opinion

Iowa lawmakers should focus on facts, not the next election

Ever heard that government should be run like a business? That is an old saying that can get tiresome really fast. Running government is not much like developing strategies to gain market share for toothpaste.

But there is one lesson from business that government can really use. If I learned anything working for 15 years for the best of Iowa business leaders, it was the importance they place on valid information in decision making.

These people are relentless in their pursuit of facts that can reduce risk. They are obsessed, and heaven help you if you make a suggestion for the good of the company that is not backed up by solid research. They can spot a phony in a minute. I knew if I didn’t do my homework I could be transformed into a job hunter in no time.

During the 1990s, I was asked by the leadership of the General Assembly to be the public chair of a legislative committee on tax fairness and equity. The committee was a great group to work with from the membership of both houses and caucuses. We took our show on the road, and traveled across the state plundering ideas from anyone who would talk to us. What we discovered was that no one, including me and the members of the committee, really had much valid information on the topic. We couldn’t even guess at the impact that all these suggestions were going to have on anyone.

While at a meeting in Washington, D.C., in the middle of the tax project, I heard a presentation from a state tax specialist about computer programs developed to help state lawmakers sort through tax issues by giving “what if” scenarios of a variety of taxation measures. In a matter of hours, they would provide accurate monetary impacts on certain populations and the state as a whole. I shared the information with the committee, and we all agreed that our recommendation should be to get one of these systems for the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Our recommendation was accepted and a grateful staff at the Fiscal Bureau soon was prepared to give prompt, accurate information to the General Assembly.

Here is the big question: Are legislators acting like a responsible business and being relentless in gathering information on tax issues, or just supporting talking points in political statements designed to re-elect incumbents?

In an expanding economy, like now, both business and government should add to rainy-day funds, or invest in infrastructure and people. We need to keep our profits on the balance sheet, not give them away. When the economy cycles down, as it always does, then our government will have the resources to hold the line on taxation and spending to help stimulate the economy. And business will be able to continue to give dividends to the shareholders and make payroll.

It is time for some good old-fashioned homework in the statehouse. A start would be a stop to talk to the good people in the Legislative Service or Fiscal Bureaus.

Myrt Levin is a former executive of the Iowa Business Council and former mayor of Newton. myrtlevin@gmail.com