A compromising position

They've all got campaign promises and competing ideals to uphold, but it's time. Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature and Gov. Terry Branstad need to put it all aside and do one of the most vile things a politician can do: compromise.  Spending bills have been slow to come to the governor since each house of the Legislature is  controlled by a different party with competing aims and interests. When the Democrats and Republicans did figure out how to compromise, Branstad vetoed all or part of the bills. He's got his own set of campaign promises and ideals that cannot be broken! The period where lawmakers receive daily expense payments, or per diem, ended Friday. That is typically tied to the ajournment date, but nobody's sure how soon it will happen with so many budget and spending bills  yet to be approved and signed. Closed door meetings of the Legislature's leadership are now under way. But freshmen Republicans, with their tea party sympathies, may be pushing their leaders to positions the Democrats can't accept. What the two sides do come up with could conflict with Branstad's promises of a two-year budget and a package of tax reforms that he suggests will spur employment growth in Iowa (which is related to his pledge to create 200,000 jobs). We'll see how much impact reality has on those promises and ideals.

Casino taxes --- Branstad's ace in the hole

Gov. Terry Branstad has made good on a campaign promise to cut the corporate income tax in half. But his budget proposal doesn't ask anyone to put their faith in his "voodoo economics." The proposal, unveiled last Thursday, would allow corporations to keep $200 million more of their profits during the next two years under the theory that they will reinvest the windfall in such a way that it will "trickle down" to the state's unincorporated citizens. That will be sorely needed if legislators embrace another idea of his to cut $194 million from existing programs,  resulting in layoffs of up to 1,500 state employees. Anyway, another provision in the proposal ensures that skeptical legislators wouldn't have to go over to the supply side to embrace this budget. He's steeply raising taxes on a very specific type of corporate entity: casinos. Their tax rate would go from 22 percent to 36 percent, a 14 percent increase. Branstad estimates that the tax increase would raise $381 million in fiscal years 2012 and 2013. That is probably one of the few tax increases the socially conservative base he needs to keep happy wouldn't grumble about. But it's still going to find opposition from casino owners and possibly the charitable organizations that benefit from gambling license requirements to donate a percentage of their profits. The Black Hawk County Gaming Association, which hands out Isle Casino Waterloo's donations, has already sounded the alarm that their contract might be written in a way that a tax increase reduces the casino's contributions. It's still uncertain if the Iowa House or Senate will embrace this component of the budget proposal.

I can almost reach my rights ...

The ability to vote is a cornerstone of the freedoms that make America great. Sometimes, though, those freedoms get out of hand. Take Iowa, for example. For more than 15 years, people convicted of a felony or an aggravated misdemeanor who have already finished serving their time in prison or jail have been automatically granted the right to vote. And for who knows how long, registered voters have been able to show up at the polls, sign in and cast a ballott without ever having to show a photo ID. It's maybe never been required, if you can believe that. But don't worry. Gov. Terry Branstad has already rescinded the executive order that allowed ex-cons to automatically vote and hold office once they got out of prison. Now, after they pay any fines and restitution, they just have to go through the simple process of petitioning the governor to regain those rights. It only takes three to six months, if they ever pull things together enough to take care of it. And Republicans with their new House majority are pushing legislation that would require every single person to show a photo identification in order to vote. That's pretty easy for those of us with a driver's license. Unfortunately, a chunk of the population that skews heavily towards the poor, disabled, racial minorities and elderly doesn't have a state-issued photo ID. The proposal would remove cost barriers that might stand in the way of some getting an ID. That's great, if they ever pull things together enough to take care of it. In both cases, the ability to vote will remain just out of reach for at least a segment of those affected. Branstad and GOP legislators treat voting like a sacred priviledge that's in danger of being desecrated. There's one problem with that: Voting is not a priviledge --- it's a right that belongs to all citizens. What's more, they have no proof of any systemic "desecration" that would warrant tightening voting rights. There is no widespread voter fraud in Iowa. A concern that felons can begin voting before paying all the fines or restitution associated with their conviction can be addressed without petitioning the governor. Just wait until they finish paying those before their rights are automatically restored. Read views for and against Branstad's action on the felon voting rights.