Posted 2/18/2010 by Chris

Today I am ending my campaign for the office of Governor.  I’ve enjoyed meeting and learning from so many Iowans I’ve encountered on my 54,346 mile journey around our state.  It has been a rewarding experience for me, and I hope that I’ve given my fellow Republicans some ideas to consider as they shape an agenda for the 2010 election.

Last fall it became evident that my campaign was a long shot.  I continued out of a belief that campaigns should be about issues and ideas, and it was worth the effort to shape the public debate around issues that concern my supporters and me.   It is now clear that those opportunities for such a debate are not materializing, and I cannot in good conscience accept or solicit support for an effort I know will be ultimately unsuccessful.

I want to thank everyone who has supported my campaign.  From contributors who wrote checks, to supporters who wrote to me with words of encouragement; I can’t express enough my appreciation for your support. 

Most of all, I especially want to thank my family, who for the last eighteen years has graciously given me the opportunity to pursue my political aspirations, and far too often shared precious family time with constituent demands. 

At the start of this campaign I said it was “up or out.”  That hasn’t changed.  I honestly don’t know what the future holds for me, except that there will be no more missed school concerts, plays or gymnastics tournaments.

I regret that I leave the legislature this year feeling more troubled about the future of our state that I can remember.  I describe it as a perfect storm descending upon our state of school equity challenges, a declining business climate, and massive property tax increases on the horizon.  I wish my fellow gubernatorial candidates, and returning legislators the best of luck in protecting Iowans from the dangers that will befall them if nothing is done.   As always, the first step is to recognize the danger.

The good news is that there is still time.  If Iowa’s leaders will return to the principles that once made us great; a limited government and unfettered free enterprise, our children can enjoy a brighter future.

Walter Lippmann, the Pulitzer prize winning author, once wrote, “the final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and will to carry on.”  My final hope is that I passed the test.

Posted 2/4/2010 by Chris

Posted 2/3/2010 by Chris

Yesterday I cast the lone “no” vote on SF 2062 – the Governor and Democrats plan to lure state employees to take early retirement with the goal of saving cash in the budget.

So why break with my fellow Republicans and be the lone “no” vote? 

First, I will have a hard time going home and explaining to the 1,500 constituents who just got lay off notices and are looking for work that their tax dollars will go to pay people to quit their jobs – and pay them quite well.  The package is worth up to $65,000 per employee.  $1,000 per year of service up to $25,000 plus five years of health care on the state plan.

In this economy I don’t think this will pass the coffee shop test.  I know I can’t explain it to those folks out of work.

Second, paying people to quit should be our last resort to balance the budget – not the first step out of the gate.  The legislature hasn’t passed the “Government Reorganization” bill yet (in part because the Democrats can’t come up with the Gov’s target of $300 M in savings).  We haven’t seen a balance sheet to show where other general fund cuts will happen.   I asked the question on the floor, if this is passed will there still be layoff and how many – and no one could provide me an answer.  Bottom line, the budget is being assembled on the fly without a plan.

Third, of the people eligible for the $65,000 early buy-out, over 2,300 of them are currently eligible to retire today with FULL benefits on IPERS.  Full benefit being 66% of the average of their highest three years of salary potentially for the rest of their life, with potential COLA increases.

Fourth, while the press and the Democrats portray this bill as saving $57 Million, the fiscal note shows that it results in saving only $26 Million to the General Fund – the fund that is a billion dollars in the hole.  The remainder of the savings are to the road fund (DOT employees) and positions paid for with federal dollars.  So again, the budget target isn’t met.

You can read the fiscal note on the bill by downloading it here:

http://www3.legis.state.ia.us/fiscalnotes/data/83_5589SVv0_FN.pdf

Posted 1/30/2010 by Chris

Iowa’s budget deficit takes center stage this week as lawmakers begin the process of deciding what they can accept in Governor Chet Culver’s budget, and what they have to reject.

Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, a legislator or a concerned taxpayer, you’ll be disappointed by the shenanigans Culver played in assembling his budget.

First – Budget Spends Almost $400 Million More Than Receipts

The first game Culver plays with the budget is using “one time” funds for on-going expense.  Over $200 Million from the cash reserve will have to be repaid.  Emptying out the last $38 Million from the Senior Living Trust Fund means that seniors will get few services, and next year the Governor and legislators will have to figure out how to replace those funds because the Senior Living Trust Fund will no long exist.  The last $140 Million in federal stimulus money is used up, with no plans on how to replace that revenue in the future.

The danger of using “one time” funds in the budget is like using your credit card to pay your mortgage or buy your monthly groceries.  You know you’ll have the same expense annually, but no revenue source to fund it.  Complicating matters – next year you’ll have to find the revenue for the on-going expense, AND pay off the debt.

Iowan’s need a Governor who will end the practice of playing shell games with the budget, and shifting obligations from one year to the next.

Second – Culver’s Property Tax Hike Becomes Permenant

Culver’s across the board cut to K-12 school funding had the result of raising property taxes last fall.  When the state doesn’t fund its share of school aid, but leaves the spending requirements intact it has the effect of handing the bill to the local property taxpayers.

While Culver does put $100 Million of the money he takes from the cash reserve fund toward funding the K-12 formula; he still underfunds the formula by $170 Million.  That’s $170 Million that will be paid by property taxes.

By leaving the spending requirements and mandates in place, but failing to fund it two years in a row, Culver’s tax hike becomes permanent.  Unless, of course, Iowa’s elect a Governor with a plan to turn it around.

Third – Culver’s “Savings” Don’t Add Up

The buzz words for the legislative session seem to be “government reorganization” and “savings.”  The problem is the Culver’s consultants my project one amount to be saved, but when the non-partisan legislative service bureau – whose numbers are required to be used by law – crunch the numbers they come out with a far lower amount.  One of Culver’s plans to save $200 Million turns out to save only $47 Million.  Other parts of Culver’s reorganization may save revenue – but don’t impact the general fund.  Still other plans – like scooping $50 Million from the road fund – have already been nixed by his fellow Democrats.

The bottom line is that Culver’s budget may be balanced on paper today, but it doesn’t meet the 99% Expenditure Limitation Law, and can’t be passed by the Legislature even if lawmakers wanted to accept all of his recommendations.

That’s a failure in leadership.  Iowans will have a choice this year.  They can choose someone who will just play more of the same shenanigans with their money, or choose a new Governor who will focus on property tax relief, and be just as careful with the taxpayer’s money as he is with his families finances.

Posted 1/27/2010 by Chris

Iowa taxpayers, along with local and state governments, are facing the perfect storm of lack of business development, an escalating tax burden, and a school funding crisis brought on by years of neglect and bad fiscal discipline in Terrace Hill. Where do those three storm clouds intersect?  Property taxes, property taxes, property taxes.

Storm Cloud #1 – Obstacle to Business Development

Iowa’s commercial property tax burden is the third highest in the country.  Those in the industrial classification are in the top ten.  Residential owners are in the top fifteen.  If you take the time to talk to business owners, big or small, they’ll tell you that property taxes are the key obstacle to expansion.  Ask a developer or builder, and they’ll tell you that Iowa’s property taxes per square foot of built out space make it uncompetitive to build and lease property compared to other states. 

If Iowa is to compete with other states for jobs it is our property tax burden that has to be addressed first and foremost.  Consider this example: an out of state manufacturer wants to build a new plant.  The decision makers will continue to reside in their home state, it’s the managers and production staff that will be in Iowa, so the income tax isn’t much of a factor.  Because of Iowa’s single factor formula, the manufacturer will only pay income taxes on the products sold in Iowa to Iowans – products sold out of state are not figured into their corporate income tax.  This formula already gives Iowa a leg up on other states when it comes to income taxes for manufacturers.  But consider that before the plant ever starts up its assembly line, before any profit can be realized, property taxes must be paid first.  That is what makes Iowa uncompetitive.

Consider a second example of the small business owner currently living and operating in Iowa.  Many small businesses are run as sole proprietors, and therefore aren’t subject to the corporate income tax.  Instead they file as individuals, and receive the advantages of federal deductibility, but still are paying the third highest property taxes in the country on their business property.

Property taxes come regardless of profit, regardless of economy, regardless of loss.  They are ever present.

All taxes on investment and productivity carry some level of disincentive and resistance to additional marginal investment.  But it is Iowa’s property taxes that carry the most disincentive uniformly across all business models. 

Storm Cloud #2 – Automatic Tax Increases On the Horizon

Bottom line: property taxes in Iowa are escalating and will continue to go up unless action is taken.  Failure to act is tacit approval of what is about to happen.

Governor Culver’s across the board cut is having the effect of raising property taxes over $250,000,000.  While Culver proclaims he is opposed to local school districts raising property taxes to make up the difference, he has taken no action to stop them, instead declaring that the legislature should act when it returns in January.  In the last month I’ve met with 23 different school superintendents; 18 are planning on raising property taxes as a result of Culver’s action, none are waiting until January to see what the legislature will do.

Culver’s action is just the latest, in a string of bad news for property owners.  For the last three years I have been sounding the alarm that residential and agriculture property taxes are going up – without a single vote being cast to raise the levy rates.  In short, Iowa formula for calculating property valuations is in the process of causing $477 million in tax increases for home owners and farmers.

For years the property tax “roll back” has been of benefit to homeowner and farmers.  As the above graph shows, the taxable value of a persons home has been declining since 1992.  It reached its low point in fiscal year 2009 at 44%.  But now its on the rise and will continue to do so for years to come.  This can be predicted based on the agriculture productivity formula’s five year rolling average.  The non-partisan legislative service agency that runs such numbers shows that the “roll-back” will actually roll up to almost 60%.  Bad news for homeowners.

For city dwellers, its estimated that the “roll up”  will cost them $238 million.  Again, this will happen automatically without a single city council raising their levy rate.

Counties will collect an additional $239 million from residential and agricultural property owners.

Package those two facts with Culver’s de-facto tax increase, and tax-payers will be paying an additional three quarters of a billion dollars in the next few years.  Failure to address these facts can only be taken as tacit approval by policy makers.

When this storm cloud hits, it will only compound Iowa’s business development problem.

Storm Cloud #3 – School Funding Formula Inequity

Iowa’s formula for funding schools – a mix of property taxes and state general fund dollars – has grown increasingly inequitable over time.  What once worked two decades ago is now out of date and hasn’t responded to the changes in Iowa’s economy and property tax valuations.

The fact is, Iowa is on the cusp of a class action lawsuit over the question of equity in funding K-12 education.  The lawyers will argue that “property poor” school districts (those that have a low dollar property valuation on a per pupil basis) are unable to provide the same level of education as “property rich” school districts.  If such a lawsuit goes to trial, the “property poor” districts will win.  The arguments correlating property valuations and test scores are irrefutable.  Poor districts levy higher taxes, yet collect less money.  They offer fewer programs for educational excellence and enrichment and thus have lower student achievement scores.

Thus far the debate on this topic has been largely confined to the forums of the Iowa School Board Association.  But the patience of the disadvantaged districts is waning.  Culver’s cut, and resulting property tax increase only exacerbates the problem.  Many “property poor” districts don’t have the luxury of building up cash reserves, nor do they have other discretionary programming to cut.   Because their revenues are capped by the formula, they will not see any benefit from the above mentioned increase in state-wide property valuation increases that city and county governments will reap.

The impact of this problem that is seldom talked about is the impact this has on business.  It is a disincentive to build in “property poor” areas, leading to urban sprawl and the taking of agricultural land.

Failure to address this problem in 2010 or 2011 is an almost certain invitation to a class action suit.  The risk is not that the court will throw out the existing formula, that’s a certainty.  The risk is that a new formula imposed by the court may be good for schools, but even worse for taxpayers who are already being soaked by the aforementioned storm clouds one and two…

An Umbrella for Iowa Taxpayers

Property taxes are too high and inhibiting business growth.  It is indisputable that they are going higher in the near future for all classes of taxpayers – commercial, residential and agricultural.  They are causing problems for school districts and will likely go higher still if no action is taken.

There is no silver bullet to these three challenges.  Addressing this problem is difficult and the solutions will be complicated.

Step 1 – Stop the shifting of the valuation burden (the rollback) between classifications by tying them all together and freezing them at their current rate.  I will be the first to admit that it is an imperfect solution, but we can’t wait any longer to act.  A lifeguard doesn’t wait until the a drowning swimmer reaches the bottom of the pool before they act – they jump in before they go all the way under.  In the past policy makers were reluctant to address the roll-back question for fear that residential taxes would go up. Now that they are going up, it’s the perfect time to freeze it.  A freeze doesn’t eliminate the commercial property owners problem, but it stops the homeowner and farmer from getting soaked.   We address the commercial owners problem with…

Step 2 – The decision to raise taxes must be a conscious one.  With the classifications tied together local governments must set their tax rate by setting their levy rate.  That sounds obvious and simple but it is not.  Today “budgets” are approved based on how much the current levy rate generates when multiplied against the increased valuation.  The process must be changed to require affirmative votes on levy rates.  The state income tax wouldn’t automatically fluctuate depending on how much spending is approved – neither should property taxes.

Step 3 – The school aid formula needs to be re-written with the state general fund picking up a larger share of the cost, and an elimination of the property tax equity issue.  To accomplish this, property tax relief must be the number one priority of Iowa’s next Governor.  It must drive every single budget decision made.  That cannot be stressed enough. 

If the revenue estimating conference raises their estimate of tax receipts – all new revenue must go into addressing this issue, rather then restoring budget cuts made by Culver or about to be made by the legislature in January.  If revenues exceed the estimates, a mechanism must be set to put those revenues into property tax relief rather than building up an ending balance in the state’s general fund treasury.  State agencies and departments will have to live with the reductions made this year and next so that property tax payers can see some relief.  Reductions in the state workforce will have to become permanent so that the private sector can grow.

No exceptions.  Property tax relief must come first.  Time is running out and failure to act will only make things worse.  The place to act is an equitable solution to the education funding formula.

Step 4 – For real long-term savings to occur, the overlapping layers of administration that exist in all aspects of local government must be eliminated.  For that to occur the voters must be empowered to initiate change. 

How many chiefs of police are required to ensure that a squad car responds to a 911 call in the middle of the night?  Only one, but think about your own sheriff and the number of municipal police chiefs in your county.

How many superintendents are required to oversee the existing number of local attendance centers, principals and teachers in each county?  If local schools are to remain open, Iowans can’t continue to spend more than 10% on administration of each district.

The challenge for the taxpayer in both of these examples is that their only option is one of reaction.  The system is such that citizens cannot initiate such tax-saving ideas.  That is only the purview of un-elected administrators and elected officials whose jobs might be placed in jeopardy.

This step will be controversial to be sure, and easily demagogued by proponents of the status quo.  Yet they cannot explain how the status quo is sustainable ten years from now without a massive increase in property taxes to keep it afloat.  Such an increase is what I seek to avoid. 

The opposition can be lessened by helping local governments experiment with combining administrative functions if the state picks up the remaining administrative cost upon reaching a threshold of savings/property tax relief.  Experiments that work well will be held out as a model for others to follow.  Those that fail to deliver the intended results will fall by the wayside without impacting other parts of the state.

Step 5 – No effort at relief will be successful or lasting unless changes are made to Iowa’s public employee collective bargaining law (Chapter 20).  Without changes, any gains made by the taxpayers will be taken away by the unelected arbitrator.  There are many changes that should be made, but none is more important than the issue of “ability to pay.”  Today local school districts may receive a 4% growth in their funding, yet the teacher’s union wins a 6% increase at the bargaining table.  City tax receipts grow 3%, yet the police and fire fighters negotiate a 5% benefit package increase.  Binding arbitration must require the arbitrator to consider the local taxing jurisdiction’s ability to finance any award with existing tax revenue.

In summary -  There are no perfect or easily solutions to the threat Iowa is facing.  Those that say more study is needed haven’t taken the time to look at the mountain of data already amassed.  Those that would put our limited financial resources, or their political capital to other fiscal issues – while they may be noble and well meaning intentions – only let these storm clouds and the problems associated with them worsen.

