By State Senator Paul McKinley – Iowa Senate Republican Leader
Question: What’s a tell-tale sign a politician is out-of-touch?
Answer: When they get excited about the government experiencing a “recovery” at the expense of your family’s budget.
That’s was the reaction this week of Governor Culver and many prominent legislative Democrats when the three person Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) predicted that state government would be receiving more revenues than their earlier predictions.
The same group of politicians – Governor Culver and legislative Democrats – who spent our state into serious deficits, put in place the four largest budgets and drove up the largest level of debt in state history were eager to announce their enthusiasm that government would have more of your money to spend.
The sun may indeed be shining a bit brighter off the great golden dome but there is little of that reflection reaching Main Street, the 114,000 Iowans out of work or the taxpayers saddled with Culver’s $526.9 million in property tax increases over the last four years.
It’s become increasingly clear: the Democratic definition of “recovery” comes out of dictionary that very few believe should remain on the bookshelf.
As Senate Republicans, we know that government having more of your money to spend is not the best indicator of an economic recovery – we define a recovery by having more Iowans in jobs and families feeling more secure.
We need a job climate where private sector job creation can again flourish. Entrepreneurs and job creators need reasonable levels of taxes and regulation and we have to stop having government spending more money than our state takes in.
Iowans want responsible levels of spending that support our priorities and the limited functions of government while cutting out the waste and pork-barrel projects that have become so prevalent and burdensome. The bottom line is that job creators need confidence so they can again invest and take risks that will lead to more jobs.
Our state has seen a lot of economic ups and downs in its history – but one thing has remained consistent: this is a special state – made up of extraordinary people.
Iowans are hard workers, they believe in themselves, their families and their communities. They know that with the right leadership and vision – renewed prosperity and a more optimistic future is attainable.
Now is the time to take the right steps to move Iowa forward and reinvigorate our economy. We cannot afford to become complacent and allow the misguided mentality that a bigger and more intrusive government will lead us forward.
Instead, we must never forget that it is our people and our communities that will provide the direction and leadership of tomorrow. They are the ones that will provide the energy and inspiration for the Iowa of the future.
When we keep that in mind, I think you will agree: the outlook for Iowa has never looked brighter. That’s the definition of a recovery we can all believe in.