Iowa’s budget is the most resilient in the country in the COVID-19 pandemic, study finds

A study conducted by the accounting firm KPMG of the fiscal risk and resiliency of each state in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic found that Iowa is the most fiscally sound, most resilient state in the country when it comes to battling through COVID-19. The study was commissioned by the Council of State Governments.

The study weighed several factors including percent of GDP by industry in each state, the expected reduction of state revenues, balance in each state's rainy day fund, each state's debt to income ratio, the solvency of each state's pension system and each state's unemployment trust fund, as well as each state's cost per enrollee in Medicaid, and growth in K-12 education funding since the Great Recession. The full report can be found on the Council of State Governments' website.

The findings validate the conservative budgeting practices Senate Republicans have implemented over the last four years. Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, said. The findings should make Iowans confident of 'stable and predictable funding under Republican leadership.”

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