I am running for Governor because I believe that doing nothing on the issue of property taxes is no longer an option.  The perfect storm is upon us.  The difference between the candidates on the issue of taxes could not be greater.  If you agree that Iowa’s next Governor must address this challenge, I would ask that you join my campaign and help take this message of the risk of doing nothing, and the potential solutions to your friends and neighbors.

Posted 1/22/2010 by Admin

Download nomination petitions by clicking this link RantsPetition.pdf

Posted 1/22/2010 by Chris

Earlier this week while speaking to the Tea Party Patriots in Spencer I was asked about the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage, and what I would do if elected Governor.

I knew my questioner was hoping to hear me endorse a quick fix like an executive order, but I offered him a much more practical and successful method.

Step One: as the GOP nominee I would throughout the campaign let Iowans know that if elected Governor I would ensure their right to vote on a constitutional amendment, and that I would not let the legislature adjourn until they had a straight up or down vote on that issue.  I would make it clear that I would even veto bills to hold the legislature in session until such a vote took place.   I’d communicate that message in both the regular press and through campaign advertising.

Step Two: as Governor during the first week in office I’d invite the Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker of the House up to Terrace Hill for lunch to discuss the coming year and our mutual priorities.  At that time I would show them both all of the press clippings where I’d made it clear I would hold the legislature in session until such a vote took place.  I’d tell them, “Gentlemen, I believe in mandates.  I told Iowans this is what I would do.  They have given me a mandate to do exactly this, and I will do it.  So we can get this out of the way now in January, or we can settle this is July.  By the way, here is the recent polling data that shows Iowans back me on this proposal.”

Step Three: I will start looking for bills to veto.  I will start meeting with rank and file legislators to let them know that I don’t expect them to vote for this constitutional amendment (that’s between them and their constituents) but I do expect them to have a vote.  They will understand that I will veto bills, including the budget, to keep the legislature in session.   I will have told them that privately and publicly.  That will be the start of the pressure cooker.  The process will likely reach a crescendo in May or June 2011 when there is no budget approved, and the legislature has been called back into special session.

In short it will be a staring match where the first to blink loses.

I’m known for my tenacity, and if I say I’m going to do something people can count on me to follow through.  I will not blink.

It is really that simple.

It is the power that a Governor has.  It is constitutional.  It cannot be challenged in court and won’t be tied up in a prolonged legal battle.  It will be strengthened by the mandate of telling the people of Iowa in advance that is my plan.  It will be backed up with their public support.  It will work.

Posted 1/21/2010 by Chris

Posted 1/15/2010 by Rants

Posted 1/4/2010 by Chris

With the US Supreme Court’s decision today to revisit the 2nd Amendment, its time Iowa ensure the rights of individuals to own firearms by adopting a state equivalent of the 2nd Amendment to the Iowa Constitution,

Iowa is one of only six states that do not provide constitutional protection for the right to keep and bear arms.  The other states are California, Maryland, Minnesota, New York and New Jersey.

With the addition of Justice Sotomayor to the Court, defenders of the 2nd Amendment can no longer assume that it will be applied equally to state and local ordinances. Therefore, I will be introducing a constitutional amendment next year that would protect the right of all Iowans to keep and bear arms, and it will be part of my agenda as Governor.

If you support this idea, please sign our petition here, and let your own state legislator know you want to see Iowa adopt this constitutional amendment.

Posted 12/11/2009 by Chris

Rants: “Terry Branstad is now criticizing… Terry Branstad”

“Candidate Terry Branstad is now criticizing Governor Terry Branstad’s record,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

Today the Branstad campaign is criticizing the Culver administration for considering a practice that the Branstad administration employed for more than a decade.

“It was a bad idea when Branstad did it, it was a bad idea when I had the showdown with Vilsack in the special session, and its still a bad idea now,” said Rants.   “Between Terry and me, I’m the candidate that has demonstrated integrity and consistency on this issue.”

“Terry Branstad must have forgotten that in 1985 Governor Branstad started the practice of funding the Iowa State Patrol from the Road Use Tax Fund.  Governor Branstad  used this bad budget practice for eleven years as governor.  During that time Branstad diverted $275,655,000 from the Road Use Fund to pay for the patrol,” added Rants.

“The practice didn’t come to an end until my first term in the legislature when people like myself made the tough decisions needed to get Iowa’s fiscal house in order,” said Rants. 

From the Branstad blast email:

“This is no savings. This is a diversion from the Road Use Tax Fund, and a detour from pay-as-you-go budgeting. This is a bad budget practice that was used in the past, and as governor I put an end to it. This is a step backward, and the governor should not play budgetary shell games with our roads and Iowa State Patrol.”

###

Posted 12/3/2009 by Chris

Rants: “Some of us know Terry Branstad all too well”

“Terry Branstad is saying those who believe he isn’t conservative enough ‘don’t know him.’  The trouble is that some of us know Terry Branstad all too well,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

“It was Terry Branstad on the other end of the phone when he called lobbying me to raise the cigarette tax when I was Speaker.  It was Terry Branstad wielding the veto pen when he gutted our education reform legislation because Republicans wouldn’t go along with all the spending he wanted.  It is Terry Branstad’s signature on the largest tax increase in Iowa history,” added Rants.

“Opposing the Branstad tax and spend record doesn’t make someone a member of the ‘confrontational right,’ it just makes them a fiscal conservative.”

On Wednesday Terry Branstad told the Dubuque Telegraph Herald that those criticizing his record as governor, "Now I have people saying I'm not conservative enough. Now I have people calling me a moderate, or a liberal," he said. "These people don't know me."

###

Posted 12/2/2009 by Chris

This evening will be the first in a series of debates between myself and former Des Moines School Board member Jonathan R. Narcisse, a Democrat from Des Moines and a possible primary challenger to Gov. Chet Culver.  We will begin a six city solution oriented debate series - the Quad Cities on Public Safety, Greater Des Moines on State Government Reform, Council Bluffs on Local Government Reform, Cedar Rapids on Education, Dubuque on Tax Reform and Waterloo on Economic Empowerment.

Posted 12/1/2009 by Chris

"I want to commend Christian Fong for running a campaign that brought real ideas and solutions to the debate.  Christian traveled the state extensively, and that is no easy task for someone with a young family, so I want to extend a thank you to his wife and children for their sacrifice and sharing of his time.  I'm sure we haven't heard the last of Christian, and I look forward to his continued involvement in Iowa Republican politics."
Chris Rants

Posted 11/24/2009 by Chris

Iowa taxpayers, along with local and state governments, are facing the perfect storm of lack of business development, an escalating tax burden, and a school funding crisis brought on by years of neglect and bad fiscal discipline in Terrace Hill. Where do those three storm clouds intersect?  Property taxes, property taxes, property taxes.

Storm Cloud #1 – Obstacle to Business Development

Iowa’s commercial property tax burden is the third highest in the country.  Those in the industrial classification are in the top ten.  Residential owners are in the top fifteen.  If you take the time to talk to business owners, big or small, they’ll tell you that property taxes are the key obstacle to expansion.  Ask a developer or builder, and they’ll tell you that Iowa’s property taxes per square foot of built out space make it uncompetitive to build and lease property compared to other states. 

If Iowa is to compete with other states for jobs it is our property tax burden that has to be addressed first and foremost.  Consider this example: an out of state manufacturer wants to build a new plant.  The decision makers will continue to reside in their home state, it’s the managers and production staff that will be in Iowa, so the income tax isn’t much of a factor.  Because of Iowa’s single factor formula, the manufacturer will only pay income taxes on the products sold in Iowa to Iowans – products sold out of state are not figured into their corporate income tax.  This formula already gives Iowa a leg up on other states when it comes to income taxes for manufacturers.  But consider that before the plant ever starts up its assembly line, before any profit can be realized, property taxes must be paid first.  That is what makes Iowa uncompetitive.

Consider a second example of the small business owner currently living and operating in Iowa.  Many small businesses are run as sole proprietors, and therefore aren’t subject to the corporate income tax.  Instead they file as individuals, and receive the advantages of federal deductibility, but still are paying the third highest property taxes in the country on their business property.

Property taxes come regardless of profit, regardless of economy, regardless of loss.  They are ever present.

All taxes on investment and productivity carry some level of disincentive and resistance to additional marginal investment.  But it is Iowa’s property taxes that carry the most disincentive uniformly across all business models. 

Storm Cloud #2 – Automatic Tax Increases On the Horizon

Bottom line: property taxes in Iowa are escalating and will continue to go up unless action is taken.  Failure to act is tacit approval of what is about to happen.

Governor Culver’s across the board cut is having the effect of raising property taxes over $250,000,000.  While Culver proclaims he is opposed to local school districts raising property taxes to make up the difference, he has taken no action to stop them, instead declaring that the legislature should act when it returns in January.  In the last month I’ve met with 23 different school superintendents; 18 are planning on raising property taxes as a result of Culver’s action, none are waiting until January to see what the legislature will do.

Culver’s action is just the latest, in a string of bad news for property owners.  For the last three years I have been sounding the alarm that residential and agriculture property taxes are going up – without a single vote being cast to raise the levy rates.  In short, Iowa formula for calculating property valuations is in the process of causing $477 million in tax increases for home owners and farmers.

For years the property tax “roll back” has been of benefit to homeowner and farmers.  As the above graph shows, the taxable value of a persons home has been declining since 1992.  It reached its low point in fiscal year 2009 at 44%.  But now its on the rise and will continue to do so for years to come.  This can be predicted based on the agriculture productivity formula’s five year rolling average.  The non-partisan legislative service agency that runs such numbers shows that the “roll-back” will actually roll up to almost 60%.  Bad news for homeowners.

For city dwellers, its estimated that the “roll up”  will cost them $238 million.  Again, this will happen automatically without a single city council raising their levy rate.

Counties will collect an additional $239 million from residential and agricultural property owners.

Package those two facts with Culver’s de-facto tax increase, and tax-payers will be paying an additional three quarters of a billion dollars in the next few years.  Failure to address these facts can only be taken as tacit approval by policy makers.

When this storm cloud hits, it will only compound Iowa’s business development problem.

Storm Cloud #3 – School Funding Formula Inequity

Iowa’s formula for funding schools – a mix of property taxes and state general fund dollars – has grown increasingly inequitable over time.  What once worked two decades ago is now out of date and hasn’t responded to the changes in Iowa’s economy and property tax valuations.

The fact is, Iowa is on the cusp of a class action lawsuit over the question of equity in funding K-12 education.  The lawyers will argue that “property poor” school districts (those that have a low dollar property valuation on a per pupil basis) are unable to provide the same level of education as “property rich” school districts.  If such a lawsuit goes to trial, the “property poor” districts will win.  The arguments correlating property valuations and test scores are irrefutable.  Poor districts levy higher taxes, yet collect less money.  They offer fewer programs for educational excellence and enrichment and thus have lower student achievement scores.

Thus far the debate on this topic has been largely confined to the forums of the Iowa School Board Association.  But the patience of the disadvantaged districts is waning.  Culver’s cut, and resulting property tax increase only exacerbates the problem.  Many “property poor” districts don’t have the luxury of building up cash reserves, nor do they have other discretionary programming to cut.   Because their revenues are capped by the formula, they will not see any benefit from the above mentioned increase in state-wide property valuation increases that city and county governments will reap.

The impact of this problem that is seldom talked about is the impact this has on business.  It is a disincentive to build in “property poor” areas, leading to urban sprawl and the taking of agricultural land.

Failure to address this problem in 2010 or 2011 is an almost certain invitation to a class action suit.  The risk is not that the court will throw out the existing formula, that’s a certainty.  The risk is that a new formula imposed by the court may be good for schools, but even worse for taxpayers who are already being soaked by the aforementioned storm clouds one and two…

An Umbrella for Iowa Taxpayers

Property taxes are too high and inhibiting business growth.  It is indisputable that they are going higher in the near future for all classes of taxpayers – commercial, residential and agricultural.  They are causing problems for school districts and will likely go higher still if no action is taken.

There is no silver bullet to these three challenges.  Addressing this problem is difficult and the solutions will be complicated.

Step 1 – Stop the shifting of the valuation burden (the rollback) between classifications by tying them all together and freezing them at their current rate.  I will be the first to admit that it is an imperfect solution, but we can’t wait any longer to act.  A lifeguard doesn’t wait until the a drowning swimmer reaches the bottom of the pool before they act – they jump in before they go all the way under.  In the past policy makers were reluctant to address the roll-back question for fear that residential taxes would go up. Now that they are going up, it’s the perfect time to freeze it.  A freeze doesn’t eliminate the commercial property owners problem, but it stops the homeowner and farmer from getting soaked.   We address the commercial owners problem with…

Step 2 – The decision to raise taxes must be a conscious one.  With the classifications tied together local governments must set their tax rate by setting their levy rate.  That sounds obvious and simple but it is not.  Today “budgets” are approved based on how much the current levy rate generates when multiplied against the increased valuation.  The process must be changed to require affirmative votes on levy rates.  The state income tax wouldn’t automatically fluctuate depending on how much spending is approved – neither should property taxes.

Step 3 – The school aid formula needs to be re-written with the state general fund picking up a larger share of the cost, and an elimination of the property tax equity issue.  To accomplish this, property tax relief must be the number one priority of Iowa’s next Governor.  It must drive every single budget decision made.  That cannot be stressed enough. 

If the revenue estimating conference raises their estimate of tax receipts – all new revenue must go into addressing this issue, rather then restoring budget cuts made by Culver or about to be made by the legislature in January.  If revenues exceed the estimates, a mechanism must be set to put those revenues into property tax relief rather than building up an ending balance in the state’s general fund treasury.  State agencies and departments will have to live with the reductions made this year and next so that property tax payers can see some relief.  Reductions in the state workforce will have to become permanent so that the private sector can grow.

No exceptions.  Property tax relief must come first.  Time is running out and failure to act will only make things worse.  The place to act is an equitable solution to the education funding formula.

Step 4 – For real long-term savings to occur, the overlapping layers of administration that exist in all aspects of local government must be eliminated.  For that to occur the voters must be empowered to initiate change. 

How many chiefs of police are required to ensure that a squad car responds to a 911 call in the middle of the night?  Only one, but think about your own sheriff and the number of municipal police chiefs in your county.

How many superintendents are required to oversee the existing number of local attendance centers, principals and teachers in each county?  If local schools are to remain open, Iowans can’t continue to spend more than 10% on administration of each district.

The challenge for the taxpayer in both of these examples is that their only option is one of reaction.  The system is such that citizens cannot initiate such tax-saving ideas.  That is only the purview of un-elected administrators and elected officials whose jobs might be placed in jeopardy.

This step will be controversial to be sure, and easily demagogued by proponents of the status quo.  Yet they cannot explain how the status quo is sustainable ten years from now without a massive increase in property taxes to keep it afloat.  Such an increase is what I seek to avoid. 

The opposition can be lessened by helping local governments experiment with combining administrative functions if the state picks up the remaining administrative cost upon reaching a threshold of savings/property tax relief.  Experiments that work well will be held out as a model for others to follow.  Those that fail to deliver the intended results will fall by the wayside without impacting other parts of the state.

Step 5 – No effort at relief will be successful or lasting unless changes are made to Iowa’s public employee collective bargaining law (Chapter 20).  Without changes, any gains made by the taxpayers will be taken away by the unelected arbitrator.  There are many changes that should be made, but none is more important than the issue of “ability to pay.”  Today local school districts may receive a 4% growth in their funding, yet the teacher’s union wins a 6% increase at the bargaining table.  City tax receipts grow 3%, yet the police and fire fighters negotiate a 5% benefit package increase.  Binding arbitration must require the arbitrator to consider the local taxing jurisdiction’s ability to finance any award with existing tax revenue.

In summary -  There are no perfect or easily solutions to the threat Iowa is facing.  Those that say more study is needed haven’t taken the time to look at the mountain of data already amassed.  Those that would put our limited financial resources, or their political capital to other fiscal issues – while they may be noble and well meaning intentions – only let these storm clouds and the problems associated with them worsen.

