said. An Amtrak report in 2008 suggested an Iowa City passenger train could start operating if about $32 million could be obtained to upgrade Iowa tracks and signals.

Click here for the complete article.

Des Moines Register
William Petroski

Posted 7/23/2009 by IPP Staff

Needs and wants are many, and the competition for $118.5-million in state I-JOBS funds to help pay for local disaster-recovery projects is getting intense.

The City Council on Tuesday sorted through a previously pared-down list of priority city projects and decided its top priority among 10 priorities is to get I-JOBS help to upgrade the city-owned U.S. Cellular Center.

At the same time, council members acknowledged that none of the city projects was guaranteed to succeed in a statewide competition in which 190 projects seeking more than $500 million in help have now made application.

Of the 190 projects, 16 are from the city of Cedar Rapids, two from Linn County and five others from Cedar Rapids non-profit entities. 

Click here to read more.

The Gazette
Rick Smith

Posted 7/23/2009 by IPP Staff

Gov. Chet Culver this morning announced roughly $100 million in road and bridge projects through a program that will pump Iowa’s debt up by more than $600 million.

“Today, I’m proud to announce that, within a matter of days, these funds will be flowing to every community in Iowa,” Culver said at a press conference at the Des Moines Public Works Yard on the city’s southeast side.

Lawmakers this year approved Culver’s $830 million I-JOBS plan. The money will be used to improve Iowa's roads and bridges, invest in renewable energy, increase water quality, and improve public facilities, such as the Iowa Veterans Home.

Democrats have long said the program would help retain or create thousands of jobs and help improve the state’s economy. Republicans have voiced concerns that long-term debt payments will burden the state’s future budgets. Iowa had $292 million in debt before taking on the additional debt for I-JOBS.

Click here to read more.

Posted 7/17/2009 by IPP Staff

Iowa's government this week took on $601 million in debt in a move that reignited political debate about the move's necessity.

"We're now stuck with this debt, so we need this to work, but it still seems that we would have been better off to pay as you go," said House Republican leader Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha.

The money is largely to pay for Gov. Chet Culver's $830 million I-JOBS program. The money will be used to improve Iowa's roads and bridges, invest in renewable energy, increase water quality, and improve public facilities, such as the Iowa Veterans Home.

One of the goals of the program is to create jobs and help stabilize Iowa from the negative effects of the national economy.

The money will be paid back in a period of 25 to 30 years, costing $43 million a year in debt payments, which are to be financed by gambling revenue. Total interest payments will cost the state $438 million during the life of the loans.

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth

Posted 7/15/2009 by IPP Staff

Today we're bringing you round three of our "I-DEBT" spending analysis.  IPP’s “I-DEBT” series will lay out each project and let you determine how wisely your tax dollars are being spent to help those affected by the floods.

City of Cedar Rapids, Paramount Theater ($5 million):

The Paramount Theater received I-DEBT funding to restore and rehabilitate the theater.
 
The historical theater is in need of repair after flooding but the $5 million in funding is being used to make improvement above and beyond what was damaged.

Taxpayer dollars targeted for flood relief will help expand the backstage areas, add a pre-function bar/café, build a new parking ramp, and install state-of-the-art light and sound systems.

What is most frustrating about this approved project is the reasoning behind the appropriations.  Expanding the theater will supposedly make it more attractive to travelling shows, therefore keeping event costs down.  This confusing logic must be hard to stomach for those still living in FEMA trailers.

Even more confusing was Governor Culver’s announcement on Monday for Vision Iowa’s first award to a project recovering from last year's floods.  The "flood recovery" project is the renovation of the Iowa Theatre Building, home of Theatre Cedar Rapids.

You read that correctly, more flood relief money is going to restore ANOTHER Cedar Rapids theatre.

The project will expand and renovate the Iowa Theatre Building by adding a new digital marquee, a bigger lobby, new dressing rooms, make-up rooms, costume construction, microphone storage, and rehearsal space.

Vision Iowa awarded $1.5 million to the theatre project.

Again, Governor Culver’s justification for the funding is puzzling.  “The Theatre Cedar Rapids project is the Vision Iowa Board’s first opportunity to assist in flood recovery,” said Governor Culver. “I know the Board is excited to be part of the recovery in Cedar Rapids. They understand how this project leverages additional investment in downtown—a critical factor for recovery and rebound in Cedar Rapids.”

If Governor Culver and the Vision Iowa Board truly wanted to assist in flood recovery, they should put Cedar Rapids flood victims back into their homes before investing in community luxuries.

Follow the analysis at www.debtculver.com as more projects will be addressed in the coming days!

The first eight projects for Governor Culver’s “I-DEBT” bonding scheme were recently approved.  These initial eight projects will split $45.5 million intended for targeted disaster rebuilding to help “communities damaged by last year’s severe weather.”

However, in most instances (like the Paramount Theatre) approved projects will be rebuilt bigger and better than ever, stocked with new amenities.  This is frustrating for many Iowans who feel using taxpayer dollars to improve buildings beyond their pre-flood condition will deprive flood-affected families from getting the housing assistance they still desperately need.

Posted 7/9/2009 by IPP Staff

A poll conducted for TheIowaRepublican.com shows Iowa Gov. Chet Culver with approval from a thin majority of Iowa voters.

The poll commissioned by the GOP-leaning political news and commentarty Website also showed the same percentage said it is time to “give someone else a chance to do better.”

The survey of 500 Iowa voters showed 53 percent approved of the Democrat Culver’s job performance, with 41 percent disapproving.

Likewise, 53 percent said they would give someone else a chance when asked if Culver had “performed his job as governor well enough to deserve re-election.” A little more than a third — 36 percent — said Culver deserves re-election.

Click here for the complete article.

Des Moines Register
Tom Beaumont, Iowa Politics Insider

Posted 7/8/2009 by IPP Staff

A decision by majority Democrats in the Iowa Legislature last session to not “couple” state tax laws with federal tax breaks is hitting some Iowa taxpayers in the pocketbook.

Federal changes offered deductions, exemptions and other advantages for items like disaster-related expenses, business equipment depreciation, education-related expenses, tuition and fees and certain sales tax charges.

The state, however, did not retroactively adopt those deductions for state tax purposes.

That means some income tax filers, who claimed the same benefits on their Iowa returns as on their federal return, likely will owe money to the state treasury, said David Casey of the Iowa Department of Revenue.

Tax accountant Linda Lundahl of Marion estimated that 50 to 70 of her clients at Lundahl Hatt & Austad will have to pay back some of the refund they received because of the mix-up.

Lundahl said tax software and tax booklets from the Iowa Department of Revenue assumed that the Iowa General Assembly would adopt tax relief permitted by a federal law signed by President George W. Bush on Oct. 3, 2008. But that didn’t happen.

Click here to continue reading.

Cedar Rapids Gazette
Rod Boshart

Posted 7/8/2009 by IPP Staff

Iowans know the Governor is good at spending money but is he spending it wisely?

The first eight projects for Governor Culver’s “I-DEBT” bonding scheme were approved last week.  Often touted as an investment in Iowa’s future, the Governor’s plan actually generates huge amounts of debt for the state and very few jobs.  After interest and fees, the final cost of the $830 million plan will cost Iowans a total of $1.7 billion.

These initial eight projects will split $45.5 million intended for targeted disaster rebuilding to help “communities damaged by last year’s severe weather.”

However, in most instances approved projects will be rebuilt bigger and better than ever, stocked with new amenities.  This is frustrating for many Iowans who feel using taxpayer dollars to improve buildings beyond their pre-flood condition will deprive flood-affected families from getting the housing assistance they still desperately need.

Click here for the complete article.

Iowa Progress Project lays out each “I-DEBT” project one by one for you to determine how wisely your tax dollars are being spent to help those affected by the floods.

First on the list: City of Elkader ($500,000)

The city of Elkader received $500,000 to build a new fire station after last year’s flooding.

I-DEBT funding will not only cover the new station but amenities like a brand new helicopter landing pad, additional space for equipment and training, a tornado shelter, and a post-disaster shelter.

The new fire station does not create jobs.  The project spends money that Iowa doesn’t have on a brand new building with all sorts of unnecessary “extras”.  The review committee initially tabled this proposal in order for the applicant to submit additional information.  Even the I-DEBT review board had trouble finding that the project was a good use of taxpayer money.

Follow the analysis at www.debtculver.com as more projects will be addressed in the coming days!

Posted 7/7/2009 by IPP Staff

Some public buildings in Iowa that were severely damaged during last year's floods will be larger or have new amenities when work is completed on them.

