House Journal: Page 56: Tuesday, January 14, 2003
manufacturing, insurance, and other information solutions. Vision Iowa and its
success taught us the power of state resources leveraging private and more public
investment. We must apply that important lesson to economic development.
A companion fund, the Iowa Values Fund, should be created and dedicated to
partnering with private investment to transform our economy. Administered and
managed as a public/private partnership, the fund’s investments should promote
regional economic development so no part of Iowa is left behind. The fund should work
more closely with the Regents universities, community colleges and independent
colleges to double the number of college experienced workers in the workforce. Over
the next five years we should commit $500 million to this fund. It is that important.
The initial investment from the Iowa Values Fund should be dedicated to making
Iowa the life sciences leader in protein development and production. Developing the
necessary life sciences infrastructure with an appropriate regulatory structure should
be a top economic development priority of the state, allowing us to reach a goal of
starting 100 new life sciences companies in Iowa in the next five years.
Initial resources from the fund should also spur the development of more renewable
fuel and energy of all kinds. The benefits to our economy and our environment from
ethanol and biodiesel fuel are well known. Similar benefits will operate from an
expansion of renewable energy production. Today, Iowa annually produces 200
megawatts of electricity from renewable energy sources - wind, solar, and biomass. By
the end of the decade our goal should be to annually produce a minimum of 1,000
megawatts committed to the goal of making Iowa a net exporter of energy.
Barriers to a new Iowa economy must also be removed. Regulatory approval for
new business and expansion needs to be timely for progress delayed is progress denied.
A complex income tax system with loopholes places Iowa in a non-competitive position.
Simplifying the system and closing loopholes will remove a barrier to progress. No
Iowan, no Iowan should have to use a form larger than a postcard to report state
income and pay state taxes.
At the same time, the property tax system pays for services not related to property
ownership; extends credits, exemptions and benefits in a haphazard fashion;
encourages inefficiencies in government; and discriminates among and between classes
of property owners. Members of the General Assembly, the time has come. Sunset the
system that doesn’t work and replace it with one that does. Remove the barrier.
Now, as our investments result in a new economy, our values demand that we not
forget those struggling in the old economy. Today in our state, there are over 100,000
Iowans working at or near a minimum wage. Many support families. Most qualify for
public assistance. All work hard. Let us honor their work, and all work, by raising the
minimum wage.
Each generation of Iowans carries a special responsibility to support the education
of all of our children. The members of the last legislature understood that value in
supporting change and continued investment in Iowa’s schools even in the face of tough
economic times. Their commitment to lower class sizes, reading initiatives, and
improving teacher quality is already paying positive results in improved test scores
and better professional development.
© 2003 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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