I am running for Governor because I believe that doing nothing on the issue of property taxes is no longer an option.  The perfect storm is upon us.  The difference between the candidates on the issue of taxes could not be greater.  If you agree that Iowa’s next Governor must address this challenge, I would ask that you join my campaign and help take this message of the risk of doing nothing, and the potential solutions to your friends and neighbors.

Posted 11/8/2009 by Chris

Saturday night was RPI's annual fall dinner.  The keynote speaker was Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, but the focus of the evening were the six candidates for Governor.  I've posted the youtube videos of my speech, and Terry Branstad's speech.

Posted 11/7/2009 by Chris

Unfortunately time didn't allow us to get through more than a handful of questions the other day.  In fact, most of the time was spent on just two.


I had a question of my own - how many school districts would be raising property taxes in response to Culver's across the board cut.  I asked for a show of hands, and 9 out of 10 went up in the air...

The first question - and by far the most discussion - was on "spending authority" and would we legislators allow there to be an unfunded allowable growth.  In plain English - would we allow school districts to keep the ability to fill the shortfall with property taxes, or would we take it away.

I said I would vote to take away their spending authority, and reset the allowable growth amount to reflect the new reality.

That is not what may want to hear, but there are three key reasons for doing so... 

First, Iowan's can't afford a $543 Million property tax hike.  Even thought the Governor cut half that amount from schools, when the next fiscal year starts that is the size of the gap over two fiscal years.  I see no plan to be able to fill that shortfall with state general fund dollars, and I think it is unrealistic to expect that to happen.  Therefore to avert a half a billion property tax increase, allowable growth needs to be reset.  Everyone who follows school finance knows this to be true - I my be the only one honest enough to say it.

Second, failure to reset allowable growth means that gap stays with us and continues forward year after year after year. With a number on the books, the teachers union goes into collective bargaining asking for that amount (as a minimum) even though there isn't really cash behind it.  For school districts its the perfect storm of unfunded mandates, and a broken collective bargaining system.

Third, its makes the situation worse for property poor school districts.  To allow it to stand destroys any shred of "equity among districts" there is left.

Before the discussion finished on spending authority we started talking about the unfunded mandates - preschool, nurses, guidance counselors, etc...  The plea from superintendents was very real - "if you are going to cut us, then you have to let us manage those cuts."  I agree - I'd lift the mandates.  I've been an outspoken critic of the pre-school program and have written about it before on this blog.

Next up we rolled from one mandate to another - the salary increase for teachers.  The challenge for districts is that the Culver pledged money to raise teacher salaries, its now been inserted into collective bargaining - but the state can't uphold its share of the deal, leaving school boards to either raise property taxes to make up the shortfall, or lay off teachers so that they can plow those dollars saved through staff cuts into paying the raises for those left behind.  In short they are looking for some relief in the collective bargaining process.

I promised to offer the amendment to grant them that relief.

We hopped around the question list, and the idea of opening up the "seventh penny", what was supposed to be the local option sales tax for school infrastructure, to other uses was raised.  The question was asked how many districts had already bonded against it, and almost all hands shot into the air.  Rep. Wendt said that would make it highly unlikely that the penny would change, and he'd vehemently oppose doing so.  While I am also opposed, I'm less optimistic.  The size and scope of the budget challenge leave me believing that the Governor will change the use of that tax to allow districts to pay salaries with it.  its a bad plan, and I hope I am wrong.  But the first warning shot was fired this week when the ISEA lobbyist Brad Hudson made the suggestion as a way to soften the budget problem.  That didn't happen by accident.

We then talked IPERS - I support raising the rule of 88 to a higher number as a way to bring health to the system, and raising contribution rates.  But I doubt much will actually happen this year.  There will already be too much pain out there, and I doubt Culver will have the intestinal fortitude to tackle this issue, and will instead kick the can down the road a bit further.

That marked the enough of our discussion. 

One superintendent remarked after hearing some of our gloomy forecasts, "can't you give us some hope?"  I reminded him that Iowan's and the nation chose "hope" over honesty last fall.  How's that working out for us?

I've found that it may not always be popular to give people a straight and honest answer about the real challenges we face - but we are all better off in the long run if we hear what we need to hear - not what we hope to hear.

Posted 11/6/2009 by Chris

It will be a busy weekend from attending the GOP dinners in Union and Hamilton counties, to the Tea Party in Des Moines and the GOP Fall Dinner at the fair grounds.

All candidates were asked to submit a short video to be played at the Tea Party - this is mine...

Posted 11/5/2009 by Chris

Posted 11/2/2009 by Chris

Lt. Governor Patty Judge will pay a visit to my legislative district this week, and she’ll be bringing a big check…  a $250,000 grant will be awarded to the City of Sgt. Bluff to help pay for renovations to the city hall. 

It is part of Culver’s “I-JOBS” program – although I have no idea what lasting jobs will actually come about from spending $250,000 to renovate a city hall.

This comes just a few weeks after the Sgt. Bluff school district discovered that they would lose over $655,011 in funding from Gov. Chet Culver’s across the board budget cut. 

To the Sgt. Bluff taxpayers it nets out as a $405,011 loss.

Let’s be honest about that.  The city may get the grant, and the school district may take the cut, but regardless of the local government entity it is still the same taxpayers who will end up paying more. 

Not to mention that those kindergartners whose classroom funding is being cut, will be out of college and may have children of their own, before the bonds that financed that $250,000 grant are paid off by them.

I know, I know…  local political types are supposed to turn out, celebrate, and give a big thank you to the Governor’s emissary for their ‘gift’ and largess.  I just can’t.

I may be the only one, but to me this is insanity.  It shows just how mixed up Culver has his priorities.   To give a $250,000 grant that will take 20 years to pay off, meanwhile cutting $655,011 in school aid to the same community which will have to be made up by the property-taxpayers.

It’s the whole budget/bonding fiasco demonstrated in one community.

Iowans deserve better, and that’s why I’m running for Governor.  You can join our team, or support that effort by visiting our website here http://rants2010.com/support.aspx

Chris

Posted 10/28/2009 by Admin

Race for governor: Fiery GOP lawmaker Rants rises above adversity

Rants was once a boy wonder of Iowa politics, first elected to the Iowa House in 1992 at age 25. He steadily gained responsibility and influence, eventually becoming speaker of the House, known for his sharp mind and sharp partisanship.

But now, at the point in his political career where he has set his sights on the state's highest office, that limelight has faded.

Republicans lost their majority in the House after the November 2006 elections, knocking Rants from speaker to minority leader. Then, in the 2008 elections, Republicans lost more seats to Democrats. In response, House Republicans voted to replace him as their leader.

The setback left Rants, now 42, his hair flecked with gray, questioning whether he wanted to continue in politics.

"It was a tough fall," Rants said. "But everybody in life loses something. The question is: Do you pick yourself back up, or, when you get knocked down, do you stay down? I tend to believe you ought to be judged on how you handle adversity, not on if you've experienced it."

Part of the inspiration for picking himself up came in March, when he took part in an Aspen-Rodel Fellowship. The trip, paid with no taxpayer money, included two dozen U.S. politicians who spent a week in Egypt and Israel as part of a program to promote peaceful interaction with world leaders.

In a trademark mix of humor and seriousness, he jokes that he was the only person on the trip whose career was "on the downhill slide." But he also described his visit to the Holy Land as spiritually moving and a personal turning point. As he visited religious sites, he thought about service and his life's purpose.

"It rekindled the fire within me," said Rants, who formally converted his fundraising committee, "Iowans for Rants," into an account for his governor's race on June 19.


Known for his intensity

Rants, in his leadership roles, was known for strident partisanship that often irritated his opponents, who say some of his comments were misleading or unfair.

In 2007, for example, he called a program that temporarily allowed Iowans to skip penalties and half of their unpaid interest on delinquent taxes as "tax breaks for tax cheats."

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy at the time said Rants used "over-the-top and fairly reckless statements" that likely had a "chilling effect" on collections, which fell far short of expectations.

McCarthy recently called Rants "the most intense individual I've ever met."

"He loves the fight," said McCarthy, D-Des Moines. "I think he thrives on the battle. He's one of the most effective partisan debaters I've ever met."

Former House Republican leader Chuck Gipp, who roomed with Rants during legislative sessions, called him "intense, focused and studious."

"Everything he does, he does with the same intensity," Gipp said. "It's a plus, but, at times, it's probably a minus as far as interacting with people. You've got to know Christopher to truly appreciate the talent and drive he has."

Gipp said Rants maintains deep commitment to family and friends.

"If you roomed with him for 10 years like I did, you know there's a lot more to him than what people see," Gipp said.

No longer in a leadership role, Rants did not play the partisan aggressor as much in the 2009 session, but he remains "who he is," which is a legislative workhorse who gets things done, said Brent Siegrist, a former House speaker.

"He's very intelligent, but his downside, as he knows, is that people view him as abrupt," Siegrist said.

His first hurdle for now is introducing himself to Iowans beyond those who follow politics closely. In a September Iowa Poll, 72 percent of respondents said they did not know him well enough to have a favorable or unfavorable impression of him.


Family shapes views

Rants married Trudy Moody, a Storm Lake native, in 1992, the same year he was elected as a state representative. She works for Grace United Methodist Church in Sioux City as the child and youth services director. They have two daughters, Grace, a high school freshman, and Katharine, a middle school student.

The family is close, but a political career that requires him to spend so much time away from home creates stress, he acknowledged.

"There are times when she is acting as a single parent," Rants said of his wife.

Rants recalled a moment several years ago when he returned from the Legislature early in the morning and was headed out again to make a quick appearance at a Sioux City event. His oldest daughter thought he was going back to Des Moines for another extended period and began to cry.

Many Iowa families face similar balancing acts, with both time and money, he said.

"We're not unlike any other Iowa family who sits around the kitchen table and worries about how to make ends meet," Rants said.

A family experience also has shaped his pro-life views. He's always opposed abortion, but his views became stronger and more personal after pregnancy complications threatened the life of the couple's first daughter.

"I don't know how anybody who goes through that experience doesn't come out of it with a deep abiding belief about life," Rants said. "If it's life worth saving, if it's life worth praying for. That's life."


'Policy wonk' on the trail

Rants, who has logged more than 36,000 miles so far driving between campaign events across the state, often focuses his talks on education, the state's budget and property taxes.

He tells crowds that he's a "policy wonk."

He also says that children in Iowa are not challenged enough in school.

The state's tax system needs a major overhaul to lower rates for both families and businesses, he says.

Rants also focuses attention on government beyond the state level. He wants to eliminate layers of government he says are duplicative. He questions how many police chiefs are needed in one county or how many school superintendents are needed throughout the state.

He also believes pay cuts for state employees and eliminating the jobs of others will ultimately be needed.

"I just don't think we can have this level of bureaucracy in the future," Rants said. "There's no way to support it financially from a taxpayer perspective."

Echoing a position popular with much of the party's base, Rants has advocated for legislation that would reverse this year's Iowa Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

But he hasn't matched Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats' pledge to issue an executive order to halt gay marriages if elected governor. Vander Plaats is also seeking the Republican nomination.

At the event last month in Pella, an audience member accused Rants of subjecting himself to the "Supreme Court's tyranny" for not making that vow.

Rants calmly explained that such an order would not be legal because of the separation of powers of government. The only logical route to end gay marriage would be to amend the state's constitution, he explained to the man.

"I can't tell people I'd do something that I know wouldn't work," Rants said.

Beyond name recognition, Rants considers fundraising to be his other major hurdle in seeking the nomination. Former Gov. Terry Branstad's announcement that he's considering a run for the GOP nomination has slowed fundraising, he said.

"I may be the only candidate honest enough to say this," Rants said. "It doesn't stop me from plowing ahead, but it's certainly made fundraising more difficult."

He remains undeterred.

"For most Iowans it's still very early," Rants said. "Most people aren't even thinking about it yet."

Posted 10/16/2009 by Chris

Governor Culver’s 10% across the board reduction, has left me with mixed emotions.

On one hand, I have to be pleased that the Governor has finally, at last, taken action.  Cutting $565 Million is necessary – to balance the FY 11 budget, not the FY 10 budget.  But more on that in a moment.

My concern with Culver’s cut is the indiscriminate nature, the increase to property tax payers, and the effect it will have on school districts and public safety.

I believe that a 10% across the board cut is a dumb and lazy way to solve Culver’s budget problem.  Iowans need a smarter solution.

There is no doubt that education will feel the pain of budget cuts along with the rest of state government, but I contend there is a smarter way to do it.  Rather than cutting all education programs equally, Culver and the Legislature should first eliminate education programming started in just the last few years – like the pre-school plan that delivers only 10 hours of pre-school at a cost of $53 million to the tax payers.  Almost $2 million is being spent on developing model core curriculum, and the Regents will spend almost $27 million on library acquisitions.  Cutting those items would lower the cut K-12 school would need to endure. 

Considering that hiring decisions for the school year were made months ago, and the kids are already in class, I think a more appropriate cut to schools would be to zero out their allowable growth for the year – take them back to the same funding level of the 08/09 school year.  Instead Culver took them back to 07-08 funding levels – but left in place the requirement to do things like provide pre-school programs and provide two years worth of negotiated salary increases.

Considering that property taxes are likely to skyrocket over $250,000,000 due to Culver’s actions, its worth looking at smarter cuts.  For instance, pulling the plug on the Power Fund and the Office of Energy Independence would save $25M.  Delaying the purchase of new vehicles for the state fleet would save $11M.  Elimination of the funding for commercial service airports saves another $1.5M.  Eliminating the line item for family planning from the budget saves only $10,000, but elimination will stop the program from growing again.  While politically popular, eliminating the line item for “un-used” shelter care beds, the JEL programming and All Iowa Opportunity Scholarships would save another $7,500,000, which would stave off cuts to more meaningful programs.  In addition the paper clips have to be counted – last session my fellow Republicans identified over $10M in office supply reductions, but the cuts were never enacted.

When the budget is tight, this is the worst time for the state to be spending $10,000,000 acquiring land for the REAP Open Spaces program.  Save those dollars to avoid a property tax increase for the rest of us.

Tough times like this also call for doing business differently; like consolidating the administrative functions for 23 different early childhood programs into a single administrator – projected savings a minimum of $2M.

Iowa should look at consolidating IT procurement and services from multiple state agencies into one – and consider what we can outsource – projected savings $20,000,000.

Businesses often refocus on their “core competencies” – basically sticking to what they do well, and jettisoning what they don’t.  State government should do the same, and I think running a phone company and Internet provider would fail to make the list of things government must do, or does well.  It is long past time to sell the Iowa Communications Network, get out of the phone business, and plow the $15,000,000 we could get from selling the backbone of fiber back into the budget.

State government also has to look at under-utilized resources.  Our facility in Cherokee currently has empty space and beds.  Iowa should look at housing out of state prisoners at that facility and charge a price that would defray a minimum of $1,000,000 that Iowa currently spends there.

Lastly, salaries of state employees must be considered in order to save jobs in priority areas.  The private sector has been imposing salary freezes and cuts to save head count.  The public sector should not be immune from making those same sacrifices.  If state government were to reduce salaries by 2% for those employees making less than $40,000 a year; 4% for those making less than $50,000 a year; 7% for those making less than $100,000 a year, and 10% for those making more than $100,000 annually; the tax payers could save over $75,000,000.

Those would all be smarter cuts; that set priorities and protect the taxpayer. They are enough to balance the FY10 budget.

I said earlier that Culver’s actions were more about balancing FY11 that FY 10.  I said that because Culver only needed to cut 6.7% to balance the FY 10 budget.  According to the new balance sheet from the non-partisan fiscal bureau, his actions have now created an $188M ending balance.  The reason Culver cut a full 10% is because he now has to admit that the economy won’t rebound enough to close the $1 Billion gap in the FY 11 budget.  Cuts made in FY 10 will carry over to FY 11, so the more he does now, the less he has to do as election day draws closer. 

