Iowa has the largest Pay Gap in the nation. The Pay Gap is calculated using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, which gives the average annual wage of a state-government worker and the average annual wage of a private-sector worker for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Our study ...
A public notice published by the government is not really publicOnce a year, all local governments in Iowa are required to publish a public notice in a newspaper listing the salaries of every one of their employees.Anyone who thinks public notices aren't important or aren't read by the average ...
Editor's Note; This is a new legislative column submitterd by State Senator Jeff Edler (R-State?Center) who was elected in November, 2106, to Iowa Senate Seat 36 representing Tama, Marshall and a portion of southeastern Black Hawk counties.In the Legislature:We passed three bills out of the ...
I was blessed to grow up in rural Iowa as a youth. Unfortunately, I did not fully appreciate how lucky I was. I remember reading about far off exotic places and wanted to travel and live in different countries and experience different cultures. After all, in my view, not much was happening in ...
The energy level in the Capitol continues to increase as more bills make their way through subcommittees and committees. I expect this session to be marked by more spirited debate than in past years because of the opportunities that arise with both chambers and the governor's office being ...
On Monday, January 9, 2017, the legislative leaders gaveled in the start of the 87th General Assembly, which marks the first time in 20 years that Republicans control the House, Senate, and the Governor's office. All eyes are on Des Moines to see if the gridlock we have had for the last few ...
Q: Why are you co-sponsoring an amendment requiring Congress to pass a balanced budget?A: The founders authorized a federal amendment process with Article V of the U.S. Constitution to give future generations a stake in our system of self-government. Arguably, the future of our republic is at ...
In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, opponents of the Electoral College are calling for the system to be abolished or reformed to reflect the "popular vote." In addition, those who were upset with Republican Donald Trump's victory were hoping that some electors would switch their ...
Filing of bills and committee work is increasing as we finish the third week. The Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) de-appropriation of $117 million was passed out of committee on Tuesday, setting it up for debate by the House next week. The de-appropriation did not impact K-12 education per the ...
You are worth a Kings' ransomYou are worth the whole universeYou are worth everything to me.Be worth everything to yourself...You may not see yourself as worthwhileCause you See yourself as worthiessYou take wrong turns to convince YourselfThat you are worth nothing to othersThere is no pick, ...