The most practical way to view the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa is that it allows a broader range of ideas to flourish on campus. Reasonable people can disagree, and the center offers students an opportunity to engage more deeply with the nation’s history while participating in thoughtful, open discussion of important issues. That is, after all, a key tenet of higher e...
Property tax reform can feel like fighting a war on a thousand fronts. Should the focus be on assessments, levy rates, or rollback? Or on Tax Increment Financing (TIF), targeted credits, and exemptions? School funding adds yet another layer. While all these factors influence property taxes, they often distract from the core issue that has undermined past reform efforts. That issue is government sp...
The challenge ahead is to remain engaged in global markets while ensuring that Iowa’s economy, institutions, and essential systems are resilient against external pressure and influence.
In recent years, Iowa has seen dramatic improvements in tax competitiveness. According to the Tax Foundation’s Tax Competitiveness Index, the state’s tax policy improved enough between 2020 and 2025 to move from a rank of 43 to a rank of 17. Still, Iowa has one glaring hole in its tax policy: a high and burdensome property tax. If the state wants to maintain a vibrant population, substantial prope...
The need for more qualified workers is a bipartisan issue in Iowa. Regardless of a rural or urban setting, workforce is still a concern for many employers and communities. State policymakers have been responsive to this concern, and they have actively been easing regulatory burdens in recent years. This includes reducing barriers to employment and ensuring that unnecessary roadblocks do not deter ...
Governor Kim Reynolds made clear in her Condition of the State address that Iowa’s property tax burden can no longer be ignored. The demand for reform cuts across geography and income. High property taxes affect seniors on fixed incomes, families struggling to make ends meet, small business owners, and young Iowans trying to save for their first home. “Whether you live in a small town, growing su...
Gov. Reynolds and the Legislature have an opportunity to make the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence especially meaningful by restoring balance between taxpayers and their local governments. By limiting spending, Iowa can protect the property rights that are the very foundation of American liberty.
“As the Founders saw it, the right to property was not simply an economic concept and was much more than owning a bit of land. It was a first principle of liberty,” Spalding argued. Property is not limited to land or a home; it also includes financial assets.
It may be hard to believe, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt once offered a blueprint for property tax reform that remains relevant for Iowa policymakers today. Interestingly, this blueprint didn’t come from his progressive New Deal agenda, but rather from a campaign speech he delivered 93 years ago during the 1932 presidential campaign. At the time, then–New York Governor Roosevelt was not only...
Just a few years ago, the Tax Foundation ranked Iowa among the worst states for business tax climates. In 2020, Iowa placed 43rd in the State Tax Competitiveness Index. Thanks to the pro-growth policies of Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Legislature, Iowa has since climbed to 17th — a remarkable improvement. Yet despite this progress, Iowa still ranks 33rd nationally in property tax burden.
To provide sustainable tax relief, Iowa must ensure that local government budgets grow no faster than taxpayers’ ability to pay. Limiting spending, coupled with responsible budgeting, is the cornerstone of true reform. Additional steps should also be considered. Local governments can improve efficiency by consolidating services, adopting zero-based budgeting, and regularly reviewing services to el...
For years, Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation has warned that Iowa’s growing reliance on Washington’s money would come with consequences. When the flow of federal dollars slows or stops, programs stall, services falter, and state budgets are left to pick up the pieces. Those warnings have proved correct. From federal policy changes in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill to the current go...
In two opinion essays for Governing, Stephen Legomsky, a law professor emeritus at Washington University and author of “Reimagining the American Union,” argues that many of the nation’s political problems are a direct result of federalism. The root of those problems, he contends, lies with the states. Yet a closer reading of his essays suggests the issue runs much deeper than federalism itself. Hi...
Across Iowa, local officials are asking voters to approve more than $1 billion in new bond debt this November — often with the soothing assurance that these projects “won’t raise your taxes.” But that promise deserves scrutiny. It’s like paying off your car loan, immediately financing the purchase of a new one, and insisting it doesn’t cost more — just because the monthly payment stayed the same. ...
Taxpayers must be protected from unchecked growth in local government spending. Statewide limits on tax increases would do that while forcing local governments to live within their means. Iowa, where local governments will collect a combined $6.4 billion in property taxes this fiscal year, illustrates the potential impact of such a reform. Over the past two decades property tax collections in the ...
Iowa has been rated as one of the most fiscally prudent states for several years running, due to sound tax and spending policies. Yet thanks in part to a recent downturn in the agricultural economy, economic growth in the state has slowed. Additionally, the state has been losing residents to other states every year since 2013, and has one of the highest outflows of young residents with bachelor’s ...
In 2024, Governing magazine honored Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds as “Public Official of the Year” for her numerous policy achievements — including historic tax reform, parental choice in education, state government reform, and defending traditional values. For two years, the CATO Institute honored Governor Reynolds as the most fiscally conservative governor in the nation. Perhaps her most-significan...
In his speeches, Stanley spoke not only with authority and a thorough understanding of fiscal policy, but also with humor and flair. He referred to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as the “infernal revenue agency,” and he argued that citizens across the nation were being “taxed to death.” He told his audiences “the government is unable to control its appetite.” Only in government is slowing the ...
Recently, I had the honor of signing a coalition letter recommending President Donald Trump award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Patrick J. Buchanan. The call to honor Mr. Buchanan with this high honor is not new but accelerated when Representative Riley M. Moore (R-WV) sent a letter to President Trump urging him to honor Buchanan with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This effort is also b...
Iowa has been rated as one of the most fiscally prudent states for several years running, due to sound tax and spending policies. Yet thanks in part to a recent downturn in the agricultural economy, economic growth in the state has slowed. Additionally, the state has been losing residents to other states every year since 2013 and has one of the highest outflows of young residents with bachelor’s ...
Gov. Kim Reynolds is a conservative leader who knows what she believes and has the courage to defend her values and convictions. “One of the great debates of our time is about how much of your money should be spent by the State and how much you should keep to spend on your family. Let us never forget this fundamental truth: the State has no source of money other than money which people earn themse...
“One of the great debates of our time is about how much of your money should be spent by the State and how much you should keep to spend on your family. Let us never forget this fundamental truth: the State has no source of money other than money which people earn themselves. If the State wishes to spend more it can do so only by borrowing your savings or by taxing you more. It is no good thinking...
Former President Herbert Hoover argued that governments have the instincts of a vegetable — that is, “they keep spreading and growing.” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) echoed Hoover when she stated that “like any large organization, government is marked by bureaucracy’s natural tendency to grow. If that growth isn’t constantly checked and rechanneled toward its core function, it quickly takes on a life...
The reopening of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in the summer of 2026 will coincide with the celebrations surrounding the semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The celebrations surrounding the 250th anniversary have already commenced, and as the nation reflects upon the principles of the American Founding, it should be remembered that President H...