The changes wrought by Culver’s actions threaten to disrupt school districts and put vital services like public safety in jeopardy.  Iowa needs smarter solutions.  That’s why I’m running for Governor and asking for your help and support.

Posted 10/12/2009 by Chris

Posted 10/7/2009 by Chris

The Revenue Estimating Conference met today to revise the revenue estimate for FY 2010 and set the revenue estimate for FY 2011.

Posted 10/6/2009 by Admin

Rants’ ideas Web site worth a look

By Kathie Obradovich • Des Moines Register • October 5, 2009

Posted 10/5/2009 by Chris

October 6, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Rants (712) 274-8874

Rants: “New Audit Shows Culver’s

Mismanagement of Public Funds

Started as Secretary of State”

“Chet Culver hasn’t managed the public’s money well as Governor, and this new audit shows he didn’t manage it well as Secretary of State.   The US Election Commission’s audit shows highly questionable activities from no-bid contracting, to salaries paid without documentation,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

“The audit by the United States Election Assistance Commission shows us that the incompetence of the Iowa Film Office is not an isolated incident.   Governor Culver has no one else to blame this time.  Culver has fired others in recent weeks for mismanagement, this time it should be Culver’s job on the line. ” 

The US Election Assistance Commission Office of Inspector General – audited the administration of payments received under the Help America Vote Act by Iowa’s Secretary of State from April 10, 2003 through April 30, 2008.  The audit became public this week.  The audit was completed by Clifton Gunderson LLP, the same firm that also released an audit report on the Iowa Film Office and its mismanagement of tax credits.

The “audit concluded that the SOS did not account for and expend HAVA funds in accordance with the requirements” of the US Election Assistance Commission and federal procurement guidelines.

The audit found that then Secretary of State Culver had:

• $1.2 M in sole source contracts to three vendors, and in violation of normal state bidding and purchasing

• $2,555,274 on “questionable activities including  (Appendix C)

• $118,224 spent on activities unrelated to voter education.

• $885,573 of salaries and benefits were paid without proper documentation that the work done was HAVA related.

• $3,094,662 in accounting errors and misreported funds

The complete audit can be downloaded at

http://www.eac.gov/eac_ig/2009-audits-and-reports-1/eac_ig/docs/ia-final-report-9-24-09-published-final-508/attachment_download/file

“Chet Culver’s habit of awarding no-bid contracts to the State Public Policy Group (SPPG) deserves more investigation.  Culver’s decision making certainly raised red flags with the auditors,” said Rants.   “As Governor he awarded them a no-bid contract with RIO, and now it is discovered that they were paid $763,702 on a no-bid contract when he was Secretary of State.  Culver has ignored his duty to make sure the taxpayers get the best deal possible, and instead continues to reward friends and supporters.”

Rants pointed to the specific mentions of the problem with no-bid contracts detailed on pages 10 and 11 of the audit:

“The problem was that fees for services were negotiated with the contractors and not subjected to competition and comparison with other bidders so that the SOS could ensure it got the best value or even a reasonable price. For example, the professional fee with the vendor for facilitation and management of the HAVA program was identified as $22,145 per month for the last 11 months of 2005 without identifying an hourly rate or an estimate of the hours to be worked or the number of employees assigned to the contract in order to earn the monthly fee.”

“The following amounts were paid to contractors where sole source procurements were made by the SOS without justification and where the SOS did not have procurement standards and requirements for full and open competition, affirmative steps to assure that minority firms, women’s business enterprises, and labor surplus area firms are used when possible, cost and pricing analysis, and a written code of conduct that prohibited real or apparent financial conflicts of interest. Accordingly, we question all costs associated with these contracts.”

###

Posted 10/3/2009 by Chris

Posted 10/1/2009 by Chris

1. Allow nonresident owners of farmland to be eligible for free landowner deer licenses now allowed to resident farmland owners.

Posted 10/1/2009 by Chris

October 1, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Rants (712) 274-8874

Rants: First Quarter Tax Report

Pegs Budget Deficit at $300M

“With the end of the first quarter, Iowans now have a clear picture on the size of Culver’s budget deficit.  Revenues for the quarter are negative -9%.  Half of that is due to Culver’s budgetary slight of hand, and half is a real decline in tax receipts. If you extrapolate that out over the rest of the fiscal year, Culver has a $300 million shortfall, and he’s already a quarter of the way through the year,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

“I would expect to see the Governor issue a 5% to 6% across the board cut in the next few weeks.  A smarter move would have been to reconvene the legislature to make selected cuts and whole eliminations.”

The report from the non-partisan Legislative Service Agency can be found here: http://www.legis.state.ia.us/lsadocs/MonMemo/2010/MMSLS001.PDF

The current Revenue Estimate is set at -.7% or  $5.71Billion.  The report shows that for the first quarter of the year, revenue was down a -9.1%.

Posted 9/30/2009 by Chris

September 30, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Rants (712) 274-8874

Rants: Time for a “2^nd Amendment” to the Iowa Constitution

“With the US Supreme Court’s decision today to revisit the 2nd Amendment, its time Iowa ensure the rights of individuals to own firearms by adopting a state equivalent of the 2nd Amendment to the Iowa Constitution,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

The US Supreme Court announced today that they would hear McDonald v Chicago, and review a lower court ruling that upheld a handgun ban in Chicago.

Iowa is only of only six states that do not provide constitutional protection for the right to keep and bear arms.  The other states are California, Maryland, Minnesota, New York and New Jersey.

“With the addition of Justice Sotomayor to the Court, defenders of the 2nd Amendment can no longer assume that it will be applied equally to state and local ordinances. Therefore, I will be introducing a constitutional amendment next year that would protect the right of all Iowans to keep and bear arms, and it will be part of my agenda as Governor,” added Rants.

###

Posted 9/25/2009 by Chris

September 25, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Rants (712) 274-8874

Rants: Tax Refunds Delayed to “Balance the Budget”

“Governor Culver isn’t telling Iowans that $30 million in tax refunds that should have been paid in July and August were delayed so that he could close the books and declare the budget balanced.  California at least had the courtesy to issue IOUs to taxpayers.  Iowa just kept their money,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

The Revenue Estimating Conference projected over $70 million in anticipated refunds.  Culver’s press release reports paying only $43.9 million in refunds.   The Dept of Revenue paid the missing $30 million in refunds starting on September 2^nd after they stopped counting accruals.    An examination of past years practice shows that corporate tax refunds of $24M and $30M were paid in July and August during FY 08 and FY 09; while this year only $8.5 M was paid.  Yet in previous years $14M and $15M in refunds have been paid in September, while this year $44.6 M has been suddenly paid.

“There is no such thing as coincidence – not in electoral politics and budget gimmickry.  They held the refunds to make things look better.  That’s a dishonest way to balance the budget,” added Rants.

###

Posted 9/23/2009 by Chris

September 23, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Rants (712) 274-8874

Rants Issues List of Questions for

IDED and IDORF Regarding

Film Office Tax Credits

“While much of the attention surrounding the scandal at the Iowa Film Office is surrounding how did a Mercedes and Range Rover get purchased – there are bigger questions that demand answers.  This morning I submitted ten questions and requests for information to the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Revenue and Finance,” said Rants   My concern is the impact to taxpayers and Culver’s budget deficit.” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City. 

“There is plenty of time to assign blame and point fingers later.  Today the focus needs to be on what happens next, and the impact this will have on the FY 09, FY 10 and FY 11 budgets.  The books haven’t been closed on last year’s budget yet, and we already know this year started out in a hole.  What I want to know is how much more will have to be cut from the budget because of Culver’s lack of oversight.”

A Taxpayer’s List of Questions and Requests for Information for Governor Culver and the Iowa Department of Economic Development Regarding the Iowa Film Tax Credit

1. Provide a list of tax credit certificates issued prior to July 1, 2009 with the amount in which they were issued.  The names of the recipients may be redacted.

2. Provide a list of tax credit certificates issued after July 1, 2009 with the amount in which they were issued.

3. If the REC assumed the amount of tax credits for FY 09 was $18 M, and the credits issued prior to July 1 exceeds that amount; how will this impact the ability of the state to close the books on the FY 09 fiscal year?  Will adjustments be made and how?

4. If the cap of $50M of tax credits issued after July 1 for FY 10 was exceeded, and this is the number built into the budget and revenue estimate, how will the Governor reduce the general fund budget to put it back into balance?

5. Have tax credit certificates been awarded for FY 2011 and beyond?  If so, how much of the $250M five-year cap ($50M each year for 5 years) has been awarded?

6. How many tax credit certificates have been sold to third parties and reported to the Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance?

7. How are the tax credit certificates authenticated?  Are copies kept at the IDED or the IDORF?

8. Can the IDED or the IDORF provide a list of Iowa banks that provided loans to film companies based on the award of the tax credit certificate?

9. Why was an independent audit done rather than using the office of the Iowa State Auditor?

10. How many credit certificates have been redeemed to date?   Does IDED or IDORF have a schedule of anticipated redemptions? 

All of this information should be publicly available, though some names may be redacted as is customary with disclosure of the amount of Research and Development Tax Credits.

Posted 9/22/2009 by Chris

This is the worst possible time for Iowa to be without leadership at the Department of Economic Development.  We have record unemployment and no sound development strategy in place.


Scandal at the film office, abrupt resignations, investigations looming....


Governor Culver needs to take charge this week and secure the appointment of a top notch economic development professional or business leader to come in and right the ship. 


Let me say this again - top notch - professional - this week.


The Governor needs to break his tradition of delay - he needs to act now to restore confidence.


Here's a place to start - call Mike Blouin.  He'd restore confidence and knows how to do the job.  Too much bad blood from their primary?  Call Debi Durham.  Ooops, she's a Republican.  Ok then, find another professional developer or business leader.  There are plenty of Chamber of Commerce types around the state.


The problem with getting a top notch person to take the job will be that every fiber of their being will be screaming in opposition to the Culver legislative agenda  of killing Right to Work, passing Doctor Shopping, Prevailing Wage, and raising income taxes.  To get a great person to manage the Dept Culver will have to do one of two things - dump his legislative priorities, or take the muzzle of DED and let him or her speak their mind about what it will take to get this state growing.  Its unlikely he'll drop his union buddies in an election year, so I'd settle for a DED Director who is allowed to tell the truth.


I know, I know, what am I doing giving Culver advice when I am running against him?  Its for the good of the state.  We have over 100,000 Iowans unemployed and looking for work.  We need leadership now - it can't wait until next November.

Posted 9/21/2009 by Chris

September 21, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Chris Rants (712)274-8874

Rants Issues Tax Challenge

To Gubernatorial Candidates

“As Iowa’s state budget situation continues to worsen, the public deserves to know how candidates for governor intend to put it right.  The last two times state government had a significant deficit, the sales tax was raised and the list of things subject to sales tax was expanded.  That is why I challenge my fellow candidates running for governor to pledge to veto any attempt to raise the sales tax, expand its base, or redirect the school infrastructure tax into the general fund,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.  

“We should not repeat the mistakes of the past, but live within our means.  I would hope my fellow Republicans, and Governor Culver would join me in taking this pledge, but I caution them not to do so lightly.  The magnitude of budget deficit is unprecedented.  It will not be easy to balance the budget, and Iowans should expect that there will be pain.  But I believe to close the budget gap with more tax revenue will only make our economic condition worse.”

Rants initially issued his challenge this weekend at the Poweshiek County GOP Town Hall Forum, however all candidates were not present.  He will again issue the challenge this evening in Mt. Pleasant, Tuesday in Pella, and Wednesday in Ames.

###

Posted 9/18/2009 by Chris

Last Saturday night the Iowa Family Policy Council held a candidates forum for those of us running for Governor.  They posted Youtube videos of it yesterday.

Posted 9/4/2009 by Chris

The full audit of Opportunities Unlimited for June 2003, the last fiscal year Bob Vander Plaats was Chairman of the Board of Directors.  Page 2 'financial highlights' is the most relevant page as to the deficits.

FullOUaudit.pdf

Posted 9/2/2009 by Chris

September 1, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Sara Craig (515) 669-7019

Rants: Internal Audit Shows More

Financial Trouble Under Vander Plaats

“The audits and tax returns speak for themselves.  Under Bob Vander Plaats’ leadership, things got worse. A lot worse.  When an audit shows his organization violated the terms of their primary bond agreement – that’s not a track record to take to the Governor’s office.  We have that in Chet Culver already,” said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

A review of the audit of Opportunities Unlimited during Vander Plaats’ last year as Chairman of the Board (June 2003), reveals that Opportunities Unlimited violated their bond agreement. The audit states, “For 2003 the Organization did not meet the Net Income Available for Debt Service requirement.  Under the Special Covenant section of the Loan Agreement, the Organization is required to retain a management consultant.”

“Both Vander Plaats and Culver have a habit of telling Iowans that everything is fine, they have it all under control.  But in both cases, their financial audits tell a very different story,” explained Rants.  “Culver says he has a Triple A bond rating, and Vander Plaats says care for resident improved.  Both are true, but neither explains away their deficits, nor the deficiencies in their audits.  We never hear about that on the campaign trail.  A self proclaimed ‘turn around’ expert is supposed to make things better, not worse.”

###

*From the June 2003 Opportunities Unlimited audit report: “In 1994 the Organization received $2.53 million from Health Care Facility Revenue Bonds through the City of Sioux City, Iowa.  Additional Revenue Bonds of $3.0 million were issued in 1998 through the County of Woodbury, Iowa.  The terms of the Revenue Bonds include various covenants which require the maintenance of a debt service funds equal to the maximum annual principal and interest requirements, restrict how the proceeds are to be spent and have certain financial conditions.  For 2003 the Organization did not meet the Net Income Available for Debt Service requirement.  Under the Special Covenant section of the Loan Agreement, the Organization is required to retain a management consultant.”

Posted 9/1/2009 by

September 1, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Sara Craig (515) 669-7019

Rants: Iowa Doesn’t Need a CEO

Who Specializes in Down Turns

SIOUX CITY, IA – Bob Vander Plaats claims Iowa needs a ‘turn around CEO’, but taking an operating surplus and turning it into a deficit is something our current Governor has already perfected.  State government doesn’t need a CEO who specializes in down turns, said Rep. Chris Rants, candidate for Governor from Sioux City.

“In every speech he gives, Bob says he was a ‘turn around’ CEO at Opportunities Unlimited, and most people take his word for it.  But when he told the crowd at the Black Hawk Lincoln Dinner that he grew the assets of the organization by 440%, it made me wonder just how much truth there was to the story, so I checked it out,” explained Rants.    “A review of the tax returns found on Guidestar uncovered something very different.  The facts show Opportunities Unlimited tanked financially during his tenure as CEO and Chairman.”

According to a review of Opportunities Unlimited tax returns, during Vander Platts tenure as CEO starting in 97 to when he was dismissed as Chairman in 03, the organization went from a $471,455 operating surplus to a $630,655 deficit, and total operating revenue dropped from $4.2 million to $3.9 million. Public support for the charity dropped from $550,211 to $27,672.  End of year net assets were largely unchanged, but long term debt doubled from $2.4 million to $4.7 million.

“Once again, what Mr. Vander Plaats says might sound good in a stump speech, but the facts tell a very different story.  Budget deficits and more debt show his record is just like Chet Culvers.”

###

Posted 8/26/2009 by Chris

August 26, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Sara Craig (515) 669-7019

Rants: A Prescription to Improve Health Care in Iowa

SIOUX CITY, IA – Rep. Chris Rants today has released a four step plan to improve health care quality and cost in Iowa. 

"While much of the country is caught up in fight over ObamaCare, there are still common sense approaches to health-care reform that we can put into practice here in Iowa.  I believe we can improve quality of the care we get, and control the cost we pay for it by abiding by three simple principals; First, quality care should be rewarded; second, more information can keep Iowans healthier; and third if the money spent isn't making people healthier it needs to be re-examined."

Four Step Plan to Improve Quality and Control Cost of Health Care in Iowa:

1.  Reward Iowa hospitals based on value and performance. 
               A. Evaluate and rank Iowa's hospitals on a quality of care basis.
               B. Base full Medicaid reimbursement on how they rank in matrix. Maximum ranks receive 100% reimbursement.  Lower ranks receive a lower level of reimbursement to a set minimum.