And that frustrates some in Cedar Rapids, who say using state and federal money to improve the buildings beyond their pre-flood condition means some needy families will not get assistance.

"The city is using this flood," said Frank King, a neighborhood leader in Cedar Rapids.

"They're going to use the current situation and all the monies that are coming in to rebuild the vision that they think is important."

Iowa's second largest city saw an estimated $5 billion in damage last year after the Cedar River washed out of its banks and covered roughly 1,300 city blocks, according to estimates.

Plans in Cedar Rapids include replacing the Cedar Rapids Public Library with a new building that is 20,000 square feet bigger, building a third floor on top of the existing Cedar Rapids Public Works Building and tripling the size of the National Czech and Slovak Museum.

One national taxpayer group said expanding the facilities could lead to higher taxes because the debt will eventually have to be repaid.

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth

Posted 7/2/2009 by IPP Staff

Vastly different estimates were released Wednesday on how Iowa ended its fiscal year this week, but all projections indicate that Gov. Chet Culver will have to use cash reserves to balance the state budget.

Some political leaders say deep cuts to state services will be required, but others say the state has enough financial cushion to deal with the budget shortfall without cuts being needed.

The Legislature and Culver crafted a budget that assumed the state would have a positive balance of almost $45 million on June 30.

But Culver's staff released information Wednesday that said the state would have $58 million less on hand at the end of the fiscal year than budgeted.

And the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency released information that the budget shortfall will be $161 million.

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth

Posted 7/1/2009 by IPP Staff

Gov. Chet Culver’s financial experts expressed confidence Tuesday the state’s fiscal 2009 budget will end with a positive balance even in the face of eroding tax revenues.

“We think we’re in a position that the governor will be able to balance the budget with the tools he has at hand,” Culver’s budget director Dick Oshlo told reporters during a fiscal briefing. The state constitution prohibits the state from ending the year with a deficit.

“We believe it’s manageable and there will not be a need for a special legislative session,” he added.

Culver’s budget team members said the state’s fiscal position has worsened since the state Revenue Estimating Conference issued revised tax receipt projections in March.

The Legislative Services Agency, which issues its year-end revenue report today, posted a running daily total that indicated net state tax collections would be 5.4 percent less than fiscal 2008 — with each percentage point representing $59 million.

Click here to continue reading.

Globe Gazette
Rod Boshart, Des Moines Bureau

Posted 7/1/2009 by IPP Staff

Iowa is ending the FY 2009 budget year with a budget deficit.  State tax revenues are about $161 million less than expected according to the Department of Revenue and Finance.  Ending the fiscal year with a budget deficit is a violation of the Iowa Constitution.  

Officials from the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA) have previously warned that a deficit would be the likely outcome.  Unfortunately, Governor Culver ignored the cautionings and insisted that Iowa would end FY2009 with a positive balance.
In the face of all the facts and warnings, Governor Culver maintained that the budget would balance and that the numbers would work out.

The Governor's next option is to call the Legislature back for a special session and work on balancing the budget. 

The Iowa Progress Project calls on Governor Chet Culver to do the responsible thing and call a special session of legislature.  This will allow for bipartisan solutions towards balancing the budget and open up discussion for more sensible future spending.

Contact Governor Culver today: 515-281-5211.  Tell him to call a special session and fix the budget deficit.
________________________________________
2010 Budget Tracker!
 
As Iowa ends the 2009 fiscal year, 2010 begins with the largest budget in Iowa history.  Governor Culver’s record $6.3 billion FY2010 budget translates to an astonishing $200 spent every second. 

IPP reset the numbers for 2010 and will display the ticker so you can watch how quickly the Governor spends your money!

Posted 6/30/2009 by Todd Dorman

Misplacing a governor is never good, as we’ve learned in recent days.

You think he’s hiking and it turns out he’s crying in Argentina. So it’s important for Iowans to keep track of our governor, for his sake and ours.

So where is Gov. Chet Culver?

“It’s just like he’s in a state of denial,” said former Gov. Terry Branstad, who, after serving four terms, is an authority on governor tracking.

But I’m not familiar with Denial. Maybe it’s somewhere between Manly and Fertile.

A second opinion?

“He’s living in Fantasyland,” said Bob Vander Plaats, a Republican making his third try to become a located governor.

It turns out Denial and Fantasyland are suburbs of Whopping Budget Mess. And that’s what our governor is sitting in the middle of right now. I suspect he’d rather be in Argentina.

He insists everything’s fine. Nothing to see here, all is well. But the numbers won’t go away.

Click here to continue reading on 24-Hour Dorman.

Posted 6/29/2009 by IPP Staff

Economists warn Iowa will most likely endure another two years of revenue and employment slumps based on past economic statistics, despite the state's ability to buffer the harsher effects of the national recession.

If the predictions are accurate, Iowans can expect delays in state services and the elimination or reduction of even some of the most family-oriented parts of the budget, such as education and health care programs, economists said.

Such cuts were largely avoided in the fiscal year that begins Wednesday because of nearly $530 million in federal stimulus money.

But with only $204 million of stimulus money remaining for the next year, a projected shortfall of more than $900 million and revenues continuing to decline, the budget prognosis for Iowa - and dozens of other states - is troubled.

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth

Posted 6/29/2009 by Bret Hayworth

You want some early summer fashion to pad out your wardrobe? The folks at Iowa Progress Project (”Empowering Iowans with the knowledge and tools to pursue conservative values in their community”) are happy to give you clothing option in the new Debt Culver T-shirts. It’s no secret Iowa Republicans have been greatly displeased with the borrowing and spending by the Democratic-controlled Legislature; now, there’s a T-shirt they can wear to express dissatisfaction with Gov. Chet Culver.

The shirt design hews closely to the green logo Culver used in his 2006 gubernatorial campaign, substituting the rhyme “Debt” for “Chet.” The shirt costs $10, which presumably won’t put purchasers into debt.

The shirt is all part of IPP’s new Web site www.debtculver.com, to educate Iowan’s on the what the IPP says are “Culver’s outrageous spending habits since he took office in 2007.”

Click here to continue reading on Politically Speaking.

Posted 6/29/2009 by IPP Staff

Click here to purchase your Debt Culver t-shirt and check out IPP's newest website www.debtculver.com.

Posted 6/25/2009 by IPP Staff

Terry Branstad, who weathered state budget crunches during the farm crisis of the 1980s, doesn’t think Gov. Chet Culver understands the seriousness of Iowa’s fiscal troubles.

“It’s just like he’s in a state of denial,” the four-term Republican governor said about Culver’s response to indications the state will not have enough cash on hand to cover the state’s bill when the fiscal year closes June 30.

The non-partisan Legislative Services Agency has raised concern that the 45 million ending balance lawmakers anticipated when they adjourned and the governor’s authority to transfer up to $50 million from reserves without legislative approval may not be enough to cover the budget hole at the end of the fiscal year.

“And (Culver) is acting like it’s no problem,” Branstad said about the first-term Democrat.

Click here to continue reading.

Globe Gazette
James Q. Lynch

Posted 6/25/2009 by IPP Staff

DebtCulver.com is a growing coalition of people working together to educate Iowan's on Governor Chet Culver's outrageous spending habits since he took office in 2007. 

The website will feature budget trackers as well as updates and news articles on the Governor's spending.

Take a look at the website and let us know what you think!

Also, don't forget to purchase your Debt Culver t-shirt for $10!  Click here to purchase.

Posted 6/23/2009 by IPP Staff

According to a Survey USA poll, Governor Chet Culver’s disapproval ratings are their highest yet at 51%.  Click here to see the numbers.

This is proof positive that Iowans are rejecting the Governor’s budget practices.  They are tired of his eager spending and his inability to face real economic concerns.

Governor Culver remains defiant in the face of record high unemployment numbers and maintains that Iowa is in a strong financial position.
 
“Iowa remains in a stronger financial position than most states in the nation. We have more than $440 million in cash reserves and a triple-A bond rating.  And of the 42 states reporting unemployment figures today, only 5 have a lower rate than Iowa.”

Reality:  The Iowa Workforce Development recently announced that the state’s unemployment rate for May was 5.8%, up from 5.1% in April.  These were the highest unemployment figures in 22 years.

Governor Culver’s response to high unemployment is to spend more money.

“As Governor, I am committed to moving quickly and aggressively to make the best use of both federal recovery funds as well as the I-JOBS program, our $830 million initiative to improve our state’s infrastructure. These programs will create and retain good jobs all across our state.”

