IOWA Politics 07 Jan 2009 04:40 pm
A Message from Rep. Kaufmann
We saw this train wreck coming two years ago
Blaming our budget disaster on the floods or the national economy might be politically expedient but it is simply not accurate. We have seen this fiscal “train wreck” long ago, especially after the two-year increase in state spending of 17 percent. Our state budget problems were caused by overspending.
Using more one-time revenue sources to once again artificially balance the budget will only make things worse. Of course our cash reserves are at their highest, they are tied to spending in code. We should not take comfort here. We need those reserves in order to pay our bills on time. And I strongly believe that the “rainy day” fund should be used for flood victims — not to balance our budget.
What else do we do to fix this mess?
• No more pork barrel spending. None.
• In the past two years we have added more than 600 new state jobs. This needs to be aggressively scrutinized.
• Serious payback provisions in our Values Fund property if promises made are not kept.
• Look aggressively for more private-public partnerships in pre-K education.
• Serious waste appraisals at our regents’ institutions. It’s not acceptable to me for the University of Iowa president to recycle the chief of staff position at $140,000 per year when we are raising tuition on our students.
If we try to fix our self-imposed budget problems by raising taxes and our business environment becomes less competitive, then we have harmed the economic development opportunities that are sorely need at a time like this.
There are other policies, in my opinion, that need to be discussed this session:
• True health insurance reform (we have just tinkered around the edges).
• Greater transparency and openness in government (which can start right now at UI) to allow more public input and find waste.
• Continued bipartisan efforts to generate “green-collar” jobs and allow renewable fuels to lead the way to a cleaner environment and energy independence.
• Stopping the hypocrisy. The casino exemption to the smoking ban should either be eliminated, or small businesses should receive the same treatment.
• Strengthen property rights. Currently there are 10,000 acres in this state under the threat of government condemnation for economic development. Unfortunately until it happens to yourself or someone you know, there is no outcry.
Jeff Kaufmann represents District 79 in the Iowa House of Representatives.
