McKinley’s Memos
Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley
Before we can run, we must learn how to
walk. Before we can walk, we must learn how to crawl.
Governor Culver, late last week, issued a
declaration claiming the actions utilized last winter to re-organize state
government through an executive order, legislative action and an early
retirement program would save $298.8 million over two years instead of his
original estimation of $270 million.
Unfortunately, there was little evidence to
substantiate his claims since he did not utilize numbers produced by the
non-partisan Legislative Services Agency. Instead, he chose to use figures
produced internally by his own office. Given the serious financial mess the
state is in – we can only hope his new estimates are accurate and not
heightened for political purposes.
Make no mistake, the efforts taken this year
to re-organize state government are only just a small first step – you might
say we have begun to crawl. Unfortunately there is a long road yet to travel.
Because of too much spending during the last four years by Governor Culver and
legislative Democrats, Iowa still faces a $1 billion dollar deficit next year.
A recent report by State Auditor Dave Vaudt
shows why we are in the alarming predicament that we find ourselves. Prior to
Governor Culver and legislative Democrats coming into power, the state was
spending approximately $1.01 per $1.00 that was coming into the state. Since
Governor Culver and his fellow party members have taken over, the state has
been spending approximately $1.13 for every dollar coming in.
Clearly Iowa does not have a revenue problem
– we have a spending problem. During the last four years, we have seen the
four largest spending budgets in state history. We have seen hundreds of
millions of dollars in property tax increases and a quintupling of state debt.
Without fundamental and systemic reforms, Iowa could become like California
with serious structural deficits.
So where do we go from here?
- First, we
must stop spending beyond our means. This has become a serious problem during
the last four years and it is simply unsustainable. Much of this year’s
spending was one-time dollars used for ongoing expenses and now Iowa’s savings
accounts are dangerously low. Unless President Obama and Congressional
Democrats opt to pass another bailout for the overspending states, Iowa will
not be able to continue spending at the rate we have been.
- Secondly, we
must continue to take steps to trim the size and scope of state government and
continue to remove the waste and duplication that exists. We should start by
adopting the over $300 million in additional savings offered by Senate and
House Republicans during the last two years. Legislative Democrats either
ignored the ideas or simply voted them down during debate.
- Next, we
must stop pushing more of the burden on to the taxpayers. Iowans all over the
state will see hefty property tax increases courtesy of Governor Culver this
fall. Even if you only rent your property, the person or business that owns it
will likely pass that extra expense on to you. Iowa already has some of the
highest property taxes in the nation. We cannot afford not to be competitive
if we are to grow our economy.
- Perhaps most
importantly, we must focus on job creation and growing our economy. Right now,
we have far more government than our economy can support. Creating an
environment where small businesses and employers can thrive, succeed, grow and
therefore hire more people is absolutely essential. Unbalanced budgets leading
to higher taxes and the constant onslaught of anti-jobs legislation promoted
by Governor Culver and legislative Democrats have not moved Iowa’s economy
forward and instead have held it back.
The good news is that the debate in Iowa is
slowly beginning to change. For the past few years, the liberals in charge of
state government have only focused on spending more money, raising more taxes
and fees, adding record levels of debt and promoting job killing legislation.
Finally, the discussion is slowly beginning
to change. At last, we are starting to see some dialogue about actually
reducing and reorganizing government – even if it is only just a small first
step.
It’s time to speed up the process but that
will take new leadership.
As soon as we begin to act on the Senate
Republican priorities like job creation, reducing property taxes, really
limiting the size and growth of state government and eliminating wasteful
spending, it will be exciting to see the success our state and our citizens
can attain.
We have 99 counties worth of potential and
with the right priorities, the right leadership in the governor’s office and
in the Legislature, it won’t be long until we can turn our current crawl into
a walk and then a run.
Paul McKinley
Senate Republican Leader
*Please consider forwarding this important
messag