The Governor has stated that the plan will generate up to 30,000 jobs.

Reality:  Governor Culver has overestimated the number of jobs created by 87%.  According to Iowa State University economics professor Dave Swenson, the more realistic number of jobs created is around 4,050.

Governor Culver defends his bonding scheme by claiming it is an investment in the state’s future. 

Reality:  The plan generates an enormous amount of debt for the state and very few jobs.  After all the fees and interest are tallied, the true cost of the $830 billion plan will be over $1.7 billion.  As Senator McKinley (R-Chariton) pointed out, college freshmen will be 50 years old before this debt is paid off.  Ask them if you think this is a good investment in their future.
 
Speaking of debt, Governor Culver is very confident that Iowa will be able to balance its budget regardless of facts presented to him by non-partisan financial institutions.

"We believe, according to my budget director, that we will be able to balance, despite the additional down-lowering of estimates."

Reality: The Legislative Services Agency (LSA) recently announced that state revenue is expected to be about $90 million less for FY 2009 than previously estimated.  LSA also expects Iowa to face a $903 million budget shortfall in 2010, much worse than any other shortfall in recent history.

All of the aforementioned bonding costs are in addition to the Governor’s record spending.  Not only has he increased Iowa’s budget by 21 percent in the last two years but on July 1st, he continues the spending with his FY 2010 budget of $6.3 billion, the largest in state history.

Looking at all the facts, it’s no wonder that Iowan’s are starting to show their disapproval for Governor Culver.  It’s hard to support a Governor who either doesn’t understand Iowa’s economy or just doesn’t want to face reality.

Let us know what you think!  Do you approve or disapprove of the job Governor Chet Culver is doing?

Click here to answer our online poll.

Posted 6/22/2009 by IPP Staff

Gov. Chet Culver was on the defensive again Friday, defending his handling of Iowa's response to a national recession against Republican charges his overspending is killing jobs and digging a financial hole for future generations to fill.

However, Culver, who visited a church-sponsored community center in Coralville to congratulate United Way volunteers and AmeriCorps workers for their help in flood recovery efforts, brushed aside suggestions the state doesn't have enough cash on hand to cover year-end bills.

"It's important for people to separate the political, partisan rhetoric from the facts," he said, referring to comments by potential 2010 challenger Rep. Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City.

Based on a memo from a fiscal analyst with the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency, Rants suggested bills that will come due at the end of the 2009 fiscal year June 30 will exceed the budget's $45 million ending balance and the $50 million the governor can transfer without legislative approval.

Click here to continue reading.

Quad-City Times
James Q. Lynch

Posted 6/19/2009 by IPP Staff

Governor Chet Culver says there's "no need for alarm" about the condition of the state budget, while Republican legislators accuse the Democratic governor of a "wrongheaded" approach to a pending financial crisis.

The state's fiscal year ends June 30th. State tax collections have fallen below expectations, causing some to question whether the budget may wind up in the red. Culver says he does not share those concerns.

"I've been in constant communication with my budget director...and we are meeting with department heads this afternoon and that will be one of the topics of discussion," Culver says. "But we are almost through the end of the fiscal year and we believe we will be able to balance and close the books on the fiscal year."

The state budget plan for the past 12 months has included an ending balance or "cushion" of nearly$50 million. The governor has the authority to transfer up to $50 million out of the state's cash reserve to make the books balance, but a Legislative Services Agency analysis released this week suggests the budget hole may be larger than $100 million.

Click here to continue reading.

Radio Iowa
O. Kay Henderson

Posted 6/19/2009 by IPP Staff

Next Thursday, The Iowa Republican, the American Future Fund, the Iowa Progress Project, and The Bean Walker are hosting a “Conservative Tailgate” before the Republican Party of Iowa’s “Night of the Rising Stars” event at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines, Iowa.

Details of the tailgate:

Location:

Doug and Rochelle Burnett
1510 Center Street, Des Moines

Thursday, June 25
5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Join us for FREE BBQ, FREE beverages and some good old conservative conversation!

Please RSVP by Wednesday, June 24 by calling (515) 720-5250 or email rsvp@americanfuturefund.com

The Burnett home is located 2 1/2 blocks north of Hoyt Sherman Place at the corner of 15th and Center Streets. Parking is available on Center or 16th Streets, or it’s a short walk up 15th Street if you wish to park early at Hoyt Sherman Place.

The event is sponsored by the following entities:

TheIowaRepublican.com
AmericanFutureFund.com
IowaProgressProject.com
TheBeanWalker.com

We look forward to seeing you there. RSVP by clicking HERE.

Posted 6/19/2009 by IPP Staff

Iowa’s unemployment rate rocked upward to a 22-year high in May.

The rate jumped to 5.8 percent in May from 5.1 percent in April, reported Iowa Workforce Development in a news release Friday morning.

One year ago, Iowa's unemployment rate was at 4.0 percent. Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate reached 9.4 percent in May, up from 8.9 percent in April.

“A surge in new labor force entrants combined with a drop in employment pushed the state’s unemployment rate to a 22-year high in May,” said Elisabeth Buck, director of Iowa Workforce Development, in a news release on Friday. “While unemployment may continue to rise for some time, job losses are expected to progressively lessen in the months ahead.”

Click here to continue reading.

KCCI, Des Moines

Posted 6/18/2009 by IPP Staff

Despite a strained budget, state economic development leaders plan to spend $25,000 to host about 40 companies at the John Deere Classic golf tournament next month.

July's event is scaled back from last year, when the department spent nearly $40,000, said Kay Snyder, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Economic Development. It will be the 18th year the agency has hosted the corporate get-together - this year on July 10-11 - to thank corporations for expanding in Iowa and encourage additional investment.

"It sounds like a boondoggle to me," said Rep. Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, the House minority leader. "I don't understand why we'd spend $25,000 to send a bunch of corporate executives to an out-of-state sporting event."

The July 6-12 tournament in Silvis, Ill., is just east of the Moline headquarters of Deere & Co., Iowa's largest manufacturing employer.

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Donnelle Eller

Posted 6/18/2009 by IPP Staff

Recreational-vehicle maker Winnebago Industries Inc. posted a loss of $8.6 million in its fiscal third quarter, as revenue continued to crumble in the face of falling motor-home sales.

The Forest Hills, Iowa-based company reported a per-share loss of 29 cents per share for the quarter ended May 30. It earned $3 million, or 10 cents per share, last year.

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Associated Press

Posted 6/17/2009 by IPP Staff

It appears likely all the money in the state of Iowa’s wallet and all of its overdraft protection may not be enough to cover the bills coming due at the end of the fiscal year.

Based on current numbers, a Legislative Services Agency fiscal analyst predicted Tuesday the state will spend all of the $45 million ending balance legislators anticipated when they adjourned in April. Gov. Chet Culver has the authority to transfer $50 million from reserve accounts, but that may not cover the bills, the agency’s Jeff Robinson said.

Robinson said there is plenty of money in state reserves to cover the overage, but Culver will have to go to the Legislature to get more than the $50 million he can draw on his own authority.

It is premature to speculate on what the final budget numbers will look like, a Culver spokesman said after reviewing the agency’s memo.

“There are always ups and downs during the fiscal year, but there is no clear evidence that this is anything more than a normal month-to-month variation,” Troy Price said.

“We’re going to be right at the edge,” House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said after seeing the projection.

The ending balance and the governor’s transfer authority may be enough to close the books on fiscal 2009. he said, “But now there’s no question we’re looking at a $1 billion budget problem next year.”

Click here to continue reading.

Cedar Rapdis Gazette
James Q. Lynch, Des Moines Bureau

Posted 6/17/2009 by IPP Staff

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says one year after the flooding and tornadoes the number of Iowans living in temporary housing has dropped below 300. The peak saw 564 people living in the temporary units in October of 2008 in the months right after the disasters.

FEMA spokesman Alan Cross says those living in the mobile homes are re-certified monthly to see where they stand. Cross says an individual assistance specialist talks with the people each month to see where they are in their housing plan -- whether they plan to look into renting a place or the progress they are making in rebuilding their home. Some 72 Iowans have expressed interest in purchasing the trailers from FEMA.

Click here to continue reading.

Radio Iowa
Darwin Danielson

Posted 6/15/2009 by IPP Staff

Two of Iowa's congressmen are making direct appeals to General Motors and Chrysler executives, asking that dealers targeted for closure get a second chance, or at least a public explanation of the decision.

Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo who's a member of the House Oversight Committee, spoke directly to auto executives who were testifying before the committee.

