FALLON CHALLENGES VALUES FUND NUMBERS
As the
Legislature prepares for a special session on September 7, State
Representative Ed Fallon (D-Des Moines) criticized the content of a
recent press release promoting the Iowa Values Fund. Specifically,
Fallon contends that the numbers given for job growth over the past
year grossly misrepresent the available data. In
fact, information readily available from officials at the Iowa
Workforce Development office shows a net loss of 7,000 jobs over the
past 12 months, not a gain of 11,000, as the press release implies.
Calling
the past year “a record year of economic growth,” a press release
mailed from the Governor’s office dated August 24, states: “Together,
we must maintain the economic momentum evident since the Values Fund
was originally proposed. Iowa has enjoyed the best year ever in
economic development with over 11,000 jobs created or retained.”
The
release goes on to say: “After original passage of the Values Fund, 142
companies received assistance. These companies pledged to hire over
7,000 new workers and retain over 4,000 workers.”
Fallon
responded, saying: “If an Iowa high school or college student were to
throw out these kinds of distorted numbers in a term paper, they’d get
a failing grade. To call this past year ‘a record year of economic
growth’ and imply that Iowa is 11,000 jobs richer, when in fact we now
have 7,000 jobs less than we did a year ago, is downright deceptive.”
“Furthermore,
the August 24 press release strongly implies that all 11,000 jobs
created or retained happened because of the Iowa Values Fund,”
continued Fallon. “Yet the Iowa Department of Economic Development’s
own numbers make it clear that 4,000 of these jobs are related to
subsidies from other programs, including Community Economic Betterment
Account (CEBA), Value Added Agricultural Products and Processes
Financial Assistance Program (VAAPFAP), Targeted Small Business Program
(TSB), New Jobs and Income Program (NJIP), Enterprise Zones and many
others.”
“Also,
taxpayers ought to pay close attention to the words ‘created or
retained’,” concluded Fallon. “Understand that Values Fund jobs are
merely ‘promised,’ and while the corporations receiving Values Fund
subsidies may create the promised number of jobs, they also may not.
And with regards to retaining jobs that may or may not have moved out
of state – or out of the country altogether – that is almost impossible
to determine.”
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