The governor and legislature have announced that they are “taking back” about $35 million dollars already allocated to various agencies and institutions, including Iowa State and the University of Iowa. The legislators who made that decision protected UNI because it has a higher percentage of students who are Iowa residents. 

Iowa State, as we all know, has received fewer and fewer dollars from the state over the years. We are now getting in nominal terms about the same amount we received when student enrollment was approximately 22,000. As a result, to make up for the reduction in state support, your tuition has increased dramatically. 

This is the second year the state has faced budget shortfalls and had to take money back in what are called rescissions. So how is the current legislature responding to this ongoing pattern of budget shortfalls?

They are recommending that we cut state revenues. They call it tax “reform” but it is really tax cuts. Without getting into the weeds of Iowa taxation, the Federal tax cut enacted recently by Congress will have the effect of increasing some individual Iowa taxpayers’ tax bills. A reporter on Iowa Press said the estimated amount is about $1.8 million dollars in total per year.

Governor Reynolds argues it is unfair to cause that increase to Iowa taxpayers. You might think the legislature would propose an Iowa bill just leveling the playing field. You would be wrong. The Iowa House is proposing a cut of $1.7 million over six years, while the Senate version has cuts of $1.2 million per year.

Instead of looking at current give-aways that do not help individual Iowa taxpayers, such as tax abatements to large corporations, or the $50 million given in Research Activity Credits or current tax rules allowing multi-state corporations to pay no corporate income tax in Iowa, the legislature is proposing massive cuts. 

Both the Federal government and various states (Kansas among them) have tried cutting taxes as a way to increase growth, which in theory eventuates in total increased revenues. However, it never works out that way. We know this from experience.

So cutting taxes when higher education is too costly, when our water quality is declining, when mental health facilities are being shuttered, when infrastructure is deteriorating and when public schools get an increase of only 1 percent in their budget, is irresponsible and short-sighted, and will only increase our budget woes.