"When you talk about these dealer closures, you're not just talking about the application of economic principles and mathematical formulations. You're talking about the impact on people's lives in every congressional district in this country," Braley said. "...When these dealerships close, they don't just take away the opportunity to buy and get service for your cars and trucks, they take away the lifeblood of these communities."

Click here to continue reading.

Radio Iowa
O. Kay Henderson

Posted 6/15/2009 by IPP Staff

Ron Sims and Sharon Clinton are examples of the continued struggles, frustration and heartache Iowa residents face on this one-year anniversary of the 2008 floods.

"I've learned that the state and federal governments' response to disaster recovery does not work," Sims said in a speech here Saturday before local and state officials. "The government tells us they have sent millions of dollars in disaster aid to Iowans, but Cedar Rapids alone has lost billions of dollars in infrastructure, housing and businesses."

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth

Posted 6/12/2009 by IPP Staff

Jaylynn Banks and her family have moved four times since the Cedar River burst its banks last June and flooded a huge swath of Cedar Rapids, including their neighborhood.

Their home, like those of hundreds of others here, is too damaged to inhabit, so they pay rent along with their mortgage, all on an annual income of about $20,000 after taxes. With their living situation in constant flux, Banks said they've been living day-to-day, unable to plan for the future.

"A lot of families have future plans. We're going to do this this summer. We're going to do this next year. We cannot do that," said Banks, who has pasted colorful signs, including one reading "Obama, please help us," in and around her damaged home.

Since the June 13, 2008, flood, which was among the most destructive natural disasters in U.S. history, most Cedar Rapids residents have been able to renovate, rebuild or move on.

But a hole in the government's disaster relief net has left many residents deep in debt and more than 1,000 households still waiting to learn what will happen to their damaged homes. For many, the emergency cash they received has dried up and long-term assistance has yet to kick in, leaving them holding mortgages for unusable homes.

"People are literally hanging on by their fingernails. They're paying two mortgages in many situations on a ruined house or a house that no longer exists," said Karla Goettel, founder of a local flood-relief organization.

Click here to continue reading.

Sioux City Journal
Nigel Duara, Associated Press

Posted 6/11/2009 by IPP Staff

Cedar Rapids owners awaiting buyouts of their flood-damaged homes here did the calculations months ago.

Some of the math, it turns out, added in hopeful thinking and missed some subtraction.

Flood victims now are learning of a new wrinkle that will change the amount of buyout money for some flood victims — they will get less — even as news arrived this week that a fresh infusion of federal dollars is coming to Cedar Rapids to help pay for buyouts. The city says it may cost $175 million to buy out 1,300 flood-damaged homes and other properties.

That some will pocket less from a buyout than they had figured is happening for an odd reason: Iowa’s unique Jumpstart program.

The Jumpstart program provided significant funds not usually provided in disasters, funds that allowed some who lost their homes to have up to $50,000 in cash to make down payments on another home. The assistance helped people start over even as the buyout process slogged along.

The local Jumpstart office says, to date, 383 households are in new homes using Jumpstart down payment assistance totaling $8.8 million — or about $23,000 a household on average. The assistance is in the form of a five-year forgivable loan.

Click here to continue reading.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette
Rick Smith

Posted 6/11/2009 by IPP Staff

A panel of lawmakers has voted to trim the budget for the legislative branch of state government by 10 percent. The $4 million reduction is for the budgeting year that starts July 1.

Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal says there'll be a pay freeze for legislative branch employees for at least a year.

"We're fully aware things are very tight and we will deal as things happen," Gronstal says. "We will deal with whatever requires to balance the budget."

Gronstal and other Democratic leader control the legislative agenda and they plan to save more money by shortening the 2010 legislative session by 10 days.  Travel restrictions are in place, too. Republicans back the plan, but some argue broader cuts are needed across all of state government.

Senator Jerry Behn, a Republican from Boone, says legislators should hold a special legislative session to get a handle on the budget.

Click here to continue reading.

Radio Iowa
O. Kay Henderson

Posted 6/10/2009 by IPP Staff

The U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development will tour flood-damaged areas of Cedar Rapids today. Secretary Shaun Donovan also will announce his agency is forwarding just over half a billion dollars worth of "Community Development Block Grants" to the State of Iowa for flood recovery.

Congressman Dave Loebsack, a Democrat from Mount Vernon, says that $517 million will be distributed by the state, and much of it can be used for property buy-outs.

"Certainly having the secretary on the ground making this announcement is very important for the people of Cedar Rapids and the people of Iowa," Loebsack says.

In addition, Iowa officials will be able to apply for grants from a newly-created "Disaster Recovery Enhancement Fund" that contains over $300 million -- to finance projects that could help prevent property damage in the future.

Click here to continue reading.

Radio Iowa
O. Kay Henderson

Posted 6/10/2009 by IPP Staff

The final toll the flood of 2008 exacted from local businesses may never be definitively calculated.

Even city officials admit they can't put an exact cost to the businesses.

"That information is pretty difficult, if not impossible, to come across," said Aric Schroeder, Waterloo city planner.

A rough estimate he offered was $34 million in property damage.

According to federal government figures, as of May 18, the U.S. Small Business Administration had received 498 loan applications for $28.3 million for disaster aid in Black Hawk County.

For businesses that found themselves inundated for days and weeks, money was just one headache.

Click here to continue reading.

WCF Courier
Jim Offner

Posted 6/10/2009 by IPP Staff

Culver plays Chicken

Time is running out to make up for Governor Culver’s out of control spending in 2009.  Iowa’s fiscal year ends on June 30 and it looks like the state is headed toward a nearly $100 million deficit.

Posted 6/9/2009 by IPP Staff

One of the six candidates for the post of Cedar Rapids’ flood recovery director has removed himself from consideration.

D.A. Christian, most recently the director of emergency management for Kansas City, Mo., has dropped out of the process, Connie Huber, Cedar Rapids’ human resources director, said Monday at a public meeting for the candidates.

Huber didn’t provide details on the reason for Christian’s decision.

The remaining candidates are two current Cedar Rapids managers: Greg Eyerly, utilities operations manager, and Brian Giachino, a fire battalion chief; and George Hollins, business manager at the University of Iowa, Tom Watson, Palo’s flood-recovery manager, and Sara Jones, an emergency management planner in New Jersey.

Click here for the article.

Cedar Rapids Gazette

Posted 6/8/2009 by IPP Staff

Virtually every state in the country is grappling with budget shortfalls.

Billions of federal economic-stimulus dollars have helped them avoid some cuts to health care, education and other vital services. Iowa was among those rescued by Washington.

But Iowa is not out of the woods. In fact, the woods are starting to look even thicker up ahead.

Recent projections from the Legislative Services Agency expect Iowa to face a $903 million budget shortfall in 2010 - about 14 percent of the state's budget and far worse than other shortfalls in recent history. Even with the remaining stimulus money, the gap still could be about $700 million.

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Editorial

Posted 6/8/2009 by Todd Dorman

On Thursday evening, Cedar Rapids will bury a 50-year time capsule to commemorate last year’s flood.

I think it’s a good idea.

The capsule will include several relics, such as the ironic 2008 Year of the River proclamation, print, video and audio news coverage, letters from children telling their flood stories, an unused sandbag and other items.

All appropriate. But I’d add a few more items.

I’d throw in that infamous broken flood gauge, the one that failed just when we needed it most, and a stack of flood crest forecasts, the ones that turned out to be just a few feet off target in the end. I think it’s important for folks in the future to know just how surprised we all were when the river smashed history to smithereens. Didn’t see that coming.

Click here to continue reading on 24-Hour Dorman.

Posted 6/8/2009 by IPP Staff

Click here to take our online poll today!

Tell us if you think the Governor needs to face reality with the latest budget projections. 

Posted 6/5/2009 by IPP Staff

State governments, including Iowa's, are immersed in the worst fiscal period of the past 30 years, according to a national survey released Thursday.

State revenues probably won't hit bottom for several more years, despite signs that the national economy is taking a slow uptick, according to the report.

Iowans should expect future cuts to critical government services such as education, which were avoided in the coming fiscal year because of federal stimulus money, some government advocates said.

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth

Posted 6/5/2009 by IPP Staff

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver on Thursday rejected worries over troubling new budget projections, saying he's confident the state has more than enough money in reserves to meet state needs.

Culver ruled out across-the-board budget cuts or holding a special session to deal with the problem because he's been assured he has the authority and the money to balance the books.

"We believe, according to my budget director, that we will be able to balance, despite the additional down-lowering of estimates," Culver said.

