Budget surplus grows as priorities suffer in Iowa

Late last month Iowa’s state government closed the books on Fiscal Year 2023 which ended June 30. When the dust settled, the fiscal year ended with a $1.83 billion budget.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and GOP lawmakers who run the Legislature were eager to take credit.

"We’ve seen what the powerful combination of growth-oriented policies and fiscal restraint can create, and now it’s time for Iowans to directly receive the benefits," Gov. Kim Reynolds said. "I look forward to cutting taxes again next legislative session and returning this surplus back to where it belongs — the people of Iowa.

“Some see a surplus as government not spending enough, but I view it as an over collection from the hardworking men and women of Iowa,” Reynolds said.

In reality, the surplus was created through choices made by Republican Statehouse leaders. They decided to sock away tax dollars, underfund priorities and use surpluses to cover budget holes created by tax cuts. The cuts primarily benefit wealthy earners.

State law allows lawmakers to spend 99 percent of revenues estimated in December before the Legislature gavels in a new session. During Fiscal Year 2023, Republicans spent 82 percent of revenues, resulting in a surplus. A chunk of that money goes into the Taxpayer Relief Fund, which now holds more than $2.7 billion in taxpayer funds.

Reynolds scoffs at the idea the state isn’t spending enough. But just a few days after Reynolds proclaimed the surplus, the state began the process of settling a lawsuit over the lack of children’s mental health services in Iowa. The lawsuit charges that the state has failed to meet its obligations to Medicaid-eligible kids for decades.

Children have been institutionalized even though they’re eligible to receive services in their communities or at home. A lack of funding has led to a lack of needed services.

“There was a desperate need to build a statewide children’s health system with an effective array of services,” said Catherine Johnson, executive director of Disability Rights Iowa, according to the Associated Press. “The complaint that we’ve filed alleges that these services are not available anywhere in Iowa. They just don’t exist.”

So while Republican leaders celebrate a surplus and vow to cut more taxes, families with children in need of mental health care are desperately seeking services.

Building a large surplus while these problems and many others exist is irresponsible. Iowans need a government that cares about their needs. Cutting their taxes isn’t enough.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com