Tax Update Blog: Permalink

« Previous · Tax Update Blog Home · Next »

Our subsidies we prize, our corporate welfare we will maintain

December 31, 2008

Iowa's Governor Culver isn't even considering trimming back Iowa's corporate welfare menu, based on an interview conducted by the Des Moines Register:

For example, Culver wants to preserve scheduled teacher salary increases and the $100 million Iowa Power Fund set up to further catapult Iowa's renewable fuels industry.
"At the end of the day, we're going to have a choice, and I expect and hope that the people weigh in, too," Culver said. "I do not think you'll find a lot of support for cutting back on things like the Power Fund, teacher pay and early childhood education."

"Further catapult" an industry? Where are we throwing it? Given our tax structure, maybe we're throwing our industries to South Dakota.

So what are the plans to bring spending in line with revenue?

Culver said his money-saving plans may include creating mass purchasing agreements to buy state commodities in bigger quantities and finding more savings on health care.

It's the "spend more to save more" budgeting policy, combined with the look for money under the sofa approach.

No mention, of course, of addressing our archaic, high-rate, business stifling income tax. And the wasteful "renewables" subsidies and giveaways to Hollywood are off the table. No wonder Iowa has the 45th most dynamic state economy in the country.

Tags: iowa tax policy.