2.  Establish IowaCompareCare.com - a transparency initiative to help Iowans make informed choices about quality and cost of medical providers.

3.  Commit to developing E-Health record system within four years to eliminate the high costs and number of mistakes associated with a paper-based health care system.

4.  Lower the cost of care by passing meaningful medical liability reform.
               A.  Require a certificate of merit upon filing a medical malpractice claim.
               B.  Require mediation of claims prior to trial.
               C.  Cap non-economic damages at $250,000.


"While I would work to implement these state specific actions, I also believe a Governor has a role to play in ensuring any federal action works for and not against Iowans.   To make the most of these changes any federal legislation should include tax equity for small employers.  Iowa's small businesses and farmers should be able to deduct the cost of health insurance for employees under the IRS Sec 125, just like large multi-state corporations and its time our federal legislators recognize that all Iowa employers deserve equal treatment." 

"This isn't the last word on health care from my campaign, it is just a starting point.  Over the next fourteen months folks can expect to hear more common sense, practical solutions to help Iowans."

Posted 8/21/2009 by Admin

August 21, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Sara Craig (515) 669-7019

Rants: Culver Finally Comes Clean on Real Green Jobs Number

SIOUX CITY, IA – Rep. Chris Rants released the following in response to Governor Culver’s “green jobs” executive order signed yesterday;

"Governor Culver has once again shown his lack of leadership and problem with numbers.  If the Iowa Power Fund was as successful as Governor Culver claimed it to be, why do we need a new task force on green jobs?  The answer is simple – Chet Culver has greatly exaggerated the number of new jobs created by the Power Fund.  At least the truth has finally come out today.”

Governor Culver first claimed the Iowa Power Fund, his legislative initiative from 2007, brought 8,700 new “green” jobs to the state of Iowa.  Now an article in the Des Moines Register states, “Culver’s office estimates that “green” jobs have grown by more than 3,500 since 2003 to more than 8,700.”

"This is a clear contradiction from what Governor Culver has been trying to sell the people of Iowa in the last month.  The Power Fund clearly did not create 8,700 new jobs as Culver led many people to believe, and quite honestly, I'm not sure that Governor Culver even knows how many jobs the Power Fund actually created." 

“Governor Culver needs to start concentrating on real ways to get the 100,000 unemployed Iowans back to work, rather than putting together another task force that will just prolong the process.  There is enough bureaucracy in Government, why does Governor Culver feel the need to keep adding more?  If the power fund is not creating the jobs it promised, Culver should disband it.  It is time to look for real solutions to Iowa's economic problems, not a time to simply wish the state's problems away."

###

Posted 8/13/2009 by Chris

August 13, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Sara Craig (515) 669-7019

Rants: State Tax Payers Can’t Foot the Bill for Obama-care

SIOUX CITY, IA – Rep. Chris Rants released the following in response to the ongoing national healthcare debate and the added costs it would bring to state government. 

“Iowa taxpayers can’t afford the $630 Million increase in state spending that will be mandated under any of the three versions of Obama-care being discussed in Congress,” stated Representative Christopher Rants. “Congress is out of touch, and the cost is too much.”

“With all the outrage being expressed at congressional town halls over Obama’s public healthcare option, I’m worried that important details are being ignored – like the cost to our state government.  We need a governor to speak up and tell congress that a $630 million increase in spending is something Iowa taxpayers can’t afford.  Unfortunately Governor Culver has never seen a spending plan he didn’t like, no matter the cost to taxpayers and future generations.”

“The Kennedy-Dodd proposal would put another 335,879 adults on Medicaid at a cost of $629,604,166.  We are able to establish that number and cost because just a year ago the Iowa legislature commissioned a study by the Lewin Group to analyze the cost of exactly that change.”

Medicaid eligibility is restricted, on average, to families earning 68 percent of the poverty level, or about $15,000 for a family of four in 2009. Childless adults who are not disabled are generally excluded from the program.  Under the Kennedy-Dodd proposal the adult eligibility for Medicaid would increase to 150% of the poverty level. According to the Lewin Group study, 85,383 parents could be covered at a cost of $391 per month.  The study also found that 250,496 childless adults could be covered at a cost of $439 per month.  The total annual cost of providing Medicaid coverage to the 335,879 Iowans identified by Lewin would be $1,720,229,964.  Iowa’s share of this would be $629,604,166 as the state pays about 1/3 of Medicaid costs, with the federal government picking up the rest.

“Just last week, Senator Baucus was quoted in Congressional Quarterly as saying ‘we cannot let U.S. taxpayers pay the full state bill’ for expanding Medicaid.  The Blue Dog Democrats in the House have already moved to have the states pay.  Well, how do they expect Iowans to pay this bill?” added Rants.

“Iowa will spend just over one billion dollars on Medicaid this year.  What Congress is proposing would be a 60 percent increase in that budget – something taxpayers simply cannot afford.”

###

Copies of the Lewin Group study can be obtained at http://www.legis.state.ia.us/lsadocs/IntComHand/2009/IHAMV000.PDF  - The relevant chart is found on page 18.

Posted 8/11/2009 by Chris

August 11, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Sara Craig (515) 669-7019

Rants: Culver Needs to be Straight With Iowans

SIOUX CITY, IA – Rep. Chris Rants released the following in response to the latest controversy surrounding the number of jobs created by the Power Fund.

"Governor Culver has a problem with numbers; either he isn’t keeping accurate account of jobs in the state or he is willing to fabricate facts and figures for campaign purposes.  I am not sure what is worse, having a governor who is unable to keep an accurate account of jobs funded by state dollars, or a governor who deliberately misleads Iowans trying to give a false sense of security. Either way, Governor Culver needs to be straight with Iowans about how their tax dollars are being spent."

The latest example of Culver's inflated numbers is the controversy over number of jobs created by the Power Fund.

"There is some interesting research going on at our universities," said Rants "but it isn't creating jobs today.  Certainly not the numbers Culver claims and it's easy to prove.  If you take the list of projects provided by his office last week and call the recipients to ask how many people are employed, the numbers don't add up to more than a hundred."

"What is at issue is not whether or not the Power Fund is good or bad, it is that Culver is not being straight with Iowans.  Iowans need a Governor who will always tell them the truth, no matter what."

Culver's claim:

Lee Enterprises: Culver said up to $50 million in Iowa Power Fund investments have already created about 8,700 jobs in the green-technology sector and pushed Iowa to the forefront of renewable energy nationally.

Associated Press: "That's an outdated report," Culver said Thursday. "What we know today is about 8,700 jobs have been created in Iowa in the green technology sector, in part because of the Power Fund."

Associated Press: Asked how many jobs could be attributed to the Power Fund, the governor said "certainly thousands of jobs."

Culver's Reality:

Cellencor Inc. – 3-4 research jobs. 

ISU, Clean Gasification Platform for Renewable Power – (no response)

UNI, Annual Iowa Energy Poll – 0 Jobs.

RENEW Energy Systems, mobile solid biomass briquette plant – (no response)

UNI, Determining Maximum Sustainable Production of Biomass with Mixture of Prairie Species – (no response)

Green Plains Renewable Energy and Bioprocess Algae LLC – 5 employees. 

Poet Project Liberty – 0 jobs have been created to date, construction on the cellulose plant has not yet started.

UNI, Development of Less Expensive Dye Sensitized Solar Cells – (no response)

Iowa Stored Energy Park – 8-10 temporary jobs.

ISU, Efficient, Low Cost, Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conversion – (no response)

UNI, Novel Hydrogen Storage Materials for Fuel Cell Application – (no response)

Novecta, LLC, Utilizing Glycerol in Swine and Poultry – few research jobs during research project,  project is complete. 0 permanent jobs as a result.

I-Renew, Energy and Sustainability EXPO – “small staff”

Renewable Energy Group, Biodiesel Research Center – 5-6 researchers working on Power Fund project. 

TPI Iowa LLC, Wind Blade Advanced Manufacturing Initiative – (no response)

Amana Farms, Amana Renewable Energy Project – (no response) 

AmeriCorps/Green Corps Program, Volunteer Iowa has the contract (even though it states DED/DNR) – 56 AmeriCorps Jobs

City of Fairfield, Making Iowa’s Cities Sustainable – 1 job

ISU, Increasing the use of distillers grains in livestock diets, decreasing the impact of insoluble fiber, antibiotics, and sulfate in swine, poultry and cattle diets – (no response)

Carbon Free Energy, LLC, Vertical Wind Turbine Manufacturer – (no response)

City of Cedar Rapids, 21st Century Green Energy Project – (no response)

Consumers Energy Cooperative, Plug-in Electric Hybrid – 0 jobs created. Bought a Toyota Prius and took it to Minnesota to be retrofitted for electric plug in.

Posted 8/3/2009 by Admin

Job numbers spark Power Fund debate

By MIKE GLOVER
Associated Press

A report on the Iowa Power Fund shows it has created only 100 jobs but could generate many more if state-backed alternative energy projects are successful.

The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency, which researches issues for lawmakers and prepared the report, said $47.7 million from the four-year Power Fund has been matched by $85 million in federal funding and $101 million in private money. The money has financed a number of alternative energy projects such as biofuel production and the storing of energy generated by wind turbines.

Ron Robinson, a senior analyst for the Legislative Services Agency, said that if the projects succeed, they could create 850 to 1,000 jobs.

Despite the potential for future jobs, some critics focused on the small number created so far.

"I don't know many Iowans who think spending a half-million dollars per job is a very good return on investment," said Sioux City Rep. Christopher Rants, who is seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

Rants thinks the state would be better off putting the money into community colleges, which offer job training programs.

The $100 million Power Fund was created in 2007 to generate jobs and ease dependence on foreign oil by spending state money on the alternative energy industry. Gov. Chet Culver pushed hard for the fund during his 2006 campaign.

Culver spokesman Phil Roeder said the report doesn't mention the hundreds of construction jobs that have come from projects sparked by the Power Fund.

And he said the $47 million figure cited in the report is misleading. Roeder said only about $35 million of that was spent on projects. Another $7.5 million was used for flood recovery efforts, and $5 million went to community colleges for energy education and training.

Although the focus has been on job creation, Roeder said, that is just one of the Power Fund's missions.

"Part of it was to create jobs and part of it was to create a climate that attracts other renewable energy companies, and part of it was to make Iowa a place where the renewable energy industry is going to grow," he said.

The governor's office estimates that so-called "green jobs" in Iowa grew by 3,524 between 2003 and 2008 and now total 8,737.

Culver has made alternative energy production a focal point of his administration. He was in Alaska over the weekend to give speeches describing Iowa's success in alternative energy production, including its status as the nation's second-largest producer of wind energy.

Iowa has more than 2,000 wind turbines, which generate 15 percent of the energy the state needs.

The Renewable Energy Alaska Project paid for Culver's trip. The Alaska group is made up of utilities and businesses, as well as conservation and consumer groups.

Posted 8/1/2009 by Admin

Rants cracks on Power Fund job creation

This is where Christopher Rants excels. Yesterday afternoon I sent out a tweet and wrote a brief for the paper from an Iowa Gov. Chet Culver press release about the governor heading off to an Alaska conference to tout Iowa’s successes in renewable energy. Culver’s two-day 49th state appearance is today and tomorrow, where he’ll talk about, among other things, the Iowa Power Fund, a priority he campaigned on in 2006 and which the Legislature passed during his early-term honeymoon period.

And as I come in this morning, an email awaits from nine-term state representative Rants, hacking on the financial realities of the Iowa Power Fund. Rants, alone of all the five or six Republican guys moving toward a gubernatorial run, recapped some stats on the program’s job creation and offered a less-than-positive assessment. That’s where he seems to have a leg up on the GOP competition — Sioux Cityan Rants seizes an opening and uses his vast knowledge of state programs and financial matters to drive home a point that’s damaging to his opponent, in this case the governor he hopes to unseat.

He essentially took what Republicans have done nationally in criticizing estimated federal stimulus job creation numbers not panning out, only with a state program created under Democratic leadership (albeit with much bipartisan support, since in April 2007  the Iowa House voted 88-10 to pass the plan and 60-37 on a separate bill to fund it).

Rants points to the state Office of Energy Independence reporting to the Legislative Service Agency that only 100 jobs have been created by companies taking $47.7 million from the Iowa Power Fund. “I don’t know too many Iowans who think spending half a million dollars per job is a very good return on investment,” he said in the press release.

Posted 7/31/2009 by Chris

July 31, 2009 | For Immediate Release

Contact: Sara Craig (515) 669-7019

Rants: Green Jobs at What Cost? Culver: $500,000 per job

SIOUX CITY, IA -- Rep. Chris Rants released the following in response to Governor Culver's trip to Alaska this weekend.  He is delivering a speech at the Anchorage Museum Friday evening entitled "Renewable Energy and the Green Collar Jobs of the Future."  His press statement cites his work "with companies around the globe to bring new jobs to Iowa creating greater opportunities for communities and building a brighter future for everyone."

"Governor Culver needs to tell Alaskans and Iowans the true cost of the 'green jobs' he claims to have created. After spending $50 million dollars on his PowerFund project in Iowa, there are only 100 new jobs."

Last month Culver's Office of Energy Independence reported to the non-partisan Legislative Service Agency that thus far only 100 jobs have been created by companies that have taken $47.7 million in state financial support.

"I don't know too many Iowan's who think spending half a million dollars per job is a very good return on investment.  We all support renewable energy and the promise it holds for the future.  But Iowa is facing serious economic trouble.  It is time for Culver to acknowledge that funding our community colleges is a better investment than spending money on his PowerFund."  

###

Posted 7/30/2009 by Admin

Posted 7/23/2009 by Admin

Posted 7/22/2009 by Admin

Rants Blasts Culver on Spending
Sioux City Journal

By James Q. Lynch, Journal Des Moines Bureau | Posted: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 CEDAR RAPIDS -- Two Republicans seeking their party's nomination for governor called for giving voters more power -- over fiscal issues, in one case, and social matters in the other.

Both Rep. Christopher Rants of Sioux City and Cedar Rapids businessman Christian Fong raked Democratic Gov. Chet Culver for unaffordable and unsustainable growth in government spending during remarks to the Linn County Central Committee Tuesday night.

"I'm looking forward to putting my record as speaker of the House for four years of tax reduction, balanced budgets and not taking on debt up against Chet Culver's four years of tax increases, unbalanced budgets and a lot of debt," Rants said.

Fong agreed the state is headed in the wrong direction under Culver.

"Out of control spending -- $830 million in borrowing to get through a deficit -- and it's not just this year's debt," Fong said. "What will we do next year? And the year after that? We're growing a $1 billion deficit."

Rants would change direction by reducing property taxes. He cited a recent report that found Iowa property taxes rank in the top five on business, the top 10 on industry and top 15 on homeowners.

He called for a pilot project to give voters -- not elected officials -- the opportunity to reduce bureaucracy and the cost of government. For example, Rants said, voters in Woodbury County where he lives, might choose to keep all of the schools and all of the teachers in their eight schools districts, but eliminate seven superintendents. Or they might keep all of the officers in their five law enforcement agencies, but operate with one chief.

Fong drew applause, too, when he called for allowing Iowans to vote on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and when he referred to himself as a "pro-life Republican."

Other Republicans among the list of hopefuls are Rep. Rod Roberts of Carroll -- who joined the race Tuesday, Sens. Jerry Behn of Boone and Paul McKinley of Chariton, and Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City.

Posted 7/22/2009 by Chris

Gubernatorial Op-Ed: Chris Rants

• Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Posted 7/16/2009 by Admin

Vander Plaats and Rants within 10 points of Culver

Posted By Craig Robinson On July 16, 2009 @ 4:33 am In Iowa, News Center, Top Story

Article printed from The Iowa Republican: http://theiowarepublican.com/home

URL to article: http://theiowarepublican.com/home/2009/07/16/vander-plaats-and-rants-within-10-points-of-culver/

Posted 7/8/2009 by Chris

Rants Call for Tax Amnesty for Flood Victims

Culver’s Tax Decision Costs Flood Victims Money

Victims from last year’s flooding have joined the growing list of Iowans paying more in taxes thanks to Governor Chet Culver and his Department of Revenue and Finance.

