Iowa Pork, err, Values Fund

The Des Moines Register had a plea today to Take the Values Fund deal! What is it with the Register and tax giveaways? The fund has a history of throwing money at shaky/shady deals, why would more money make it better? How does a government giveaway create jobs? The money has to come from somewhere and that somewhere are taxpayers. Wouldn’t it be better to have a lower tax burden and thereby provide an incentive for employers to come here? With lower taxes, we can invest in businesses of our choosing, rather than businesses of the governor’s choosing. With lower taxes, we can purchase more from local companies and maybe they’ll expand or start new ventures themselves.

Let’s make it easier and less costly to start and run a business, rather than give cash advances to a select few. Doesn’t that make more sense?

The fund was kicked off with $500,000,000. That means the Pork Barrel Fund costs $200 for each individual Iowan (based on a census of 2.4 million). For a family of 4, their tax overpayment comes to $800. Why do I call it that? I call it an overpayment because it sure isn’t needed to run the state, so the Governor just had to spend it somehow. We wouldn’t want to return it to the taxpayers like Jesse did in Minnesota or George did to all American taxpayers. Oh no, Iowa snatched that money from my pocketbook and they wont give it back, even if they have to find something to spend it on.

From past analysis, I know the Register’s editorial board has yet to find a tax they don’t like or a give-away that is too outrageous. I also know that the Register has reported about a couple of the businesses that have received money from the fund that have gone out of business. There was even a story about a company that took the money but didn’t relocate a single employee to Iowa. It’s not the State of Iowa’s job to make venture capital decisions. A half a billion dollars has been spent to attract a few hundred jobs. [sarcasm]Wow, that’s an impressive accomplishment![sarcasm off] Not! Does each of the new employees make a high six-figure income? How do I sign up!

At a minimum, I want my $200 back.