Iowa's Budget Choice - Put People First
Will our state budget put the common good above corporate greed?
The state of Iowa is sitting on a nearly $1 billion budget surplus.
Now our elected officials have a choice to make.
Will Governor Branstad and the state legislature reinvest in vital public services that have suffered from years of deep spending cuts – programs like education, environmental enforcement and protections, healthcare, critical infrastructure like roads and bridges, and a fair contract for state workers? Or, will they give away the store to large, unaccountable corporations?
Branstad has made it clear: he wants to use the money for tax cuts and giveaways for Iowa's biggest corporations and richest citizens.
Branstad’s proposal won’t create jobs, and it won’t balance the budget. It will take money away from where Iowans need it to go.
Iowans want a state budget that “Puts People First”.
We know that good government working in the best interest of the common good has to be fully-funded in order to effectively implement and enforce the law.
We are calling on Branstad to close corporate tax loopholes, end support for corporate tax cuts and giant subsidies for big business, and instead reinvest in valued state structures that have faced the biggest cuts in recent years.
The state budget must reinvest in Iowa by fully funding:
our Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources, Workforce Development and other state agencies,
job-creating infrastructure like roads and bridges,
K-12 and higher education, AND
expand Medicaid and the Earned Income Tax Credit for working families, and
negotiate fair contracts for tens of thousands of public employees.