Just Say NO to Keep Saying NO to Medicaid Expansion
The Iowa Legislature and Governor Terry Branstad must say NO and keep saying NO to federal health care exchanges and Medicaid expansion.
Author Archive: Deborah Thornton
Deborah Thornton currently consults as a public policy researcher, analyst, and writer under contract primarily with the Public Interest Institute, based in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The Public Interest Institute (PII) is a non-profit, non-partisan, free-market, limited-government think-tank. She is an accomplished writer having her articles appear in over 100 newspapers She also is the current chairwoman for the Republican Party of Johnson County.
She holds an MBA from the University of Maryland, and a BA degree from Indiana University with a double major in Political Science and Journalism. Deborah and her family have resided in Iowa City since 2003.
Financial Literacy is Important for Legislators Too!
Many state legislators want to pass financial literacy requirements for students, but it is evident by some of their fiscal decisions they need it as well.
Iowans, How Much Do You Pay in Property Taxes?
The Iowa state budget currently has a surplus, a rather significant one. This means our taxes are too high. Not that the state does not spend enough, but we are paying too much. Every penny paid in taxes is a penny not being invested in new jobs or providing for our families. And if you [...]
School Choice: Not if the Unions Have Any Say
School choice options have been proving their value for more than a decade. Despite this they still receive resistance within the education establishment.
Wasting Renewable Energy in Iowa
Renewable energy potential exists on Iowa’s rivers, but the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has not issued any new licenses in Iowa since 2010.
Government Always Finds a Need
“Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets.” President Ronald Reagan, April 29, 1982 Address to the Nation on the Fiscal Year 1983 Federal Budget State government budgets are finally recovering from the Great Recession, according to the most recent report from the National Conference of State Legislatures, which met in Chicago in [...]
Looking Backward: Potential, but Utopia?
The Libertarian movement, as evidenced by supporters of Congressman Ron Paul’s presidential bid, grew in strength during the 2012 Republican presidential primaries. According to the dictionary, a libertarian is one who “advocates for maximizing individual rights and minimizing the role of the state.”[1] The Preamble of the Libertarian party platform makes the following statement: We [...]
Animal House or Animal Colony? Or Neither?
“Tomorrow, we vote.” – Gander, the goose, to his son in Animal Colony, by Thomas Rexroth and Mark Olsen, 2009 In the 1978 movie classic, Animal House, John Belushi (Bluto) and his misfit fraternity brothers ended up getting the best of the political establishment and politically correct college President and prestigious, elite “Omega” fraternity boys [...]
Everyone’s Talking Bankruptcy
Everyone is talking finances and bankruptcy these days. What debts can, and cannot, be included? Should student loans be able to be discharged in a bankruptcy? Taxes definitely cannot be discharged. What happens to homeowners who are foreclosed on? Should one just walk away? What about the federal government budget deficit? Or is it total [...]
Iowa’s Homeowner Property Taxes Compared to Business Property Taxes
The flip side of the business property tax discussion is the homeowner or homestead property tax status. Managing the balance between the two is critical to the overall success of our citizens. If business taxes are too high, they will not open new facilities and hire new workers. If residential taxes are too high, families [...]
Iowa’s Business Property Taxes Highest in Nation
Business property tax reform was a major topic and effort of the 2012 Iowa Legislative session. The House of Representatives passed a graduated reduction plan (HF2274) reducing commercial property taxes by 40 percent over eight years. The total tax reduction would be $1.2 billion. The rollback for small businesses, those with property valued at $400,000 [...]
We Need Fair and Sound Fiscal Health Too
Retiree health-care costs are a significant liability to future taxpayers, especially as the government-employee population continues to age and retire with high expectations for medical treatment. Many states – 19 in FY2009 – have zero funds set aside to pay for these benefits. Another seven have only funded 25 percent of their liability, according to [...]
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