(Photo by Gabe Licht) Former Iowa Speaker of the House and gubernatorial candidate Chris Rants, R-Sioux City, identified a lack of job development, escalating taxes and an outdated, unconstitutional school aid funding formula as the three biggest problems currently facing the state at the Informed Voter Forum sponsored by the Clay County Tea Party Patriots at the Clay County Regional Events Center Tuesday night.
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A perfect storm is brewing in Iowa, gubernatorial candidate Chris Rants, R-Sioux City, told a group of about 50 people at the Clay County Regional Events Center Tuesday night.
The former Speaker of the House identified a lack of job development, escalating taxes and an outdated, unconstitutional school aid funding formula as the three biggest problems currently facing the state at the Informed Voter Forum sponsored by the Clay County Tea Party Patriots.
"What do those three things have in common?" he asked. "Property taxes."
Rants pointed to Iowa's commercial property tax rate -- ranked third highest in the nation -- as the reason Iowa ranks 49th in new business and said reducing that rate is more important than eliminating corporate income tax.
He went on to say Gov. Chet Culver's 10 percent across-the-board cut will result in $250 million in property tax increases as school districts raise levies to make up funding disparities. The school aid funding formula contributes to the disparities and is unconstitutional because it does not provide equal education to all students, he said.
Property taxes for residential and agricultural landowners are also expected to increase by $477 million over the next four years due to a changing agricultural productivity formula.
"We ought to be having a gubernatorial campaign in Iowa that talks about what this perfect storm looks like and how do we weather it instead of just having a campaign that talks about who's got the best name I.D. or who's raised the most money," he said. "I'm a guy that actually tries to talk about issues and some of the challenges we face."
Rants offered five solutions to the problems he highlighted:
Tie agricultural, industrial, residential and commercial valuations together to keep them from continually increasing.
Require local governments to vote on raising levies instead of riding increasing valuations.
Change the school aid funding formula to rely on general fund spending more than property taxes.
Consolidate and reduce administration costs in local governments and school districts.
Revise Iowa's public employee collective bargaining laws to prevent salaries from rising higher than valuations.
"Those are the kinds of changes that have to be made if we're ever going to do anything about property tax relief," he said.
After explaining his platform, Rants took questions from the audience.
Concerning a correlation between funding and student achievement, he said, "We have to be willing to make changes in how we fund schools and that won't be popular." Proposed changes include reducing per-pupil spending and canceling plans to spend $70 million on state-run preschools.
When asked about a state's rights bill, Rants voiced concerns about federal legislation that affects the state, such as a $500 million increase in Medicaid tied to health care reform and the high number of call ups for Iowa's reserve military.
An announcement that he cosponsored Iowa Right to Carry legislation endorsed by the Iowa Gun Owners' Association earned him applause from the crowd.
In regards to biofuels, energy independence is important, but a $100 million Power Fund, which created 114 jobs is not efficient, Rants said. He advocated for a economic climate in which the private sector can find solutions to energy problems.
Rants was a supporter of the Defense of Marriage Act and believes Iowans should be able to vote on same-sex marriage.
If elected governor, he plans to veto the budget until legislators vote and allow Iowans to vote on the issue.
Though Rants voted against I-JOBS, he said there is no way to reverse the 20-year bonds involved.
He said there is a way to pay the Iowa State Patrol without diverting road use funds.
"There's $5 billion in other places that we can look at to fund the Iowa State Patrol," he stated.
Rants emphasized the importance of leadership in a governor, defining it as "the ability to disappoint those who place their trust in you at a rate they can absorb."
He later said, "A governor should be able to chew gum, walk, rub his tummy and pat his head all at the same time."
In conclusion, Rants said his experience has equipped him to govern at a time when partisanship is at an all-time high.
"We have to be open to listen to people," he said. "I've won because I've knocked on doors, talked to folks and earned their trust. I think I can do that as a candidate for governor."