Economy Archives » Lynda Waddington

13Mar 2019 by Lynda Waddington

Do you share these priorities?

Gazette Column

Unveiled Monday, the Trump administration's proposed budget is an exercise in wrongheaded priorities, repeatedly sacrificing government investment in working-class America. Let me show you. Because this is Iowa, let's begin by looking at proposed budget changes at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Trump administration proposes a 15 percent cut to USDA programs - billions in reductions. Included is a $26 billion cut to crop insurance, $9 billion to voluntary conservation programs, and $5 billion to Section 32 programs that help purchase American commodities in times of need (such as during a self-inflicted trade war.) It perhaps should not be surprising that the Trump administration makes another attempt to reduce food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and once again promotes the widely panned harvest boxes. But…

24Feb 2019 by Lynda Waddington

Lawmakers should end religious exemption

Gazette Column

Iowa lawmakers dispatched two proposals that would have allowed more parents to forgo required and necessary vaccinations for their children. That's good, but not enough. It's time to take a closer look at the state's lax vaccination rules. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, more parents are seeking religious exemptions to vaccination requirements - four times the number from only 15 years ago. At the county level, the percentage of parents taking a religious exemption varies widely. In Buchanan County, for example, 356 religious exemptions were filed in a total enrollment of 3,515. Larger Linn County had 744 religious exemptions from a total enrollment of nearly 40,000. That's partly because state law doesn't require parents to cite specific religious teaching against vaccinations to claim the exemption. All it…

30Jan 2019 by Lynda Waddington

Put people at center of public policies

Gazette Column

Maybe, now that the business community is raising red flags, something will change. Members of the Iowa Business Council, a group that represents the state's largest businesses, held a news conference at the Statehouse Monday to release their annual, nonpartisan review of economic trends. Dubbed Iowa's Competitive Dashboard, the report measures statewide progress in five areas relative to other states - economic growth, education and workforce, governance, demographics and diversity, and health and wellness. Headlines from the rollout have focused on demographics and diversity because the Business Council found the greatest shortcomings in that area, and because the issue rolls nicely into the larger national conversation about immigration. In the coming days, the Council plans to launch a public-private partnership to research and implement ways the state can attract and…

15Feb 2018 by Lynda Waddington

Nothing to love about food deserts

Gazette Column

Trump administration budget aims to slash SNAP by $213 billion It’s Valentine’s Day, and I hoped to write a column appropriate for a love and indulgence holiday, however contrived. But that’s mentally difficult when new Trump administration proposals promote food deserts and scarcity. On Monday, the administration announced its plan to slash food assistance for low-income families and replace it with a “Blue Apron-type program.” “What we do is propose that for folks who are on food stamps, part — not all, part — of their benefits come in the actual sort of, and I don’t want to steal somebody’s copyright, but a Blue Apron-type program where you actually receive the food instead of receive the cash,” said Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney during a policy briefing. The Trump administration plans to cut…

05Feb 2018 by Lynda Waddington

Lawmakers hope to buy votes with your tax dollars

Gazette Column

How will it cost taxpayers if the Iowa Legislature approves, and Gov. Kim Reynolds signs, a bill targeting so-called sanctuary communities? Let’s count the ways. The bill, Senate File 481, earned 32 votes and a nod of approval in the Iowa Senate last year. This week, it received a 2-1 vote in a House Public Safety subcommittee — despite law enforcement officials from across the state lobbying and speaking against it. The proposal must still advance through the full committee before it can be brought to the House floor. If approved by the Iowa House without any changes to what the Senate approved last year, it would be sent to the Governor’s Office where it could be signed into law. On Thursday night, the Reynolds-Gregg campaign used the bill as a fundraising plea, falsely…

03Dec 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Could have supported interest deduction cap

Gazette Column

One piece of the Trump administration and U.S. House Republican proposed federal tax overhaul I agreed with appears to have already fallen amid an onslaught of the lobbyist horde. The White House budget proposal called for a lowered cap on the home mortgage interest deduction. House Republicans agreed and included the lesser cap in their proposal alongside a requirement that the deduction be limited to primary residences. Members of the Senate were immediately confronted by real estate lobbyists, so the lowered cap, estimated to produce up to $300 billion in revenue during the next decade, is not part of the smaller chamber’s plan. Before any readers choke on their Saturday morning coffee, let me explain that I’m not completely against the mortgage interest deduction, or the type of behavior it’s intended…

26Nov 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Education can boost economy

Gazette Column

Too many college students experience homelessness, food insecurity There’s a reason food banks have been established at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and more than 500 other college campuses since 2010. Student hunger. Last month researchers and policymakers met for a second annual “Real College” conference, which focused on college food and housing insecurity. They came to discuss disturbing trends outlined in a March 2017 report, “Hungry and Homeless in College,” and explore possible solutions. The report was a much more robust offering of findings first outlined in December 2015 as part of “Hungry to Learn.” Both reports are from Wisconsin Hope Lab, the nation’s only translational research lab seeking ways to make college affordable. It was founded by Sara Goldrick-Rab, currently a professor of higher education policy and sociology at Temple University. “Since 2008,…

30Oct 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Iowa must raise the bar for immigrant families

Gazette Column

A new national report makes clear that children of color and children living in immigrant families face persistent challenges that Iowa and other states aren’t adequately addressing. The report, “2017 Race for Results: Building a Path to Opportunity for All Children,” was released last week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It details how such challenges are creating opportunity gaps, especially for African-American and Latino children in Iowa. “Iowans are used to seeing their state appear high in national rankings. But the reality is that Iowa’s environment for children — for children in every racial and ethnic group — is at best in the middle of the pack,” said Anne Discher, interim executive director of the Child and Family Policy Center, which supports the Casey Foundation’s Kids Count initiative in Iowa. “For…

22Oct 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Hopeful past presidents speak out

Gazette Column

President George W. Bush set down his paintbrushes this week to issue a very public assessment of U.S. politics. Let’s hope everyone was listening. “Bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone, provides permission for cruelty and bigotry, and compromises the moral education of children. The only way to pass along civic values is to first live up to them,” Bush said at the George W. Bush Institute in New York City on Thursday. I doubt I would have believed anyone who told me back in 2003 that I’d one day praise Bush for his eloquence at the podium, but here we are. The sins of a few garbled idioms or made-up words pale in comparison to what Bush calls out as “casual cruelty” and “outright fabrication.”…

09Oct 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Food is critical part of academic achievement

Gazette Column

Researchers have long highlighted links between academic achievement and food, noting that hunger eventually manifests as cognitive issues. Newer studies show such negative outcomes aren’t problems that appear years down the road. Hunger negatively impacts a child’s ability to learn and achieve, increases the likelihood of behavioral issues and slows development of social skills. Multiple studies indicate hungry children grow into adults who are less likely to reach their full potential. It’s why the nation invests in nutritious school meals and provides food assistance to the most vulnerable. It’s also why communities support food pantries and other food programs to bridge local gaps. But a newer study completed by scholars at the University of South Carolina and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh shows the detrimental effects of hunger are not only devastating, but…