This public post by Molly Donahue refutes Governor Reynolds’ condition of the state speech, line by line (or shall we say lie by lie). Please give it a read. It will come in handy for talking points for letters and fighting back against the GOP’s ongoing terrible plans for drowning state government in the bathtub among other things. Thanks to Molly Donahue for providing this service to Iowans.

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The governor gave her condition of the state tonight beginning with her thoughts and prayers that have gone on deaf GOP ears, because they are not willing to do what it takes to protect Iowa’s kids with sensible gun laws.

She went on to discuss Workforce- but she fails to fill jobs with workers, because her policies towards workers are not favorable. When you don’t champion the cause of workforce and labor, or protect workers’ rights, or foster a climate where every individual’s contribution is valued— you cannot build your workforce.

She has lead the state with divisiveness and the working environment here is driving workers away from Iowa.

Another area the governor discussed was educational freedom. Let’s be real there’s always been educational freedom and choice —now she’s using our taxpayer dollars to pay for those private schools that do not take all students. She is starving public schools, and the majority of Iowa’s students with a lack of funding —hurting rural Iowa & their ability to provide opportunities for their students. Parents have always had choice— but tax dollars do not belong in private schools.

As promised, the governor attacked AEAs — the area education associations, that support and help protect students as part of their duties. The AEA as proven this past week after the Perry shooting, that are imperative to the supports that schools need not just for special education, resources, and support, but for crisis team management. Special education is dependent on these AEAs and the resources and supports that they provide to some of our most vulnerable students. She has underfunded public education which includes special education, and she has systematically started the dismantling of AEAs through stripping funding year after year by around $100 million in the past six years to these agencies who provide the support that people need for special education. If she continue to attack AEAs, special ed will never close the gap. Maybe that’s her plan?

The governor says she wants to do right by educators by making sure that they receive a pay raise. However, she’s only giving that pay raise to the new starting teachers. That is not investment in educators. That is how you make teachers leave the field —because those who have been teaching for 5-11 years will be making the same amount as a brand new teacher. If you increase starting salaries by $7000, every teacher’s salary should increase that much. It’s time that the governor put the money where her mouth is —if she truly wants educators in this state and to maintain educators in this state, then she must do better by ALL educators in this state.

The governor thinks that funding to help families in need due to lower social economic status should be picked up primarily by nonprofits and faith-based organizations rather than the state. Those faith-based organizations and nonprofits are the ones that came to state looking for help to fill those gaps many years ago because the numbers of people in need in Iowa were so great. Those social safety nets, protect children, feed children, and house children —helping families get back on their feet. Those numbers have now increased exponentially much in part due to the policies put in place by this governor. The faith-based and nonprofit groups have already pleaded with legislators across the state to not put any more burden on them to pick up the slack so that the state won’t have to. They simply are stretched too thin to provide for all of the needs that Iowa has today.

Our governor needs to take care of those that are in need rather than turn the blind eye —and stop handing out our tax dollars as credits to those who don’t need it.

Every year governor talks about mental health and says it’s her priority. However, it’s always an unfunded mandate, and unfunded programs, and unfunded policies. Will this year be any different? Do we have greater need? Yes, are some of those needs based in an opioid crisis —most likely yes. But we must find a sustainable ways to take care of our people right here in the state, where they have the support of their families. We have to provide both mental health to those in need, as well as reform how we deal with drug abuse, providing more programs rather than incarceration. We need to provide funding and programming that promote caring for individuals rather than holding cells.

The governor also spoke about her reducing departments in state government, and how that is saving millions of dollars for Iowans. But she failed to show the data to prove that savings and key us not forget that by reducing the number of departments, the governor actually grew government —by forcing all of those departments underneath one umbrella, her office. Now nearly all departments “serve at the pleasure of the governor”. That reduces transparency and oversight of our tax dollars and how she’s using them.

The governor also spoke about the unemployment policy that she got put into place last year, which reduced the number of weeks that one could be on unemployment. She touts the success of this program by stating that more Iowans are now working rather than collecting a check from the state. This is not including the majority of Iowa’s workers that are seasonal, who simply are going unpaid because they cannot take a part-time, minimum wage job, and still return to their work when the weather allows. Another one of her failed policies that are driving Iowans out of the state. Those dollars are funded by employers, so that when- at no fault of their own, employees become unemployed, they have the ability to take care of their families until they can find a comparable job or go back to their seasonal employment.

She bragged about her wasteful tax dollar spending by sending troops and officers to the border to make political points with the Republican Party. She spoke about protecting the land from foreign buyers, but failed to say that she would protect the land from private profit. This governor has no problem letting a private company take land through eminent domain for private profit, and that is not what eminent domain was meant to do.

Landowners should not have to fear their governor, allowing their land being taken away. She touted her tax plans as successful by lowering income tax for workers, saying that’s more money in their pockets, but that money is pennies on the dollar compared to the cost of living increases, and the amount of money that she’s already taken in surplus and not spent for the people, but given away in tax credits for the wealthy. (There is no such thing as a surplus. You either are not paying for amenities that need to be paid for, or you’re taking too many dollars from the taxpayers)— in this case I would say it’s both. But those tax dollars should be returned to the taxpayers, not to tax credits. We also must support our communities, cities, towns, and counties with those tax dollars so that they can provide police and fire and safe roadways among the many things local governments provide. Our governor has not done that. She has, however, utilized the funding coming from the Biden administration to cover many of the things she has failed to provide as governor.

The bottom line is that we cannot forget the governor’s hateful actions and policies this past year. Her culture wars and her hateful policies that now reside in lawsuits and in court rooms. The governor’s policies have driven people out of the state. Cutting taxes does not bring people to Iowa, low wages & poor working conditions and climates does not bring young people back to Iowa. The climate & culture here with the divisiveness will not bring people to Iowa —it drives them away. If we want a strong economy and successful communities, we need better policies —and we must fund them.

We need change in Iowa and what we have right now is not the answer. Next November, I hope you make the choice to make change when you go to the ballot box so that we can bring back accountability, opportunities, and true freedoms for ALL of our neighbors, friends, and family.