Editorial: What is the Republicans' vision for Iowa beyond lower taxes?
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In the Iowa that elected Republicans indicate they want to shape, you'll likely pay less in income taxes to the state than you do now.
And you'll want to have some income, since there will be numerous obstacles to getting aid should you ever not have a job, or have a low-paying one. The taxes you do pay will be used to support religious schools and the minimum obligations of state government.
If you're looking for any other vision for how shared resources could be invested in Iowa's future, look elsewhere. The Republicans aren't specific about many of those ideas. Maybe you can set aside those extra few bucks in your paycheck to get a kiddie pool since the beaches are closed for lack of safe water, or donate to a social services agency that assists houseless residents.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, in her Condition of the State address on Tuesday, correctly identified several of the state's most pressing problems, including child care availability and difficulty attracting and retaining educators and medical workers. Other problems were omitted, including, bafflingly, even a single mention of current COVID-19 conditions, such as packed hospitals and record numbers of positive tests.
More: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds proposes 4% flat tax, cuts to unemployment in Condition of the State
Reynolds' proposals for shortages of workers were a mixed bag, some scary (cutting off unemployment benefits earlier) and some trifling (one-time, federally funded $1,000 payments to certain educators and public safety workers). She also noted successes with grant and apprenticeship initiatives and advocated prudent expansions of those ideas.
The centerpiece of the speech was a drastic income tax reduction, one she said would return almost $1.6 billion to Iowans over the next five years. On an annual basis, an average family would pay about $1,300 less a year when the plan was fully implemented, she said. The governor's website has some details, but precise legislation has not been introduced.
Another View: Iowans prosper because of GOP's focus on freedom and growth
At the Statehouse, "it’s tempting to believe that nothing good happens unless we legislate it, regulate it, or fund it," Reynolds said. "But in the small towns, around kitchen tables, in the fields and back offices, Iowans understand that we in this building don’t fund anything. They do."
Expect to hear variations on this refrain frequently over the next four months. But the governor's words make a straw man of those who advocate increased state investment in water quality, affordable housing, public education and more. For starters, legislative Democrats have acknowledged that some tax relief is appropriate given the state's ample coffers, especially in light of high inflation, which Republicans also note.
More: Read the full text of Gov. Kim Reynolds' 2022 Condition of the State address
More: Gov. Kim Reynolds announces $1,000 bonuses for Iowa teachers
More importantly, will $1,300 for every middle-class family make a blip of difference for lost topsoil and filthy water? Will it prepare the state for a transformed climate and threats to the water supply? Will it put a proper apartment or a mortgage within reach for those with lower incomes, particularly since their tax savings will be smaller? Sure, the state benefits when Iowans have more money to spend in their communities, but some vital needs require bigger, coordinated investments.
If Republicans pass significant tax legislation, it will be at least their third major package in five years. There is no reason to think it will stop there. The goal seems to be to keep shrinking state revenue and shrinking state government along with it. Republicans are unapologetic about that. When critics point to Kansas' schools crisis after a giant tax overhaul, they intone that it was the fault of inadequate spending cuts, since tax cuts are always the correct course.
Iowa, and its schools and parks and cities and towns, could look far less inviting down the road if the income tax is slashed or eventually abolished and the government becomes much smaller.
Of course, some crises could metastasize earlier than others — and Republicans seem bent on inflaming the teacher shortage. One leader astonishingly doubled down Monday on calling educators purveyors of evil. The evil? LGBTQ-affirming books that include some sexual content, books Reynolds also took time to condemn.
It's apparently necessary to reiterate this: The books Senate President Jake Chapman has savaged, at school board meetings and now from the Senate rostrum, are appropriate for schools at proper grade levels. Schools have effective mechanisms to review material.
And even if neither of those things was true, Chapman's insistence that "we must hold those who distribute this repulsive and criminal content to minors accountable" through possible criminal penalties is grossly disproportionate and will scare off some prospective — and current — teachers.
Reynolds and Republican lawmakers have plenty of other ill-considered ideas up their sleeves. Legislation to send taxpayer money to private schools will be back again, and hearings are already taking place for bills to add hurdles for Iowans who receive public assistance. The executive and legislative branches also appear dedicated to ensuring that Iowans who decline COVID-19 vaccines for any reason never face the slightest discomfort for their choice, at least until they get sick.
The Republicans in charge of state government say they're returning to Iowans tax dollars they are owed, delivering on a vision of freedom from undue taxation and government regulation. But the GOP also owes Iowans honesty about what happens after that.
This editorial is the opinion of the Des Moines Register's editorial board: Carol Hunter, executive editor; Lucas Grundmeier, opinion editor; and Richard Doak and Rox Laird, editorial board members.
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Opinion: What's the vision for Iowa beyond lower taxes?