“Last summer when Republicans outlined our plan to provide aid to flood victims, coupling with the federal tax code was on our to-do list.  During this past Legislative session, Republicans repeatedly called to update our tax code. Today people are feeling the real pain of Governor Culver’s decision to reject that idea,” said State Representative Chris Rants of Sioux City.”

In 2008 Congress changed the tax code to allow disaster victims to itemize all of their losses and deduct them.  The Iowa Department of Revenue advised tax preparers to file as though Iowa law would “couple” or mirror the federal changes.  However, Iowa never made the change.  Many disaster victims are now are being told that they owe the state of Iowa money.

“It’s not fair that those who were flooded out are being punished today for listening to the advice of their state government. Victims and tax preparers who deducted their flood related losses should be given a tax amnesty from having to pay the tax collector for listening to faulty advice.

“For over a year I’ve been asking Culver and his Democrat allies to couple Iowa’s tax code with the federal tax code.  Due to their inaction, many Cedar Rapids families are being asked to pay the price.  Now is the time for real leadership in Iowa, so we can finally help flood victims get back on their feet.”

Posted 7/2/2009 by Chris

The end of the fiscal year came Tuesday at midnight, and on Wednesday morning we all got to take a look at the state’s tax receipts for the year.  While the news is both sobering and disappointing, it is most importantly a call to action.

I will be discussing this issue on the Jan Mickelson radio program on WHO AM1040 radio at 10 am this morning.  Please feel free to join the conversation.  For those that can't listen in, here is what you need to know.

Net tax revenues came in $161 million below the estimate of the revenue estimating conference for fiscal year 2009 which ended Wednesday.

For those who love to know the details it breaks down this way:
$57.7 million reduction in gross revenue
$72.3 million in increased refunds
$31.0 million in increased school infrastructure refunds to districts

Governor Culver’s office is acknowledging the $57.7M drop in gross revenue, but isn’t including the increased refunds.  That’s like the person who only writes down in the register of their checkbook the checks they write, and forgets to include the automatic with drawl the bank takes for their home loan or car payment.

The Governor’s office does have $95 Million that they can transfer to close the books.  Again, for those who love to know the details:
$44.5 million in the FY 09 ending balance will now evaporate
$50 million is at the Governor’s disposal in the Economic Emergency Fund

It’s a stretch in my opinion, but Culver could transfer $23.5 million in federal stimulus money from the Medicaid account that is supposed to help uninsured Iowans, to the general fund.  But that only gets him to a total of $118 million.

So, Culver is $43 million short of balancing the budget.

Because the Iowa Constitution requires that Iowa’s budget be balanced, I believe the Governor should call a special session of the Legislature so that we can balance the books.  As it is after the fact, the only viable option is to transfer additional dollars out of the Economic Emergency Fund or Cash Reserve.

There is, however, a second reason to convene the Legislature and to do so sooner rather than later.

The new budget year that started Thursday is now also out of balance. Because the base revenue for the previous fiscal year has been lowered by $161 million, that means the revenue for the new fiscal year must also be lowered. Without spending reductions the budget is out of balance.

Taxpayers, school districts, city councils and county supervisors can not afford for Culver to continue to take a “wait and see” approach. If cuts are to be made, they need to be spread across a full fiscal year, not just the last half. If school aid is to be cut – as it was last year – school boards should know before the kids arrive back in the class room.

It is time to quit worrying about the political ramifications of admitting that we have a deficit and get about the business of fixing it. Governor Vilsack put aside partisan politics and called a special session in 2001 and 2002 to balance the budget after revenues declined; Culver needs to do the same now.

Posted 7/1/2009 by Chris

July 1, 2009 | For Immediate Release
Contact: Sara Craig (515) 669-7019


Rants: Call a Special Session to Balance the Budget


SIOUX CITY, IA – Rep. Chris Rants made the following statement today in response to the numbers released by the Department of Revenue and Finance on tax receipts collected for the fiscal year.

“Governor Culver has allowed the budget mess to become far too problematic for him to handle on his own – we have gone from having a projected deficit to an actual deficit. He needs to call the Legislature back for a special session to balance the budget. He then needs to ask the Legislature to reduce the budget for the coming year by an equal amount.

“Everyone in the state has seen this day coming, except for Governor Culver. Taxpayers and local governments cannot afford a ‘wait and see’ approach any longer. Action is needed now.

“It is time to quit worrying about the political ramifications of admitting that we have a deficit and get about the business of fixing it. Governor Vilsack put aside partisan politics and called a special session in 2001 and 2002 to balance the budget after revenues declined; Culver needs to do the same.


###

Posted 6/19/2009 by Chris

It has been a busy day today, as I filed the paperwork necessary to create an exploratory committee to run for Governor.  Its really just the next step in a very long road.   That journey began five weeks ago when I hopped in the car and started driving across the state listening Iowan's concerns, visiting with party activists, and meeting with potential donors.

The "tweet" went out this morning "Today's to do list: 1 File exploratory committee papers 2 Tape IA Press 3 Hit the road & continue listening to Iowans kitchen table conversations"

For more detail, you might spend a few minutes watching Iowa Press on-line.  Or you can watch it tonight on IPTV at 7:30 or Sunday morning at 11:30

In  the meantime, here is what the other press is saying...

The Des Moines Register

Radio Iowa

The Cedar Rapids Gazette's 24 Dorman

Posted 6/12/2009 by Chris

Families across our state sit down every night around their kitchen tables and share their hopes and concerns for the future.   The question is, do they have more hope or concern?

Tonight, too many will express worry about what the future holds for their family finances.  With over 80,000 Iowans out of work almost each of us knows someone who has lost a job, or is worried about it.  That anxiety brings with it a lot of stress on a family, and I can relate to that.   When I worked for Metz Baking Company back in the 1990s, our company went through a series of cuts as the company changed its business model under new management.  I was fortunate.  As the person in the company tasked with environmental compliance projects, there was no one else to merge my job with… but that didn’t stop me from worrying about it.

Today, Iowans need reassurance that our state can and will rebound from this recession, and that they will participate in that recovery.  To do that Iowa needs a vision and a specific plan on how to increase the number of jobs with companies already here.  Some things are simple; like coupling with the federal tax code on depreciation schedules.  Others are more complicated, like reducing the property tax burden on commercial and industrial property.   All it takes is a little planning, and all of us working together.

Here is an example of what we should be doing.  Not today, and not tomorrow, but in the future there will be an up turn in revenues.  There will be a strong sentiment to re-hire and re-fill all the employees and programs in state government that are being cut today.  Yet, Iowa will be better positioned for the future if we look at something that will keep the recovery self sustaining – like planning now to put those dollars into a property tax reduction account.


Tonight, around other kitchen tables parents will be helping their children with homework.   When Trudy and I look at the homework and textbooks our girls bring home we wonder if they are being properly prepared to enter the workforce.  If my two daughters are going to compete for good jobs in the future, standards must be raised in the areas of math and sciences.  For too long Iowa has been resting on its laurels, but our scores the last few years have fallen to 25th in the nation.  While other states have raised standards, ours were laxed a year ago.

It’s in the interest of our children, yours and mine, that we expect more.  Yes, it may mean battles with entrenched special interest groups – but too much is at stake not to take up the fight.   Parents make the best decisions about their children’s education, and must be empowered to do so.  They need more options, not fewer.   Our teachers, and our students will meet the expectations set for them – so let’s make them high expectations.


Around those same kitchen tables a lot of Iowan’s are scratching their heads, and expressing frustration about the way our society is changing.  We parents have to be on guard to what our kids are watching on tv, or seeing on the internet.  Perhaps it’s in the attack on institutions – be they our churches or religious beliefs – that we hold dear.   Many of us just feel somehow that things are, well, slipping away.  

It’s imperative that those institutions be defended.  Virtue and morality once lost as societal values are seldom regained.  We shouldn’t shrink from standing up when we see our courts or our elected leaders lose their compass.  This last year our Supreme Court and Governor lost theirs.  That is why I lead the debate on the floor of the House; so that with our vote, yours and mine, we could help Iowa find its bearings again.


I’ve traveled the state for the last month listening to those concerns, and others as well.   I believe that despite those challenges, there is great reason for hope and that opportunity awaits us if we have the vision and the desire to seize it.   The 2010 election provides an opportunity for Republicans to chart a new course for Iowa. But to do so, we must show all Iowans that we won’t allow ourselves to be divided.  

Republicans can be the party of new ideas on how to grow our economy, and at the same time be the party that believes in the sanctity of life.  Republicans can be the party of honors our promise to defend traditional marriage, and at the same time honors our promise to protect the taxpayer from excessive spending.

One idea does not have to exclude the other.  The fact is, Iowa families are talking about all of these issues around those kitchen tables.   The challenge for us as Republicans is to talk about these issues (a) in a way that is relevant to them; (b) in the medium they are paying attention to; and (c) in a manner that gives them hope for the future, rather than fear.

I believe that if we Republicans hold together, and do those three things, 2010 will mark not just the re-emergence of the Republican Party in Iowa, but the start of a bright new future for our state, and new opportunities for her citizens.

Posted 5/21/2009 by Christopher

Iowa’s best days are still to come.  Her people are resilient, and will weather this economic storm.   With this poor economy, and revenue shortfall, I believe it was an opportune time to eliminate waste and duplication.  It was a year to focus on economic development and creating a better business climate to help our small employers.

Unfortunately, Governor Culver had other priorities.  In this letter I will try to describe what did happen, and what should have been done.

Most Iowans are astonished at the growth in state spending.  The state auditor’s review is grim.  Overall government spending climbed to a record $6.3 Billion.  During his three years in office, Governor Culver has increased spending over $1 Billion – a 20% increase.  For the sake of perspective, it took eight years of Governor Vilsack and two years of Governor Branstad for spending to increase that much.  Clearly spending is out of control.

Despite a recession resulting in falling state revenue, job losses and belt tightening by businesses and families, Governor Culver ignored the evidence, and grew state spending a quarter of a billion.  He used federal bailout money to avoid making any tough budget choices.  His decision will make next year’s budget more difficult as taxpayers will start the year $1 Billion in the red.

I supported a better alternative.  After a careful line-by-line review of the budget, targeted cuts to save millions were presented – from small to large.  For example, the state could save $11 million by not purchasing new cars for the state vehicle fleet (not including trooper patrol cars).  Or, taxpayers could save $7 million by asking state employees to pay as much for health insurance as families needing assistance on the Hawk-I program.  In total, $330 million in cost savings were proposed, yet rejected.

The process of assembling the state budget needs reform and transparency.  Major decisions are being made under the cloak of darkness at 4:00 in the morning - and taxpayers are cut out of the process. 

I asked a sleepy House chamber, “Why does Governor Culver’s office need $200,000 in federal bailout money?”  No one could provide an answer.  Iowans deserve to know not just that, but where all of their money is spent.  Yet efforts to provide an on-line accounting to taxpayers died in committee.

When the Governor’s bonding scheme was debated, most Iowans and legislators believed the money was for flood relief and reconstruction – because that’s what Governor Culver told them.  A careful analysis of the legislation shows barely one-third of the money is for that purpose.   The amount of debt Culver is forcing on taxpayers is staggering.  The principal and interest owed by the taxpayers is almost $1.7 Billion, yet just $765 million is actually spent on projects.

I supported a better alternative.  Spending the state Infrastructure Fund on these same projects, instead of diverting it to other government programs, would save the taxpayers million in interest payments and accomplish the same goals in just a few short years.

With 80,000 Iowans out of work, economic development efforts should be at the top of the agenda.  Unfortunately they were not.  Culver’s debt plan is aimed at public buildings. There are no long term private sector jobs to follow. 

I supported a better alternative.  Bonus depreciation for manufacturers looking to reinvest, and allowing companies with losses to carry them to back tax years all would have helped employers struggling to keep their doors open.

Action by everyday Iowans impacted major policy decisions. Thousands of Iowans showed up on the steps of the Capitol for a Tax Day Tea Party and helped stop an income tax increase.  Culver’s plan to eliminate our largest tax deduction would have raised taxes on people in every income category.  Iowans making between $20,000 to $30,000 would have seen their taxes jump, just like those making more than $100,000.   Also, public turnout at the capitol prevented Culver and labor allies from repealing Iowa’s Right to Work law.

The Governor’s Des Moines first, government knows best strategy, isn’t working. Instead of imposing debt on Iowans, we should be relying on their common sense and frugality.  Reasonable government spending cuts are necessary.  Sound budgeting decisions based on data not politics are needed.  A coherent strategy to encourage employers to invest and expand in Iowa is a must.  Iowa needs a vision for the future that focuses on job creation and opportunity, not larger government and more debt. 

Iowans deserve better than they got this year.

Posted 5/16/2009 by Christopher

Posted 5/5/2009 by Christopher

Posted 4/25/2009 by Christopher

As I sit here in the House Chamber preparing my desk for summer and my mind for the debate on the final bills of the year, I have been struck with a theme that describes what Iowans need to know about the 2009 Session.  I am drawn to Clint Eastwood and the “Spaghetti Westerns”, you know, “A Fist Full of Dollars”, “For a Few Dollars More”, and “The Good the Bad and The Ugly”.  

Clint Eastwood, the leading man.

I think that is where the comparisons need to begin.  Clint played characters with savvy, guile, intellect, whit, and charm.  He was bullied by some intimidated by none.  In stark contrast, our Governor has used threats, tantrums, and intimidation to try to extort votes to advance his political career and his personal agenda.  He has left the priorities of Iowans behind and risked our future prosperity to advance his agenda not Iowans.  

	As I look at the Governor’s budget and that being wrapped up by the Democrats without a single Republican vote, there is no better title that “A Fist Full of Dollars”.  Remember, those are your tax dollars.  The Democrats have passed the largest budget in the history of Iowa, yet we are facing revenues lower than those received in FY 2008.  How is that possible?  They have accomplished this by using a fist full of stimulus money and a fist full of bonding.  What has it accomplished?  We have set the state up for a billion dollar cliff in FY2011 and we are riding our painted horse at a sprint towards that cliff with no hands on the reigns.  When the stimulus money runs out and the proceeds of the bonds are spent, then the state will face the harshest budget environment in the history of the state.  We need to prepare ourselves now.  I have tried with my Republican colleagues to cut wasteful spending and ineffective programs but over $250 million in real cuts have been ignored.  Thus, spurring on our painted pony of a budget towards the cliff.
At 4:30 pm today, our Governor discovered he needed more spending.  Enter “For a Few Dollars More”.  The absentee Governor that avoided budget negotiations and initial shut down talks with a trip to the Masters and a 4 day tantrum, decided on the last day of session to increase the Democrat’s internally negotiated budget another $100 million.  Remember in the original movie, Clint vied one family against another, all the while extorting money for his own pockets (priorities).  Well our Governor is doing just that.  The Democrats and the Governor have rebuffed over three times the Governor’s latest ask in real cuts.  Instead choosing to bleed the state coffers dry and set the state up for a huge tax increase.  A huge tax increase: To take just a few dollars more from the pocketbooks of Iowans.
	And finally “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” - my take on the highs, lows and mistakes made by the Democrats this session. The Good: in the closing days several pieces of legislation I've been working on for the last several years passed - the "data-center" or "mini-microsoft" which will give smaller Iowa based companies the same tax treatment given to Google and Microsoft.  That should mean more high paying, high skilled jobs.  Also passed was a tax credit to encourage the location of a wind turbine manufacturer in the Sioux City area. Lastly we over turned a Dept. of Economic Development proposed rule that would have hindered border communities like Sioux City, Burlington, Council Bluffs and Keokuk from using the target jobs tax credit.     The Bad: the state of marriage in Iowa, and the Governor and Democrat legislature's unwillingness to deal with the Supreme Court's decision.  I've blogged on this before so I won't repeat.  But in the closing days there were repeated attempts to deal with the issue, including a reciprocity requirement so that Iowa wouldn't be a magnet for same sex marriages - but all attempts were shot down by the Democrats. The Ugly: The budget picture is ugly.  Really, realy ugly.  "Culver's Cliff" is now over $930 Million.  That is the amount of one time money being spent on on-going expenditures.  When the federal stimulus money runs out, how Culver plans to balance the budget next year is anyone's guess.  On top of that, taxpayers will be spending $60 M a year for the next twenty years making bonding payments for Culver's billion dollar bond program.

