Iowa’s economy continues to recover from the national recession, according to the state’s nonpartisan Revenue Estimating Conference. | (From Sen. Amanda Ragan)
Iowa’s economy continues to recover from the national recession, according to the state’s nonpartisan Revenue Estimating Conference. Last year, the Legislature cut almost $200 million from the budget by downsizing state government and focusing on job creation and long-term growth.
That response to the national recession has shown success in Iowa. The success is shown by Iowa’s budget surplus and “rainy day” funds which are projected to total about $900 million at the end of this fiscal year.
In addition to growth in the state revenues, Iowa is seeing a steady increase in employment. Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.1 percent, compared to 8.9 percent nationally.
With our state’s economy headed in the right direction, we should continue investing job creation and providing solid education and training for all Iowans. Now is not the time for cuts that will lay off hundreds or thousands of teachers, crowd more students into classrooms, or increase local property taxes.
The latest revenue projections prove we can balance the budget without raising taxes and limiting opportunities for hard working Iowans.
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