Senate Journal: Page 3: Monday, January 13, 2003
vibrant and growing economy that provides great opportunity and preserves the values
that serve us so well.
And so we begin.
REMARKS BY THE MAJORITY LEADER
Senator Iverson addressed the Senate as follows:
I want to welcome all of you to the 2003 Legislative Session. This year’s session
will deal with many of the most pressing issues facing our state. One thing that I have
learned as a legislator is that if the legislature tries to address all of the challenges
facing Iowa, it will accomplish nothing. Therefore, to be successful, the legislature
must set specific goals and identify the best way to accomplish those goals.
Three of the goals that I have heard expressed most in the time leading up to the
start of the legislative session are (1) creating more wealth for all Iowans, (2)
developing a stable financial future for state government, and (3) boosting student
achievement in Iowa’s classrooms. I think it is important to stress that these are not
Republican goals, they are not Democrat goals, they are the goals of all Iowans. The
key is how we go about accomplishing these goals.
Let’s start with creating more wealth for all Iowans. A lot of Iowans are coming to
the realization that we have to change how Iowans pay taxes. Our income, sales, and
property tax systems are not set up in a way that promotes growth and creates wealth
for all Iowans. We need to look at the things we tax and the things we don’t tax, and
ask "Does our tax on this activity significantly impact our ability to grow Iowa and
create wealth?" We also need to look at those things we don’t tax and ask "Why don’t
we tax these activities-is it because the activity promotes growth and creates wealth?"
If the answer to that question is no, then maybe it is time we take the tax off of those
things that promote growth and create wealth and instead tax those items that don’t
grow Iowa or create wealth.
This is a bold concept, especially for those items that we currently don’t tax and yet
don’t provide much economic activity. But if we want to get Iowa growing again, then
we must think boldly.
Another key to creating wealth for all Iowans is reinvigorating the Iowa
Department of Economic Development. State government can’t create jobs, but it can
create opportunities for jobs to come to Iowa. Frankly, state government is failing in
its efforts to lure good-paying jobs to Iowa-a job that is the responsibility of the Iowa
Department of Economic Development. The legislature needs to establish some
performance standards for this department, and if these performance measures are not
met, then we need to look at another entity, maybe even a private entity, to run our job
creation programs in state government.
And if we want to create more good-paying jobs in Iowa, we need to conduct a
comprehensive review of how we regulate business in Iowa. Those regulations that are
duplicative, outdated, or violate Iowa’s commonsense tradition need to be eliminated.
In addition to growing the economy, we have to develop a stable financial footing for
the future of state government. That starts by returning fiscal responsibility and
© 2003 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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