Posted 4/24/2009 by Christopher

Why a No vote

Thought I should make a quick post on why I cast a “No” vote on SF340 – the sex offender bill. 

For starters, it is mis-labeled.  That’s not the reason, but it’s worth noting.  The press and the Democrats keep calling it the Adam Walsh Act.  Well, it’s the “almost Adam Walsh Act.”  The federal AWA requires that Tier I sex offenders register for 15 years, Tier II for 25 years and Tier III for life.  The reason this point is worth a “NO” vote is this bill does NOT do that.  Instead Iowa falls well short of those requirements.  So, as our neighboring states adopt the AWA, Iowa will have more lax standards – making it more likely the offenders will choose to live here than in those states.  People argue that our 2,000-foot rule is making offenders move to someplace that doesn’t have one; I think that logic applies here as well.

Next up, while there are many good points of the bill that I would have liked to support, like the “safe zones” – there were other problems.  Electronic monitoring for instance.  Today, the worst offenders (sexually violent and pedophiles) shall wear the electronic monitoring bracelets.  They shall.  It is not optional, there is no discretion.  Under this bill it’s a budget decision and at the discretion of the Department of Corrections.  Sorry, I am not going to put a price tag on keeping kids safe – not when we are wasting money buying bug shields for a bunch of new state cars.  That’s strike two.

Strike three is the rush to get rid of the 2,000-foot rule while we are fixing its biggest shortcoming – the definition of residence.  We’ve made mistakes in the past by rushing to judgment; I think this is another instance.  I’d have preferred to see how effective safe zones are before scrapping the 2,000-foot rule.

The following list of people are not allowed to live within 2,000 feet of a school, daycare, etc..  If Governor Culver signs SF340, they will be able to move in.
          o Lascivious acts with a child (molesters)
          o Assault with intent to commit sexual abuse
          o Those who solicit sexual activity from a child
          o Those who film children in the nude
          o Those who entice away a minor

As I explained on the floor, the decision the House made was to allow a convicted sex offender to move in between my home and my daughter’s school, and now we may not monitor them any more. 

In my book, three strikes and your out.  The supporters of the bill had good intentions, but on balance there are too many negatives – and negatives that could have been addressed in the Paulsen amendment but were rejected.  For that reason, I felt I had no choice but to cast a “no” vote.  We can, and should have done better. 

Posted 4/22/2009 by Christopher

But I thought Iowa was spending less...  I read in the paper about all these cuts.  I heard how revenue was drying up...

Hold on just a second.  Yes - cuts are being made.  Yes - revenue is down. 

But spending is up...  Way, way, way up...

Posted 4/21/2009 by Christopher

Welcome to Day 100 of the 2009 Legislative Session...

“I’m glad that they’re going to have a discussion about it,” Culver said today. “It’s kind of premature for me to comment on whether or not I’ll support the bill or not. I’m not seen the specific legislation so we’ll see what happens.”

That's Culver on the sex offender legislation being rushed through.  Again, I've said this before, I'm no fan of the plan, nor of the rush and secrecy in which its been put together.  But as an outsider to the process, I've got two copies of it laying on my desk!  I published a FAQ on the proposal on April 15th.  How is it that the Governor hasn't seen it yet?  His staff helped put it together...

What is he doing with his time?

He Said What? - Part Deux

He Said What? - Part Trois

Now I understand

Posted 4/20/2009 by Christopher

Most of the daily papers ran stories this morning about how this was likely to be the last week of the 2009 Legislation Session.

It could be.

But it doesn't appear that anyone is really interested in making that happen.  That may,however, be a good thing.

Last week when we adjourned, the word was that the Democrat leaders would spend the weekend working behind closed doors to hammer out their budget agreements with Culver, get the bills and amendments drafted, and be ready to roll starting Monday morning with the goal of final adjournment on Wednesday.

Rumor is, they never met.  That Culver canceled the meetings.  No progress at all . Now, I'm not really critical of that.  I haven't liked this process from the beginning, and more decisions in secret is not something I favor. 

I am especially not wild about the notion of crafting a bill in secret to scrap Iowa's current sex offender law, spring it on the public in the last week, then pass it and adjourn with little input.  They called for a public hearing tonight, we'll see if they move forward tomorrow.

For those keeping track, none of the budget bills have actually "gone down" to Culver yet.  Bills that have passed both chambers are being held up on motions to reconsider, awaiting a final budget agreement.  The leaders do that to ensure they don't start the 3 day clock that a governor has to sign or veto a bill, and if there are changes that need to be made they can do so without having to start a brand new bill.

On the "must do" list: Infrastructure, Standings, Block grants/Federal Stimulus

On Culver's "gotta have" list: bonding

On Murphy/Gronstal's "gee it'd be nice to get one of these" list: prevailing wage, mental health parity, tax increase, end of right to work, doctor shopping, and sex offenders.

Adjournment is possible this week if they limit their time to the "must do" list, and cut their deals.  No one really knows how far apart they are in their negotiations.  I know, you'd think that'd be easy to figure out.  There is only so much money to spend - but the federal stimulus money and the cash reserve give them more money to spend, and they have to decide how much they will voluntarily limit themselves to spending.  The problem with those kinds of negotiations is that when everyone in the room wants to spend more, or can be satisfied by spending more, well, things can tend to get out of control.

This is why some of us continually ask for balance sheets - so the public can see how much money is being spent in total.  Tomorrow, we'll total up all of the individual budgets so far, make some educated guesses, and see just how much money is being spent this year.  Will the taxpayers spend more or less money than last year...  You may be surprised.

Posted 4/16/2009 by Christopher

This morning the Democrats released the spreadsheet on the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund appropriations bill – I call it the Porkulus bill .

Why?

Because its full of pork, pork, pork…

Posted 4/15/2009 by Christopher

Lesson in How Not to Contact Your Legislator

Cars Over People

Sex Offenders

SF 340 - FAQ

Posted 4/14/2009 by Christopher

Yesterday the blog Iowa Independent – a self proclaimed “independent media” news outlet – claimed that I was going to violate my oath of office because of my move to amend the pending tax bill by defining married persons, husbands and wives who receive the tax break. 

First of all, that’s non-sense.  Iowa tax law differentiates between similar but not exact entities all of the time.  But to take that into account, I’m filing a new amendment that makes the justification for why Iowa gives a tax break to married couples – as opposed to single couples.  Stay tuned for details to follow.

But let’s digress for a moment – why would the Iowa Independent drop three up dates in one day to criticize my attempts? 

Could it be that this independent media source is reflecting the political bent of their benefactor Tim Gill?

You be the judge. 

The Gill Foundation is Tim Gill.  You know, the technology mogul turned gay-rights activist and political funder who has been underwriting the Iowa Democratic Party for the last several years.  The Atlantic sums him up this way, “Gill’s principal interest is gay equality. His foundations have given about $115 million to charities. His serious involvement in politics is a more recent development, though geared toward the same goal. In 2000, he gave $300,000 in political donations, which grew to $800,000 in 2002, $5 million in 2004, and a staggering $15 million last year (2006), almost all of it to state and local campaigns.”

“Gill’s idea was to identify vulnerable candidates like Danny Carroll and move quickly to eliminate them without the burden of first having to win the consent of some risk-averse large organization or board of directors. Another element of this strategy is stealth. Revealing targets only after an election makes it impossible for them to fight back and sends a message to other politicians that attacking gays could put them in the crosshairs.”

Hmmm, makes me wonder if I'm next to be targeted...

In the mean time...

Posted 4/13/2009 by Christopher

Posted 4/11/2009 by Christopher

Posted 4/10/2009 by Christopher

Yesterday I attempted to attach the Marriage Amendment to the Human Service Budget, as a way to force an up or down vote on the House floor on the issue.

It was a rather unorthodox move, which cause a great deal of consternation for Speaker Murphy.  While I prevailed in getting the issue to the floor, and having the vote, ultimately we did not prevail in getting the issue passed.  Only two Democrats joined us, and the vote failed.

My remarks, about 12 minutes in length can be listened to below. 



Audio Clip Part 1


Audio Clip Part 2

The full audio clip can be downloaded in zip format here.

Posted 4/9/2009 by Christopher

Three times this week I have offered an amendment to trim state spending by $11,000,000 by delaying the purchase of new vehicles for the state fleet.  Each time it has been turned down by majority party Democrats.

Why does this matter?  Several reasons.  For starters, we don’t have $11M to spend!

If the state were to forego purchasing new vehicles, that $11M could be used to forego the $11M in cuts to the DHS budget – the cuts to the Department of Public Health, Dept of Elder Affairs, and the Human Services Budget.

Posted 4/8/2009 by Christopher

New Tax Plan Released

Is this Oz?  No It’s Iowa…

	Is Culver the Professor, hiding behind the smoke and light show, pretending to be the great and powerful Oz?  My favorite quote from the Professor is “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”  I can’t help but be reminded of that given Culver’s handling yesterday of the Court’s ruling on same sex marriage.  Culver gets out in the public last year and vows to reconvene the legislature if the court strikes down the law, and now hides in his office, refusing to face the press, and says look the Court, we have to do what they say…
	Or maybe Culver is more like the Lion.  When it comes to tax increases he’s all growl and no bite.  Remember how he wasn’t afraid of the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, the elephant, the brontosaurus, he’d take ‘em all with one paw tied behind his back…  Yet he was afraid of his own shadow.  Culver has suddenly reversed course and is hammering out a compromise on a major tax increase – of course only 40% of Iowans will pay that tax increase…
	Perhaps, the Governor is more like the Scarecrow, who has trouble with arithmetic.  He’s got plenty of heart, he’s a great conversationalist, he’s even got courage, but he’s probably not the guy you want to do your tax returns for you...  and maybe not the state’s budget.   Time after time last night, Democrats rejected amendment after amendment to save money in the state budget.  Sell the state vehicle car fleet, or at least stop buying new cars for the fleet – no go.  Eliminating $25 M in unfilled vacant positions – rejected.  A 50% reduction in office supplies to save $2.1M – turned back.  Not exactly a thorough review of the states budget…

Posted 4/7/2009 by Christopher

Its Day 86 in the House, and we are going to finally start debating budget bills – starting with the DOT, and then the Administration and Regulations Appropriations bill, the two smallest budgets.

So its fitting to refresh everyone’s memory with ideas on how to make real cuts on the budget.

Eliminate ‘phantom employees,’ unfilled but funded full time employee positions.  (Savings:  $25,000,000) A pay reduction for all state employees and officials.  (Savings:  72,500,000) This is the “Principal Plan” instituted by Principal Financial last month to save jobs by lowering pay -sliding scale of 2% cut for $40,000 to 10% cut for over $100,000 Charge state employees a monthly fee for health insurance premiums.  (Savings:  $17,800,000)  The idea being that state employees pay as much for health insurance as do Iowans on public assistance. Sell the vehicle fleet, outsource vehicle leasing.  (Savings:  $34,000,000) -One-time infusion due to sale, ongoing savings of $18 million less the money for leasing

Posted 4/6/2009 by Christopher

“I can’t stand this indecision, married with a lack of vision”

First up, Same Sex Marriage

	Since it has dominated the weekend news, and he ducked it on Friday, his first task is to deal with the Supreme Court’s same sex marriage ruling.  Culver said in January 2008 that he was opposed to gay marriage, and that he would call a special session to craft a remedy if the Court came back with this decision.   Well Governor….  What’s your remedy?

Next up for the week – federal deductibility…

Culver has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to raise taxes.  He’s even threatened a veto of a 3 cent tax on fuel.  So how could he possibly support a tax increase on people making less than, well, at any amount?  Culver, my guess, has spent more time looking at the Department of Revenue’s spreadsheets and scenario runs than most of the House Democrats, and has told them to slow down.  That’s why at the end of last week the two Ways and Means Chairmen, Shomshor and Bolkom, were seen in his office trying to hammer out a new compromise or concept.

Last Action for the Week – Balance the Budget…

	Bottom line, time is running out, and we’ve barely begun the budget process.  Culver should demand that the budget be debated and passed during the light of day.  No more midnight deals that waste money on train stations to no where.

Posted 4/2/2009 by Christopher

I think that Governor Chet Culver may be the 6th D to say “No” to raising taxes on Iowans.

We know for a fact that HF 807, the tax increase bill isn’t coming up for debate today.   The rest of this is speculation on my part but consider the following: First: Culver may have inherited more than his father’s temper, but a genetically superior sense of which way the winds are blowing.  Culver has said all along he isn’t going to raise taxes.  None of us Republicans really believe that – but he keeps saying it.

Posted 4/1/2009 by Christopher

Posted 3/31/2009 by Christopher

Think you know what this week’s tax debate is all about?  Better think again.

Yes, I know I told you yesterday that this is all about wealth redistribution – and it is.  But an analysis by the non-partisan Legislative Service Agency muddies the water on who are the “winners and loser.” An analysis distributed by the House Democrat caucus staffers  confirms that there are over 655,000 Iowans that will get a tax break, and 490,000 that will get a tax increase.  Yes, the people who see the greatest tax increases are people with higher incomes.

Posted 3/30/2009 by Christopher

On tap for debate in the House this week is a move to raise the income tax rates. It was just a matter of time.

Here is a quick run down of what will happen and why.

First, Monday afternoon the Way and Means Committee will kick out HSB 284.

Next, there will be a public hearing in the House chamber Tuesday evening at 7:30.

The final act will come Thursday when they debate and pass the tax increase.

At least that's their plan. They've tried that a couple of other times this year and it didn't always work out for them. But I have a different feeling this time.

Federal Deductibility

Wealth Re-Distribution

Jobs Killer

Posted 3/28/2009 by Christopher

“Transparency”

That’s the buzzword these days.  Everyone wants more transparency in government. More accountability. 

But what do we really mean by that?  If I told you it would come at a cost of $841,000 and take two and a half years to achieve – would you (A) believe that’s what it takes and (B) be willing to pay that much and wait that long?

I’m not.

This week the House debated and passed HF 801 – the self proclaimed “transparency” act.  I was one of only three representatives to vote against it. 

Rather than elaborate more on my reasoning, let me share with you the newsletter from Rep. Scott Raecker, one of the two other “Nay” votes…


I received the following e-mail today and wanted to share my response.

‘Why did you vote against the transparency bill?  The Scott Raecker I know fought for transparency in campaign finance resulting in the new searchable database at the Ethics Board, as well as the searchable database for lobbyist registration information at the Capitol.  Why did you vote no?’

Honestly, I voted NO so people would ask me why. And here is the reason.

The bill would create a searchable database for Iowans to get detail information on how their tax dollars are spent by the state.  I agree with the concept 100%. 

Unfortunately, the bill brings a big government solution to the issue.  The database proposed in the bill will take over two years to build and will not be available until July 1, 2011.  The estimated cost for the project from the non-partisan legislative fiscal service is $841,000.  Yes, that is correct – $841,000 and a two year wait.

During debate, the floor manager of the bill stated that she intends to have an amendment attached in the Senate that will not allow the database to be built if the money is not appropriated.  The Majority Party then disclosed in debate that the Majority Party has no intention of funding the bill this year.

 No money – no database – no transparency.

It is disingenuous to tell the taxpayer you are going to be transparent and then not fund the implementation of the system – even if you had the money – which the state does not.

I had an amendment that would have required the state to implement the project at no cost within the contract of the existing IT vendor.  That amendment was not debated on a procedural move.