Speaking with reporters on a conference call from Washington, the governor was asked about a report this week from the Legislature's fiscal advisers showing the state's tax revenue more than $90 million less than projections for the fiscal year ending June 30.

Click here to continue reading.

Sioux City Journal
Mike Glover, Associated Press

Posted 6/4/2009 by IPP Staff

Deere & Co. will temporarily lay off almost 700 of the 980 employees at its Ottumwa Works factory, citing the need to align production with market demand.

John Deere Ottumwa Works makes pasture and hay harvesting equipment for livestock producers, who have responded to poor beef market conditions by cutting back on their pastures in favor of more row crop production.

The Moline, Ill., company will lay off 494 workers indefinitely beginning June29. Another 195 workers will, according to Deere’s statement, “face periodic inventory adjustment layoffs throughout the next several months.”

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Jason Pillar

Posted 6/4/2009 by IPP Staff

A Polk County judge on Wednesday ordered Des Moines city officials to refund millions of dollars in franchise fees to residents who have paid gas and electric bills over the past decade.

Critics of the fees said the amount could approach $50 million when interest and court fees are added.

The 5 percent surcharge, tacked on to customers' bills, has been at the center of a five-year legal battle that city leaders vowed to continue in the wake of Judge Joel Novak's ruling.

Click here to continue reading.

Des Moines Register
Grant Schulte and Jason Pulliam

Posted 6/3/2009 by IPP Staff

The Governor recently portrayed critics of the Fiscal Year 2010 budget as purveyors of “doom and gloom.” Since I shared my analysis of that budget with Iowans just last week, I assume he includes me. As your State Auditor, I deal in facts and reality. There is no such thing as Republican or Democrat numbers. Ironically, my budget analysis actually shows that our current projected revenue situation is not nearly as bleak or  “doom and gloom” as the Governor and Legislature want you to believe. The real problem, as my analysis clearly demonstrates, is not a revenue problem but rather a spending problem—Iowa government is simply spending way more than the revenues available.

Posted 6/3/2009 by IPP Staff

Radio Iowa

O.Kay Henderson

Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge says the state is "in a good place" and there won't be a need for dramatic action to balance the state budget in the last few weeks of the fiscal year.

Posted 6/3/2009 by IPP Staff

Des Moines Register

Jason Clayworth

Iowa's state revenue so far this fiscal year is down $90 million more than previous estimates, prompting concern that the state could dip into emergency reserves to balance the budget to avoid an illegal deficit.

Net receipts in the current fiscal year are down 4.5 percent, or $248.4 million, compared with last year, according to the Legislative Services Agency. That's $90.4 million less revenue than what lawmakers based their budgets on before adjourning in late April.

Legislative Services Agency information indicates that steeper revenue declines could be seen in June, pushing the state into illegal deficit spending. If that happens, Gov. Chet Culver could be forced to call a special session to obtain legislative approval to tap further into the state's reserve budgets.

The current estimated ending balance for this year is $44.6 million, and Culver could tap as much as $50 million of the state's emergency reserve fund to balance the budget.

However, information from the Legislative Services Agency shows the $94.6 million may not be enough. Agency employees worry that revenue declines in June will be greater than expected. Click here to read more of the story.

Posted 5/29/2009 by IPP Staff

Quad City Times
James Q. Lynch

Days after the governor signed off on the $6.3 billion 2010 state budget, Democratic leaders are warning that unless the state economy rebounds quickly, balancing the 2011 budget will be difficult.

Not to say putting together the 2010 budget was easy, Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said Thursday in Cedar Rapids, “but the federal stimulus helped us, it made all the difference in the world.”

“If the economy doesn’t turn, next year will be an incredible challenge,” he said.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/29/2009 by IPP Staff

Globe Gazette
James Q. Lynch

The $360 million the Iowa Legislature approved to help communities recover from historic floods and fatal tornadoes may have been the capstone of the 2009 session, but Democratic leaders said Thursday there will be more to do next year.

It will be up to the public to point them in the right direction, House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said during a stop in Cedar Rapids Thursday at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library. The museum on the banks of the Cedar River has received $10 million in state flood recovery assistance.

Cllck here to continue reading.

Posted 5/29/2009 by Iowa Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley (R-Chariton)

Governor Chet Culver made it official this week. He has added his signature of approval to the largest budget in the 163 year history of the state of  Iowa. His record $6.3 billion dollar budget, a compilation of several spending bills approved by the governor’s party allies in the Legislature during the finals days of the 2009 session, will take effect on July 1, 2009 and run through June 30 of 2010.

This year’s budget even trumps the record deficit spending levels enacted during the first two years of the governor’s term. During those two years, the state’s budget grew by an unsustainable 21 percent – nearly a one billion dollar increase. The record levels of spending during this session and the previous two sessions have come as a result of an executive and legislative branch solely controlled by one party.

Ever since the Iowa General Assembly adjourned nearly a month ago, many of the state’s newspapers have written articles with headlines that give Iowans a very clear, yet ominous picture about the fiscal future of Iowa. One prime example is the headline from The Des Moines Register from the day after the Legislature had finally adjourned following a sleepless marathon weekend of spending and borrowing. The headline simply read: “2nd all-nighter yields biggest budget ever”. Iowans saw their government’s budget grow by hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending over the spending levels of previous record setting budgets and yet their legislators did it while most were sleeping and unaware.

The Sioux City Journal last week had an article with the simple headline, “Culver says he’s done cutting budget.” This headline ought to leave Iowa taxpayers scratching their head. Hardworking Iowans know that you cannot be done with a project unless the project has actually started. Not only has Governor Culver not started to cut Iowa’s budget, the budget actually continues to grow year after year on his watch. Iowa’s families and employers are making difficult decisions and finding responsible areas to cut during challenging economic times, yet Governor Culver and legislative allies have not followed the lead of Iowans all over the state in making hard sacrifices.

The out-of-control spending is leading many Iowans to be concerned about the future fiscal health of the state. A recent The Des Moines Register story entitled, “Budget fears prompt calls for reform from Iowa lawmakers,” provides a chilling financial outlook for the state next year as a result of the irresponsible spending increases. Because so much of this new budget was built with one-time federal stimulus dollars that will not be available next year, Iowans could easily be staring at over a $900 million dollar deficit next year according to the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA). If Iowa’s economy does not begin to pick up steam, that deficit could become larger and easily eclipse one billion dollars. Iowa did not even have a billion dollar budget until 1976. Senate Republicans have constantly and consistently called for reduced spending, borrowing and bonding and have advocated for less taxation. We have also offered tens of millions of dollars in immediate budget savings only to have the current majority party in the Legislature reject those smart cost savings solutions.

When signing the budget into law this week, Governor Culver had an opportunity to use his line item veto authority to significantly cut back some of the excessive spending passed by his legislative counterparts last month. Instead, Governor Culver used his veto pen to strike the rare cost saving measures enacted by this legislature this session that would have provided more transparency and reformed state government. For example, the governor vetoed provisions that would reduce the size of the state’s vehicle fleet. The state already has dozens of unused cars that are literally collecting dust in state parking garages but as a result of the governor’s veto, the state will now spend even more money to buy more brand new vehicles. In addition, the governor vetoed a common sense provision that would require state employees to turn in actual receipts to receive reimbursements and he also vetoed provisions cutting back on out-of-state travel.

However, Iowans must also remember that in addition to the record spending on the budget, there was also record spending on bonding schemes that will leave future generations of Iowans to foot the bill for decades to come. In the closing hours of this session, the current party in power in the Legislature at the request of Governor Culver passed three bonding bills totaling approximately $830 million dollars. After all the fees and interest are added in, this new spending will cost taxpayers almost $1.7 billion dollars. College freshmen will be 50 years old before this debt is paid off.

Now that all action has been taken on the 2009 legislative session, we will work towards the 2010 session by crafting practical solutions to the big issues facing Iowa. I encourage and welcome the input of all Iowans because we understand that when Iowans have a greater voice in their government, government will become more responsive and more efficient. I will continue to advocate our common sense message of less spending, less taxation and more jobs for Iowa because we understand that this is not the time to be growing Iowa’s government as is the case now – this is the time we should be growing Iowa’s economy.

As always, I welcome hearing from my constituents and can be reached by phone at 515-281-3560 or by e-mail at paul.mckinley@legis.state.ia.us

Paul McKinley
Iowa Senator

Posted 5/28/2009 by Iowa State Rep. Christopher Rants (R-Sioux City)

Iowa’s best days are still to come. Her people are resilient, and will weather this economic storm. With this poor economy, and revenue shortfall, I believe it was an opportune time to eliminate waste and duplication. It was a year to focus on economic development and creating a better business climate to help our small employers.

