Letter to the Editor: Submitted by Karen Carlton
To the Editor:
Have you ever received a nice-looking package that you hoped was holding what you anticipated was in it? When you opened it, you found there were parts you never wanted.
That describes what’s in Amendment 1 on the Iowa ballot this fall. The package looks good but the contents spell trouble. Any proposed amendments to Iowa’s constitution need to be studied. Iowans need to understand its short- and long-term impacts. Guesses and assumptions won’t provide protection from the consequences. Any amendment to the constitution is much more difficult to change than a law.
Amendment 1 would require a two-thirds majority vote to increase taxes rather than the current simple majority. That would apply to both personal and corporate taxes. If passed, corporate tax rates would be nearly impossible to raise. Big businesses and corporations don’t carry their own weight and pay their share of taxes and Amendment 1 would eliminate any chances to raise them.
Iowa is currently sitting on a one-billion-dollar budget deficit. The State is currently using its rainy-day funds to pay its bills. Poor legislative decisions have created this mess.
Privatization of some social services has hurt Iowans and led to lesser and poorer quality services. Corporations are in business to make money. When the size of the pot doesn’t change, the cuts to services deepen.
If taxes can’t be raised, then the State will have to find other means to cover the regular governmental costs. That could result in raising other taxes and fees for services everyday Iowans need.
Rather than tackling the original financial problem, the legislature has decided not to deal with it. The result would be regular Iowans paying even more while the corporations and big businesses continue to dodge taxes while enjoying all the advantages taxes pay for like roads, schools and law enforcement.
I believe we should stamp the Amendment 1 “gift” with the label “Bad Idea. Return to Sender.”
Karen Carlton
Waukon
