Blog

Common Good Iowa policy advocate Kylie Spies asked lawmakers to reject SJR 11, which calls for a constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters, would derail our state’s ability to meet Iowans' needs. It would require personal or corporate income tax increases to be approved by a two-thirds vote in each house. Its undemocratic provisions, which would lock in bad fiscal policy, are proven failures in states that have adopted them. 

Our new report, Powering Iowa’s Future, examines what the transition away from coal means for our economy, our health and our communities, and what it will take to ensure that transition works for Iowans. The prospect of shutting down the coal plants rightly concerns workers and families whose finances rely on the plants for their livelihood. But smart and strategic policy planning can produce a winning scenario for those same folks by sparking new economic development as it reduces the health damages of coal power.

Play is often seen as simple fun, but in preschool and kindergarten, it is one of the most powerful tools for learning and development. Through play, children explore the world around them, build relationships and develop essential cognitive, social, and emotional skills that form the foundation for lifelong learning. 

Play-based legislation is working its way through the legislative process but has stalled in the Senate. The bill unanimously passed the Iowa House of Representatives on March 2. It also unanimously passed a Senate Subcommittee and full committee — only to be placed on the debate calendar and then suddenly pulled from debate this week.

Fitting for Groundhog's Day week, a Senate committee advanced a bill yesterday that would do the same thing the Legislature did last year, and the year before that: slowly starve our schools. The legislation they approved falls far below what's needed to keep up with rising costs and meet the needs of Iowa students. 

Across the U.S., families and child care providers are facing a perfect storm of rising costs, staffing shortages and political turbulence — and Iowa is no exception. Here's an update. 

Contrary to the DOGE sentiments, Iowans should be proud of our commitment in state law to IPERS. Now is the time to reassure current employees and retirees that IPERS is secure, and to recommit to future employees that they are valued and that a secure retirement is assured to them as well.

Presidential interference with the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics is a reminder of how meddling by an Iowa governor clouded job data in our state.

Iowa's annual "Sales Tax Holiday" is a costly, confusing boondoggle that does little for those it purports to help. But who rushes to a "7%-off sale" anyway?