Unfortunately, Gov. Culver had other priorities. In this column I will try to describe what did happen, and what should have been done.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/27/2009 by Todd Dorman

Gov. Chet Culver wielded his veto pen just before a midnight deadline last night to take final actions on the work product of the 2009 legislative session. The press release popped on my BlackBerry around midnight.

I can’t remember a governor wrapping up his work in the dark of night like this.

Click here to continue reading on 24-Hour Dorman.

Posted 5/27/2009 by IPP Staff

Globe Gazette
Des Moines Bureau

Posted 5/27/2009 by IPP Staff

Forbes
Associated Press

A measure signed into law by Gov. Chet Culver has given Iowa cities more flexibility in assessing franchise fees for gas and electric utilities, but they are limited in what they can charge.

Posted 5/26/2009 by IPP Staff

Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth

Iowa's budget warning signs are flashing, and Republicans and Democrats alike have called for government reform that includes merging state departments and dramatically reducing spending.

"I'm optimistic that we'll go through a process next year that will probably include some additional cuts," Gov. Chet Culver said last week. "I am very interested in efficiency. We're going to look at reorganization, and we're going to continue to try to run state government as lean and efficiently as possible."

Lawmakers last month set up an interim committee that will look at reorganization. Such reviews have occurred in previous years, but the process will likely be taken more seriously in the 2010 legislative session, said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines.

Lawmakers in 2010 will face a $903 million budget shortfall and federal stimulus money won't come close to bailing the state out, according to Legislative Services Agency estimates.

Research from the nonpartisan legislative agency indicates that next year's shortfall will be worse than the tough financial years Iowa faced in the 1980s and 1990s. Next year's shortfall is roughly 14 percent of the state budget. In the past 30 years, some of the most difficult budget shortfalls were closer to 5 percent.

Click here to read complete article.

Posted 5/26/2009 by IPP Staff

Iowans have until midnight Tuesday to persuade Gov. Chet Culver to sign or veto legislation passed in the final hours of this year's legislative session.

For example, there's been an effort seeking Culver's veto on a provision delaying septic sewer inspections that some say threaten Iowa's water systems. A gambling foe is hoping the governor will squash increased payouts to gambling-like machines in bars.

Some who were unhappy with legislation have already given up.

Bruce Bervin, executive vice president of the Iowa Cattlemen's Association, is opposed to the elimination of a $2 million tax break for livestock producers, but has little hope of winning a veto.

"At this point in time, it would appear to be a dead issue. We would be spending resources on it with no hope of changing," Bervin said.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/22/2009 by IPP Staff

Sioux City Journal
Associate Press

Gov. Chet Culver has the power to veto individual parts of spending measures while signing the overall bills into law, but he said Thursday he doesn't plan to exercise that option.

Speaking with reporters, Culver maintained he had tough negotiations with legislative leaders during the session and that they'd made the necessary cuts to balance the budget. Culver says further cuts aren't needed.

"We had very open and honest discussions on the budget and it's not likely you'll see more cuts," Culver said.

The state's budget is the biggest remaining item on the governor's desk, with a deadline of midnight Tuesday for him to sign or veto legislation approved by lawmakers.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/22/2009 by IPP Staff

Radio Iowa
O. Kay Henderson

Governor Chet Culver has a batch of budget bills on his desk waiting for his review. The governor has "item veto" authority which he could use to cut some of the spending in those bills, but Culver says the budget plan his fellow Democrats in the legislature drew up will get his endorsement.

"We just had very honest and fair negotiations on the budget so it's not likely we'll see a lot more in cuts," Culver says. Republicans criticize the budget plan Democrats developed, calling it bloated. Culver counters that many state agencies will be spending less next year compared to the current budgeting year.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/21/2009 by IPP Staff

Associated Press

Work is expected to start next week on demolishing the first of 31 homes destroyed by last year's flooding in Vinton.

The City Council awarded a contract last month to a company to tear down 16 of the properties deemed to be public safety hazards.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/21/2009 by IPP Staff

Radio Iowa
O. Kay Henderson

Governor Chet Culver is open to the idea of state help for car dealers being forced to close or reduce operations because of decisions from Chrysler and General Motors. The two automakers recently announced hundreds of dealers will lose their francises. It means those dealers will no longer be allowed to sell G.M. or Chrysler vehicles.

"The first thing we have to do is identify those dealerships and try to work with them just like we do with any company that is going through a tough time," Culver says. "So I do plan on working with the Department of Economic Development in reaching out to those small businesses (and) the larger car dealers and seeing what we can do to help not only them but their employees."

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/20/2009 by IPP Staff

William Petroski
Des Moines Register

Structural problems are worse than originally believed on the Interstate Highway 80 bridge over the Mississippi River near the Quad Cities, and that could mean two lanes will be closed until the summer of 2010.

The four-lane bridge, which was built in 1966, carries 30,000 cars and trucks daily between Iowa and Illinois. The bridge is a key link on a major transcontinental highway between San Francisco and New York.

Past annual inspections of the bridge, including one in 2006, showed the I-80 bridge was not structurally deficient.

However, during this year's inspection, a large crack in one steel beam prompted a closer examination of the entire bridge, which then caused it to be closed to all eastbound traffic.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/19/2009 by IPP Staff

Bob Skow
Des Moines Register

As discussed in the May 8 editorial, "Improve Private Insurance with a Public Health Plan," there is much debate in Washington about the merits of a public plan that would compete with private plans in the health-insurance marketplace. While I agree the country must take drastic steps to reform our health-care system and lower health-care costs, that goal can be better accomplished without creating a government-run health-insurance plan.


The creation of a public plan would have a devastating effect on the private market and on health-care consumers. It would have a very significant negative impact on the economy of the state of Iowa, as we are one of the country's major insurance centers, employing thousands of Iowans. Iowa's medical providers would be placed in an extremely difficult position of having limited resources to meet our citizens' health needs.


Click here for complete article.

Posted 5/19/2009 by IPP Staff

Rod Boshart
Globe Gazette

State Auditor David Vaudt said Monday he has decided he will not be a candidate seeking the Republican nomination for governor in 2010.


The Clive Republican made the announcement while delivering a pessimistic assessment of the Legislature’s fiscal 2010 budget plan which he said relies too heavily on one-time money to fund ongoing expenses. He worried the state budget will face a potential gap of $1 billion between spending and revenues in fiscal 2011, setting up the possibility of a large tax increase, deep spending cuts or a combination of the two.


Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/18/2009 by IPP Staff

Buoyed by millions in federal stimulus money, contractors across Iowa will soon begin work on more than $330 million in road repair and construction projects.

The stimulus cash has allowed both local governments and the state to fast-track dozens of transportation projects, replacing bridges and filling potholes from the Loess Hills to the Mississippi River.

A Des Moines Register analysis of proposed road projects beginning this summer shows some of the biggest winners so far have been among the state's smallest counties - a fact that illustrates the balance state transportation officials have tried to strike between fixing problem roads and creating jobs.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/18/2009 by IPP Staff

Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs says the severe flooding and tornadoes of 2008 created a "monumental disaster" in Iowa and legislators will have to keep responding to the "gigantic" problems left in the aftermath.

"I anticipate that we will continue to pass legislation over the next three to five years and maybe longer that relate to dealing with disaster recovery," Gronstal says.

Over the next few years Gronstal envisions a broader discussion about ways to prevent flooding in developed areas. The legislature set aside over a million dollars to create a flood center at the University of Iowa to work on flood management and mitgation and explore ideas like paying farmers to allow flooding on their cropland upstream as an alternative to flooding downtown Cedar Rapids again.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/18/2009 by IPP Staff

Hundreds of Iowans whose homes were heavily damaged in last year's flooding may be eligible for more state aid as they wait for possible buy-outs. The Iowa Finance Authority is extending the interim mortgage assistance program another six months.

Tina Potthoff , spokeswoman for the Rebuild Iowa Office, says this could benefit up to 600 homeowners in the state. "The interim mortgage assistance was developed to take away the burden of two mortgages, leaving an impacted homeowner with the responsibility for just one," Pothoff says. "What we're discovering is that there are still Iowans out there struggling so we want to extend the interim mortgage assistance for them."

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/15/2009 by IPP Staff

Twenty-two Iowa dealers are trying to determine how they'll survive - and how much pain customers and communities will feel - after Chrysler announced a plan Thursday to eliminate 789 franchises nationwide.


