Comments for Iowa Policy Points

Comment on It’s not theater: ‘The Pirates of River Landing’ by Robin

Robin — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:34:07 +0000

What have you done? You weren’t supposed to do the actual math, you were supposed to take the sales pitch for its face value and believe the pirates were doing the right thing.

Economic Development/TIF sounds good, doesn’t it? Too bad there’s no evidence anywhere that proves it benefits the taxpaying public. You’ve taken something that was meant to be too convoluted and complicated for the average person to even want to understand and put numbers to it…making sense of it.

You may have just started a revolt! Congratulations, I hope you’ve got a substantial readership!

And, thanks…we need more observations like this from people like you.

Comment on Everyone pays taxes by Guest Blog (Peter Fisher): Everyone pays taxes | OK Policy Blog

Guest Blog (Peter Fisher): Everyone pays taxes | OK Policy Blog — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:30:16 +0000

[...] in 2001 to produce research and analysis to engage Iowans in state policy decisions. This post first appeared on their Policy Points blog and is reprinted with their [...]

Comment on Too many unknowns in proposed property tax rollback by How do the House and Senate property tax proposals differ? « Iowa Policy Points

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:33:38 +0000

[...] important, it’s unclear whether the property tax replacement fund would adequately replace the revenue local governments lose as a result of the commercial and industrial property tax [...]

Comment on Families, farmers subsidize property tax break for business by How do the House and Senate property tax proposals differ? « Iowa Policy Points

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:33:34 +0000

[...] fund monies to local governments to make up for some of that lost revenue. This plan further tilts the responsibility of funding local government toward individuals and families and away from [...]

Comment on Important child care implications of budget choices by Ryan Bobst

Ryan Bobst — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 20:31:02 +0000

A well analyzed, fact-based assessment on an important issue! Well done Anna!

Comment on Why Social Security Cuts Should Not be Part of the Deficit Discussion by Mark L. Smith

Mark L. Smith — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:07:33 +0000

Also need to get out and stay out of trillion-dollar wars; Dean Baker asserts that if USA spent same percent of GDP on health care as Europeans we’d have a budget surplus.

Comment on Getting a handle on ‘unemployment’ by Steve Hanken

Steve Hanken — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 22:08:50 +0000

My past association with SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) invigorated that age old statement , “Figures don’t lie, but liars do figure.” That has not changed. Anything can be shown to be true if you keep looking for the things that will prove it, in spite of all kinds of evidence to the contrary. Unemployment figures are a key indicator of usually the opposite of what they are attempting to show. Naturally if you aren’t counting everyone, and including them, you can’t possibly come up with any figures because there are so many variables to control for. Hunger in America is on that same sort of crazy set of statistics, just how hungry do you have to be to qualify as “hungry”. If,you are eating dirt and you are still starving certainly you had something to eat, but are you hungry or are you beyond hungry? Spiting out stats is often a way to confuse issues and avoid doing anything at all, usually the direct approach fails miserably. If one looked at poverty and where that is income wise, then looked at minimum wages and what that gives a person as a start up wage. Likely we could lose quite a number of the employed to those considered under employed. In some cases of families, even unemployment isn’t enough to sustain them, with or without an extension. All this Workforce Data says primarily is there are people being paid well at the job they have to create these illusions so at least there are a few people not under the bus and in company with a whole lots of people who aren’t counted.

Comment on No commercial tax relief until we see TIF reform by Steve Hanken

Steve Hanken — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 05:35:47 +0000

Growing incremental tax districts that never relinquish their advantage for doing what the tax was created seems over the top. Simply sun setting these tax advantages would have a correcting affect of ending the advantages in areas that have continued for years. The county and school districts never see any advantage of increased property values with the portions of TIF they get frozen for years. The rest of us, those who don’t get to take advantage of this tax break, get to cover the increased load not covered by this “financing” tax dodge.

Comment on Increasing the Social Security Retirement Age: An Unnecessary and Unfair Cut in Benefits by Maria Houser Conzemius

Maria Houser Conzemius — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:37:22 +0000

The proposed new rules would work fine for me and my husband (61 and 56 yrs.), since his family lives a long time on both sides and we are both bicyclists and healthy, but manual laborers tend to decline about seven years sooner. I’ve met many who are no longer able to work yet have trouble getting disability. This wouldn’t work for them.

Comment on Why is Iowa government smaller? by Smaller government isn’t always the answer « Move Iowa Forward

Smaller government isn’t always the answer « Move Iowa Forward — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:53:03 +0000

[...] mantra through and through. The problem is that Iowa already has a fairly small government. As the Iowa Policy Project points out: “Iowans might be surprised to learn that sensible measures indicate Iowa government actually [...]