Interestingly, the information is already in an electronic form today and we could have it available to the public by July of this year.  And many states have been able to provide this information to taxpayers within a short window of time and for very low cost.

Rep. Christopher Rants offered an amendment, modeled on the same type of system developed in the state of Maryland, that would have made the information available by July 1st of this year at a projected cost of $8,000 to $40,000.  The Majority Party defeated this amendment.

The Majority party also refused to accept an amendment that would include information on the collectively bargained salary agreements. There is no reason to be selective in making public information accessible to the public.

I spoke with several colleagues who were equally concerned with the cost, the selective information, and the lengthy timeframe for access; however, they were more concerned that they faced political attack in the next election that would portray them being against government transparency if they voted against the bill.  And, very honestly, they probably would have been attacked, and, quite honestly - I probably will be.

I voted NO because I believe we should not waste $841,000 of taxpayer money for a two-year project when we could provide the information within 3 months and for just a few thousand dollars.

And, I believe we need to stand up and tell Iowans the truth about transparency – even under the potential of political attack. 

My final thoughts on this issue ...

Posted 3/27/2009 by Christopher

Posted 3/26/2009 by Christopher

Posted 3/25/2009 by Christopher

I mentioned at the close of yesterday’s blog that some Democrats were asking Rep. Scott Raecker for advice on what to do on the budget.  Of the 100 members in the House, Raecker has the best handle on appropriations process, where money is hidden, the impact of decision made past and present.  He should be knowledgeable.  He has sat on both sides of the table as past Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and now as the ranking minority member.  But perhaps more importantly he sat in endless hours of budget negotiations with former Governor Vilsack and Senate Leader Gronstal – so he has good insight into the decision making process these folks go through.

Scott’s the guy who offered amendment after amendment on the “de-appropriations” bill last month to make additional reductions in the state budget.  He’d gone through the budget line by line to identify savings in areas like office supplies, freezing the purchases of additional cars for the state fleet, etc…  Scott’s also the guy who last week caught the fact that Democrats were adding to the spending in this current fiscal year despite their protestations to the contrary.

And despite his suggestions and admonitions, the Democrats charged blindly forward, rejecting amendment after amendment as though we had all the money in the world.

So now that the excrement is approaching the oscillator, Rep. Scott Raecker has been approached to make suggestions on where the Democrats can trim the budget.  He’s been asked by none other than House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy…

Now I have no idea what Scott will do or say… but I know what I’d tell them and the conversation would go something like this…

“If you want my help, then tomorrow you’ll bring to the floor a bill that includes all of the amendments you rejected earlier this year.  It isn’t enough to solve your problem, but it’s a start.  If you are serious about setting aside partisanship and asking for our input, then you’ll consider those ideas first.   Once you do that, we’ll go to round two…”

Trimming the number of paperclips purchased next year shouldn’t really be viewed as Republican only positions, or Republican priorities – they are just common sense ideas that anyone who actually read the budget line by line should be ready to embrace.

On the assumption that the D’s take Raecker up on this, then Minority Leader Paulsen should get engaged before the next step and offer up Republican help not just on the idea front but in the form of votes to actually make the cuts on certain conditions.

This would be trying to find that right balance between partisanship and doing what’s right for the state.  And there is a balance to be found.

The Ds need the help.  They don’t know how to solve the mess, and I think they’ll have a tough time putting the votes on the board to actually make cuts.  So Paulsen should ask for reasonable things that reflect R priorities. 

First, an agreement that the Big Four Labor Bills are dead for the biennium.  The probably already are, so its an easy give for the Ds, and gives the taxpayers a breather. 

Second, no net tax increases.  Rs shouldn’t get them half way home only to find that they’ll get the rest of the way there on the backs of the taxpayers. 

Third, - and this is the most important – any one time dollars spent on the budget need to be matched dollar for dollar with a real cut.  This is needed to avert repeating this disaster as I’ve described earlier. 

So, if they want to plow $186M of federal stimulus money into K-12, then there will have to be a real cut of $186 M elsewhere in the budget.  No cut, not help.

An inability to agree to point three means that this will jut be an exercise in futility – and at that point its time to quit beating our collective heads against the brick wall.  We won’t be solving anything and only contributing to making things worse.

Posted 3/24/2009 by Christopher

That’s the best description I can think of to describe the looks and actions of Democrats wandering the House chamber yesterday. Shell shocked.

Its as if they finally realized what you’ve been reading about on this blog for month – that there is no more money to spend – other than federal stimulus dollars.  Its as if they never saw it coming.  As if they never bothered to read the fiscal reports, or look at the daily revenue track. 

“How did this happen?”

We’ll get back to that in a moment…

Here is what has them worried:

$780M      That was our “spending gap” when session started
$80M        That was what they “de-appropriated” last month
$700M      That was what they thought was their problem

$240M      That is how much the REC lowered their revenue estimate

$940M      That is the size of their new problem…

… and that’s just to get to Zero.  To balance out.  Those are cuts or reductions they need to make before they even think about increasing some line item.

Here is my prediction – they will pour almost all of the economic stimulus money into the FY09 and FY 10 budgets.  For example – they will cut funding to K-12 allowable growth between $50 - $100 M.  But, they will then refill it with federal money.  That’s $100 M off the balance sheet, but schools feel no pain… until next year.

They will do the same with Medicaid, and other programs. Making cuts that look steep on paper, but refilled with federal aid.  Again, no much real pain… until next year.

I’ve described this problem before, when they set a 4% growth factor for K-12 allowable growth and planned to spend all federal money to pay for it.  When the federal money runs out – who will foot the bill?  Just to fund allowable growth, and get back to zero – it will take a 3% annual growth rate in revenue.  To get whole if they follow this plan, it’ll take back to back years of double digit revenue growth.

Which leads me back to the question, “how did this happen?”

My Democrat friends are intent to lay all the blame on the “Bush economy.”  Well, they are partly right.  The sour economy and falling revenue accounts for $400 M of spending gap.  What they choose to ignore is that they had built in spending increases of $550 M. 

So when it comes to culpability, Bush may be catching up to Culver, but the Governor still has majority ownership. 

That’s what is so dangerous about the path they are pursuing, it repeats the mistakes of the past.

Shell shocked.  That may be why some Democrats are quietly asking Rep. Scott Raecker what they should do to get out of this mess.  I don’t know what Scott will tell them, but I’ll share what my response would be in this spot tomorrow.

Posted 3/23/2009 by Christopher

The Governor and Lt. Governor have been traveling the state the last two weeks with a shovel in hand.  They are pitching hard their bonding scheme (I-JOBS) to borrow $750 M for infrastructure projects.  Already the Senate has approved the first $175 M of the plan. 

I asked a very uncomfortable question when I appeared on the cable news show, Iowa’s Agenda, with the Speaker Pro Tempore Polly Bukta from Clinton.  Rep. Bukta is the third ranking Democrat in the House. 

I asked, “Do you know how much taxpayers will spend on interest payments for that $175 M?”  After much fumbling around I had to provide the answer - $130 M.

Borrow $175 M, and repay over $300 M….  That’s $130 M that could be spent on things like K-12 education, or Medicaid, or something crazy like plugging the hole in the state’s budget deficit.

But oh no, we are going to send $130 M to a bunch of Wall Street investment bankers…

That’s right.  The same crowd that has so many Americans angry are the same bunch that will be loaning us $175 M, and turning a $130 M profit on the deal. 

And Culver wants to raise the amount to $750 M.

What’s an “Appropriations Bond”?

What’s an I-JOB?

More Trouble on the Horizon

Posted 3/16/2009 by Christopher

Rose early, grabbed a cab and went to the garden of gasthename at dawn.  Beautiful old olive trees. Had to wait for the priest to open the gate.



Spent the day in Ramallah meeting with Palestinians.

They do live in an apartheid like system - in some cases worse. And in some cases they have brought it upon themselves




Waited almost half an hour to get through the check point between sides.

The Palestinian authotity - now fattah, formerly the PLO is the "moderate" group compared to Hammas.

Bottom line - won't be happy with anything short of 1967 borders and two states.



Their lines are:

People are supposed to go to mosque to worship god, its when they go to mosque to make god work for them that we have trouble

Democracy didn't fail - hammas failed

Anyone who says arabs aren't ready for democracy is a racist

The palestinians are what stands between bin laden and control of this region.

America can't have a double standard w netanyahu - must hold to 2 state solution.

You future leaders need to change your policy from what's possible to what's needed.

You cannot defeat ideas with guns

Where do you think we are going?  We will not vanish.

After that, made a quick run into the old city to try and get a better look at the dome of the rock. Got lost in the jewish quarter. Found an army/police patrol who hooked me up with a 12 year old hasidic boy who guided me to an overlook spot to take some shots, and then back to the christian quarter.

 

Final Observations:

Shmuel - best travel arranger in the world

Fuzzy bubbala (don't mess w/zohan) no such thing....

Best hummas and pita bread of the trip - at Ima in Jerusalem

Best Israeli wine - Golan Heights (so says the group)

Back in the states now.  Nothing sounds quiet as good as the thump the airplanes tires make upon landing on US soil. 

Posted 3/14/2009 by Christopher

The day started out with a breakfast briefing with Robert Danin – Tony Blair’s guy at the Office of the Quartet working on the Israeli – Palestinian peace process…

The rest of the day was on the road…

To the Dead Sea.



Passed Jehrico, oldest city in the world - 12,000 BC - pop. 20,000 when Jesus passed through, and a population of 20,000 today.  Kinda like Iowa….    Its an oasis feed by underground springs.

Drove the highway along the Jordan River which divides Israel and Jordan - populated by fig tree farms, and the shells of Jordanian tanks left over from 1967.



Drove through the Valley of Armageddon - where it meets the Jordan Valley.

Stopped at the Jordan River where it nears the Sea of Galilee - the spot at which John the Baptist baptized Jesus and he started his ministry.  It is a popular spot for group baptisms.  



Then a short drive up the road to Carpurnum where Jesus did most of his ministry.   Peter's (his mothers actually) home has been uncovered. Its where Jesus stayed, and where he healed the lame.  Also located there is Jesus's synagogue.  Up the hill from Carpurniam is the Mount of the Beatitudes, where he delivered the sermon on the mount.





Drove up the Golan Heights to the top - past the areas where Israel pushed the Syrians out in 1967, and the looked into Syria out over the battlefield of the 1973 war when 1,000 tanks burned.








Tomorrow - my last day in the middle east, my group meets with representatives of the Palestinian Authority to discuss their internal turmoil, as well as prospects for peace.

After a full day of meetings, and no sightseeing, it'll be off to the airport and the long flight home.  Consequently, I probably won't be able to add my observations until Sunday night or Monday morning.

After my post yesterday, I thought it might be good to post a link to a history of the old city of Jerusalem.

Posted 3/13/2009 by Christopher

The old city tunnels are because buildings were built up buildings upon buildings; raising the level of the city along the western wall of the Temple Mount.



We started the tour around 11:30 pm and ended up back at the public portion of the Western Wall around 1am.

Its important to remember, Jews cannot enter the Temple, because at the end of the 6 Day War, Israel allowed Muslims to keep control of the site.  Muslims repeatedly enter the tunnel archeology project to ensure no one is entering the temple area.

It is a site the is Holy to Jews, Muslims, and Christians all...

It is also an archeological marvel, and I wish I remembered my history better.


A Heroddian bridge



A sanctifying bath from Jesus time, and discovered underneath are artifacts from the time of the Macabees.

 

The largest 4 stones - 600 tons each - 14 feet deep.



The Western Gate in the Wall to the Temple - filled in.



The Rock of Foundation - Mount Moriah where Abraham offered up  Issac for sacrifice. The bedrock upon which the temple is built.  The closest to the Holy of Holies that Jews can get.



Herodian column room - the footsteps of Christ - between the healing of the blind and the healing of the lame.

 

The Western Wall - back topside.  I too, donned a kippah, and stood, and left messages at the wall for family and friends. 





It was all an amazing, awe inspiring experience.  To see it all, the historic sites from the Bible is an amazing thing.  My only regret is that it all had to be experienced in just two short evenings.  But I can't express how grateful I am for the experience, no matter how brief.

Posted 3/13/2009 by Christopher

Wednesday, the group is looking pretty tired. Too many nights not getting back to the hotel before midnight, and on the bus at 7:30.....

Start out the day by driving north of the green line (so named because the armistice at the end of the six day war, the line was drawn on the map with a green pencil) to the Israel Home Front Command.

Important to remember, military service is compulsory in Israel. Men serve three years, women two years. After that they are on reserves and serve one month a year until forty.  Women also serve in combat units, except after the 6-Day war, they will not participate in actual combat in the event of war because of the way they were treated upon capture.  Ultra orthodox Jews do not serve. Neither do the Arabs living in Israel have compulsory service, though a few do serve.

Home Front Command can best be compared to our national guard, because it is reserve based for daily operations, but it’s focused really inward, at supporting the civilian population.

In 2008, over 1,500 rockets were fired from inside Gaza out at the Israeli cities and settlements.  While casualties were small, due to the inaccuracy of the rockets, it’s still an effective weapon of terror.  They have only 15 seconds warning.

Went to the Gaza Strip. We went into the buffer zone, but we could not cross the "seam line". As it was, inside barb wired, more barbwire on the other side. Inside one layer of concrete barriers, more barriers on the other side.  Guards with guns, more guards and remote controlled machine gun turrets.

 

Some members of our group was extremely nervous over the idea we were in the "rocket zone."  For good reason, thousands of rockets have been launched over and into the area were were in.  We were given directions as to what to do if certain alarms went off....

 

We stopped at a kibbutz in the buffer area - saw their bomb shelter built in the yard during "Gulf War 1".  Rocket detector balloon hovering overhead.

Went to Sderot, two miles from the Gaza strip.

In Sderot rather than using sirens, its an audio alarm - a voice. They discovered the sirens frightened school children too much. So they went with a "more gentle way of alarming them". The alarm system covers a region or band seven miles wide around Sderot, and goes off a few times a day.

The schools had additional roofs built of steel and concrete to deflect and absorb the rocket fire. They would make make shift shelter - like next to the Boy Scout meeting place - out of concrete barriers.

 

A quarter of the population has left Sderot in the last couple years.

Why do they stay?  Because this is the land God has promised them. It’s that simple. The people who live in many of the settlements, but especially in or near occupied territories are what called "religious nationalists."



In the afternoon drove up to the old port of Jaffa near Tel Aviv. Because it’s Thursday there are weddings occurring everywhere - get it down before the Shabbat. Pictures in the seaside port are the things to do.  You couldn't swing a cat without hitting a bride.... And there are feral cats everywhere, centuries ago they brought cats in to take car of the rats on the ships. Rats are gone and cats remain.

 

Went into Tel Aviv to talk the economic melt down at the Bank of Israel with Stanley Fisher, essentially head of their version of our federal reserve and formerly of the IMF.  Forecast for the world is negative GDP growth for this year - first time ever.

Israel exports to the world 45% of its GDP. Which is good. Until the worlds economy goes in the tank.

To get its budget in order, the Israelis have imposed a 1% growth rule. Iowa could learn a thing or two....

Dinner:  if Israel had a version of a JFK Jar in politics - it be Minister Herzog. It’s easy to understand why our dinner speaker was the #2 vote getter for the Labor party in the Knesset. And not just because his father emigrated from Ireland....

A clear up and commer whose party has gone from the #1 to the #4 party in the country.

My prediction - you will hear his name in the news within two or three years and he'll be either the leader of Labor and a contender to be prime minister....

 

Talked straight internal politics. To a certain extent he is going through the same thought process Republicans are, and that is "who are we", "what do we believe," and "how do we get the public to trust us again."

He has turned down joining the ruling coalition with Netanyahu.

Tomorrow going over the hills of the West Bank down to the Dead Sea, then north up to the Golan Heights, then thru Galilee

Posted 3/12/2009 by Christopher

Observation from wandering the hallways at the King David Hotel - the bell hops are armed with compact automatic weapons.....  but to be honest - the entire day I never felt "unsafe."  People act just like we do.  They do not b