The automaker filed papers with a federal bankruptcy judge in New York saying Chrysler, suffering from inefficiency and unnecessary distribution costs, must pare back its current network of 3,181 dealers before a planned merger with Fiat.


Nationwide, Chrysler and General Motors' plans to cut dealers could eliminate up to 187,000 jobs, according to John McEleney, a Clinton, Ia., auto dealer who serves as chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association. The association insisted that the "draconian dealer cuts are not only misguided but counterproductive" since "fewer dealers mean less revenue for the automakers."


Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/15/2009 by IPP Staff

The top Democrat in the Iowa Senate says it's likely legislators will act to reorganize and downsize state government in 2010.

Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs says because of the economy, there will be "continuing challenges" to crafting next year's state budget.

"We've been through tough times before and we're Iowans. We tighten our belt," Gronstal says. "We deal with the challenges in front of us."

The state budget plan which legislators drafted for the bugdeting year that begins July 1st uses a large share of the federal economic stimulus money Iowa was given for education and health care. Gronstal says by doing that, the state held onto some of the "cash reserves" that have been set aside for emergencies.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/13/2009 by IPP Staff

Lawmakers predict budget pain in 2011

Legislative leaders are predicting more state budget pain in 2011, when less federal stimulus money will be available to help them balance the state budget amid declining state revenues.

Furloughs of some state workers already are under way and layoffs of employees are expected, although an infusion of federal stimulus dollars has helped soften the blow.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/13/2009 by IPP Staff

The Iowa Transportation Commission approved the new five-year plan that lays out the priorities for projects. Department of Transportation spokesman Jon Ranney says a major component of the plan is highway construction, and for 2010 through 2014 there's a projected 2.1-billion dollars in projected funding available.

Click here for the complete article.

Posted 5/13/2009 by IPP Staff

Governor Chet Culver will sign a bill into law today, setting in motion plans for the state to borrow millions to finance infrastructure projects.

"It was a major victory for the people of Iowa to get I-JOBS passed and we're going to celebrate that today as I sign the bill," Culver told reporters this morning in Des Moines. "We're going to create jobs. We're going to help communities recover from the floods."

Culver is in Marshalltown over the noon-hour to hold a bill signing ceremony at the Iowa Veterans Home. The bill includes money to modernize the facility which serves as home to over 720 residents who are veterans or the spouse of a veteran.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/12/2009 by IPP Staff

Rebuild Iowa Commission will stay in place in oversight role

The commission that examined the natural disasters that hit Iowa last year and crafted recommendations for recovery for the Iowa Legislature and governor will stay intact -- but in a less active role.

Ron Dardis, the director of the Rebuild Iowa Office told members of the Rebuild Iowa Commission Monday that he feels the commission should not be dissolved just yet.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/11/2009 by IPP Staff

The Culver Spending Cliff



Since Governor Chet Culver took office, he has increased spending by over $1 billion – a nearly 30 percent increase. He has passed the two largest budgets in Iowa history. As state revenues continue to drop, Governor Culver is borrowing more money to the tune of $765 million for his “shovel ready” projects.

Governor’s Culver’s reckless spending spree is leading Iowan’s right over the edge of a cliff.

The federal stimulus money may be enough to fill a few holes in the budget but the real trouble begins next year. The enormous budget deficit will force the Governor to massively cut spending OR raise taxes on Iowans. Neither one sounds like a very appealing option.

Posted 5/11/2009 by IPP staff

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Gov. Chet Culver said he favors a proposal to extend passenger rail service from Des Moines to Chicago in the near future, and hopes to eventually stretch the service to Omaha.

Culver said on Saturday the rail service will be part of a modernization of state infrastructure, and says the service could be ready "in a couple of years" after he helped push through a bonding initiative this legislative session that included $3 million for rail service.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 5/9/2009 by David Kochel

Today, the Iowa Progress Project launched a redesigned, updated website.  Be sure to check out the exciting new design and features!

In addition to our own stories and articles, the website now features general Iowa news and headlines, as well as links to other conservative Iowa news sources and blogs. The recently added news ticker also highlights important headlines and information and breaking news.

IPP users can now track issues and legislation from our site using a legislation management system. The system allows users to follow their legislators and opt to receive automated notifications on any changes in laws and legislation.

The IPP media section displays links to all our radio and television ads for users to watch and listen. There is also a new media section focusing solely on works by political cartoonist Brian Duffy.

The new website offers many of the same tools that enabled the Iowa Progress Project to develop a strong grassroots and online base as well as many new features that will help continue our growth and provide like-minded Iowans a place to share ideas and learn.

The Iowa Progress Project website continues to feature stories and articles relevant to our cause and our members. The IPP grassroots movement is built largely on e-mail circulation and outreach and a strong online presence. As our membership expands, IPP is able to make the voices of Iowans heard. The increased capability of IPP to influence the issues debate reflects our growth as an organization. The updated website serves to promote and encourage further growth.

Our redesigned site is meant to be easy to navigate and full of useful information and tools. Take some time to browse the site!!

Please tell your friends, family, and colleagues about all the new features and the easy online sign-up for IPP email updates.

Contact us at info@iowaprogressproject.com if you have any questions or suggestions.

Posted 5/7/2009 by IPP Staff

Do Iowa lawmaking in the light of day
Des Moines Register 5/7/09

It was after 11 p.m. Friday, April 24, when the bulk of the annual catch-all standings bill was introduced to the Iowa Senate in the form of a 68-page amendment. Less than four hours later, shortly before 2:56 a.m. Saturday, the Senate passed the bill.

Tucked in the amendment's 18 divisions was a section requiring insurers to provide the same coverage benefits for cancer treatments delivered orally as for those delivered intravenously or by injection.

Friday was the 103rd day of what would turn out to be a 105-day session. The cancer-treatment provision had never been introduced as a bill or an amendment during the previous 102 days, according to Paula Dierenfeld, lobbyist for the Federation of Iowa Insurers and other insurance associations.

The standings bill, named in reference to standing appropriations for such things as state employee salaries, is typically one of the last bills adopted each session. The stealth cancer-coverage provision shows how Democratic leadership misused the standings bill to ramrod passage of measures with little time for public debate by legislators, let alone the public.

Click here to keep reading.

Posted 4/28/2009 by IPP Staff

Tensions are high at the Iowa Capitol these days, especially when you have two branches of government who don't communicate. Or at least that was the case this week when the Des Moines Register ran this headline:

Democratic Lawmaker: Culver won't talk to us. (Des Moines Register 04/21/09)

"A top Democratic legislator accused Gov. Chet Culver today of refusing to negotiate with lawmakers from his own party over budget matters.

"House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy blamed the governor as activity ground to a halt in the House, just days before the Legislature was expected to adjourn.

“All of our work is pretty much done now, except for negotiations with the governor’s office. And we’re waiting for the governor to engage in negotiations,” McCarthy said. “He’s not negotiating with us on anything at this point.”

Click here to read the full story.

It's unfortunate Governor Culver isn't taking his job as Chief Executive Officer of Iowa a little more seriously... When you have Democrat Senators and Representatives who don't know where the Governor is, you're bound to not get things done for Iowans.

Duffy's new cartoon: "Where's Chet?" sums up this past week perfectly.

Posted 4/27/2009 by IPP Staff

Nerves frayed as sleep-deprived state lawmakers voted on controversial policy changes and millions of dollars in state spending during two days of last-minute marathon debating over the weekend. Several bleary-eyed Republicans criticized Democratic leaders for taking hours to cut deals in private, then quickly running bills through the Iowa House and Senate. The House adjourned for the year at 5:03 a.m. Sunday after two straight overnight sessions that lasted up to 20 hours. The Iowa Senate declared sine die at 5:55 a.m. as the sun rose and birds chirped.

Click here for the complete article

Posted 4/3/2009 by David Kochel

For the tenth month in a row, a survey of Iowa business leaders and supply managers shows the state's chief economic numbers are in decline. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the recession started hitting Iowa last May. For the nine-state region, Goss says business conditions haven't been this bad in 25 years.

"I think right now in the Mid-American region, we're finding a bottom," Goss says. "We're going to probably come off that bottom but it will be very slowly. We'll see negative numbers well into 2009." Goss says the region gained more than 120-thousand jobs up until last October. Since then, he says the Midwest has lost.

From October of 2008 and January 2009, the region lost more than 200,000 jobs and that trend will likely continue. Goss says, "We will still see rising unemployment probably through most of this year, even while the economy is rebounding, we're still going to see employment not rising to any great extent, in fact, we'll probably see job losses for all of 2009." Goss says there is proof this is a global economic slowdown.

Continue reading here.

Posted 3/23/2009 by David Kochel

Posted 3/23/2009 by David Kochel

The opinion piece found below is written by Iowa Senator Jerry Behn, who questions the actual number of jobs created with the Governor's proposed borrowing scheme. The Governor and Senate liberals promise 5,000 new jobs by borrowing $1.75 million for "shovel ready" projects in Iowa. However, Senator Behn did the math and the numbers don't add up.


Watch Senator Behn's address from the floor:



__________________________________________________________________________________

Senator Jerry Behn is a Republican from Boone, Iowa.

How do politicians create cynicism in the electorate? Simply by grossly overpromising and then under delivering.

Last week the Senate Democratic majority claimed they could create 5,000 jobs with $175,000,000 that they would borrow, and make our children pay for, over the next 20 years. We should have called it the Harry Houdini Jobs Plan—a claim so fantastic, it would take magic to achieve it. The difference, of course, is that Houdini traditionally delivered on his promises.

Let’s take a simple look at the numbers and see how this plan actually plays out. Five thousand positions with $175,000,000 gives us a $35,000 salary available for each position. After the person is paid the $35,000 for one year, the money is gone. That leaves us NO money for concrete, NO money for steel, NO money for asphalt, no money for products of any kind. Not even enough for a shovel on a “shovel ready” project.

Now contrast a scheme like that with an actual project in the private sector. Alliant Energy was ready to dig with a real “shovel ready” project in Marshalltown. They planned to invest approximately $1,750,000,000 in a state of the art, clean-coal technology, power plant. That’s right, $1.75 billion - almost exactly 10 times the amount the Senate Democrats want to borrow. With that $1.75 billion investment in Iowa, we would have had over 1,400 construction jobs and over 50 permanent jobs when the plant was up and running. In addition, as is normal in the private sector, that power plant would help in future business development as well.

A state of the art, clean-coal technology power plant with bio-fuel capability would allow any potential businesses coming to Iowa to build here with the assurance that low cost dependable electricity would be available both now and in the future. In addition, it was so cutting edge, that we could have boasted to the whole world, that our state was leading the way in clean energy.

Instead, the Governor and Senate Democrats decided to under deliver in the private sector where jobs are really created and overpromise with a borrowing scheme that simply cannot deliver.

Houdini would be disappointed.

Posted 3/20/2009 by David Kochel

Posted 3/19/2009 by David Kochel

The first of the controversial labor bills failed to pass the House on February 24.  Iowa taxpayers won a major victory with the defeat of the "prevailing wage" legislation but big labor is back for Round 2.  House File 530, a workers compensation bill is being debated this week.  House File 530 poses huge risks for Iow businesses, the state budget, and local school districts.  The legislation would overturn the existing workers compensation system, and institute a new system that would raise workers compensation premiums by 15% to 20%.  The additional costs would affect all Iowan taxpayers at a time when the state already has mounting budget problems.

The opinion piece found below is written by Iowa Senator Paul McKinley, who discusses the four anti-jobs bills facing the Iowa legislature.

Please share this piece with your friends and colleagues!

We also want YOU to participate.  Please answer our online poll – let your voice be heard! 

Do you think the Iowa Legislature should focus on Round 2 of big labor paybacks or should they focus on growing our economy and putting Iowans back to work?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Posted 3/12/2009 by David Kochel

(Des Moines Register 3/11/09)

Iowans would spend another $100 million to help the state recover from last year’s floods and tornadoes under a proposal unveiled this morning by House Democrats.

The proposal includes $20 million for flood prevention and $12.5 million for home buyouts.

The costs would be paid out of the state’s reserves, according to language that will be in the bill, Democrats said. It’s possible that some of the costs would be paid for out of a plan proposed by Gov. Chet Culver for the state to take on $750 million more in debt, largely for infrastructure projects.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted 9/24/2008 by Staff

Click below to find out the real truth about Iowa’s economic forecast.

Posted 9/23/2008 by David Kochel

http://www.whotv.com/global/story.asp?s=9060570

Posted 9/8/2008 by David

Thought you might find this article from the Friday Cedar Rapids Gazette interesting.  I couldn't agree more with Representative Kraig Paulsen when he says, "The truth of the matter is Eastern Iowans need help". 

What I find most disconcerting after three months is that Eastern Iowans are still looking for help. Why hasn’t Iowa's Governor, and leadership in the state legislature called a special session when fellow Iowans are still living in tents outside their flood ravaged homes?

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080905/NEWS/709059914/1006/news

Posted 5/28/2008 by David Kochel

According to the Des Moines Register, the Governor and Lt. Governor wanted the bottle bill bad enough they were willing to horse-trade the gambling referendum bill for it, which would have reversed the law that required citizens to reapprove casinos every eight years.  The Des Moines Register article suggests that the Lt. Governor asked casino lobbyists to lobby for the bottle bill the Governor wanted, if they expected their gambling referendum bill to be successful.

They pushed so hard even Democratic Senator Mike Gronstal thought they may have crossed the line. "Hypothetically," he said, "I would say it's unethical for a lobbyist to lobby on things they're not paid to lobby on." Interestingly, the gambling lobbyists were uncomfortable with the Culver administration's approach. 

Posted 5/12/2008 by David Kochel

Since this is the first official blog entry for the Iowa Progress Project. IPP would like to thank Representative Christopher Rants for his Friday humor, therefore we are borrowing “Can I get a veto”. It was too good not to! 
 
Hereby begins the “Can I get a veto?” Countdown. 
 
When the legislative session ended on April 26th, Governor Culver had 30 days to sign into law or veto the legislation before him.  There were plenty of bills this past session IPP can comment on, however, we will stick to just one today.  The Collective Bargaining bill (aka Chapter 20), passed under the cover of darkness, and given the least amount of debate is the bill we here at IPP will spend the most amount of time talking about.
 
Governor Culver has until May 26th to sign or veto legislation that single handedly rewrote 40 years of Iowa’s labor laws and time’s a ticking… if Governor Culver is really serious about improving education, he'll veto the bill. If he cares about protecting Iowa's property taxpayers, he'll veto the bill. If he prefers school boards and local control to out-of-state unelected bureaucrats when it comes to making decisions about our kids, he'll veto the bill.
 
Call Governor Culver and remind him HF 2645 is bad public policy and he should veto the bill.  (515) 281-5211
 
You can view Representative Rants' Friday Newsletter here: http://www.rants.us/RSS.aspx?PageID=107

Posted 4/21/2008 by staff

Over 90% of Iowans OPPOSED to bill that guts Iowa’s labor laws

Posted 4/17/2008 by staff

SILO Will Raise Taxes on Iowans $40 Million

Des Moines, IA -- Last week, the Iowa House passed legislation that would increase taxes by an estimated $40 million dollars.  The legislation would replace the current county based Local Option Sales Tax, with a costly statewide School Infrastructure Local Option (SILO).

Posted 4/11/2008 by staff

Des Moines, IA -- Iowa Progress Project announced today its formal organization and outlined its goals and objectives in the near and long-term.

President David Kochel said, "Iowa Progress Project is the direct result of the response thousands of Iowans have had to ads and issues highlighted by the Iowa Future Fund. While the Iowa Future Fund has been very effective at highlighting important issues in our state, what was also abundantly clear is that a grassroots-centered conservative issues organization is also needed in this state. IPP will provide citizens from all corners of Iowa a voice in their community and state."

Iowa Progress Project will serve as a mechanism for conservatives to engage in important issues debate in this state. Kochel said, "We will build a 21st century grassroots backbone that will bring together like-minded people and enable them to directly connect to elected leaders and educate others about issues that are important to them and are vital to the future of our state."

IPP operates as a 501(c)(4) organization and will advocate a conservative and free market viewpoint on issues and public policy.  IPP will aggressively work to enable like-minded Iowans to have a place to share ideas and empower them with the tools necessary to be effective grassroots activists in their own community.  An important part of that will be IPP's web presence. Kochel indicates that a fully functional state of the art website will be active in a few short weeks.

Kochel also announced that Iowa Progress Project will have a separate political action committee arm as well.

Kochel said, "A number of Iowans have implored us to be more politically active.  In order to do that, a separate Iowa political action committee will be formed."

IPP announced the following Board of Directors for the organization:

President: David Kochel
Director: Kathy Pearson
Director: Gary Grant

Last, Kochel indicated, "There is a vital need for an organization of this type. We