Opinion: Lowering costs & raising wages

By Iowa House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst

It was the busiest week of the legislative session so far. The House sent over scores of bills to the Iowa Senate but it’s unclear how many of those will move ahead given the inter-party battle between the Governor and GOP legislative leaders.

House Democrats kicked off the week introducing some new ideas and bills in our People Over Politics agenda. The goal is to get the session re-focused on improving the lives of Iowans instead of just playing politics.

It’s no secret Iowans are frustrated with politics these days and just want to see elected officials get something done instead of stoking the flames of partisanship. While the root cause of their frustration is often hard to pinpoint, the most common theme I hear is folks just can’t seem to get ahead. So many Iowans are struggling to make ends meet and their paychecks simply aren’t keeping up with the rising costs of healthcare, food, child care, and utility bills.

At the same time, people are watching those at the top - the wealthy and corporations - rolling in billions of profits. There are now 756 billionaires in America who just keep getting richer. In 1989, the CEO-to-worker pay ratio was 59-1 and today it is 399-1. Corporate profits are at record highs as they continue to increase prices on real people while the CEOs and shareholders pocket the extra cash. It’s no wonder Iowans are frustrated and feel like the system is just rigged against them.

It won’t happen overnight, but we’ve got to start bringing some balance back to people and hold corporations accountable. Here are five simple ideas the Iowa Legislature can do right away to help Iowans pay their bills and provide some economic stability for people.

First, let’s give Iowans some more say in the workplace. Everyone deserves fair wages, respect and safety on the job. Instead of politicians trying to strip away the rights of workers (it’s happening in Iowa again this year as well), it’s time to protect collective bargaining in Iowa’s Constitution to guarantee workers have a say in the workplace. It’s just a matter of fairness.

Second, Iowans should all have the tools they need to start planning for a secure retirement when they enter the workforce. It’s a critical piece to ensure they stay and work in Iowa and invest those dollars back in our communities after retirement. The new bill we offered this week requires employers that do not offer a retirement plan to automatically enroll all employees in a retirement account in the Iowa Retirement Savings Plan Trust. It’s a simple idea that sets more people up for long-term financial security.

Some other ideas we introduced earlier this session that would immediately ease the strain on the pocketbook of Iowans, includes raising the minimum wage, expanding Iowa’s sales tax-free holiday to two weeks, and making childcare more affordable for Iowa families.

Instead of working together on any of these bills that would actually make a difference, GOP leaders in the House had other plans - more politics.

In an attempt to appease the Governor, leaders pushed through a bill to gut AEAs and reduce special education and mental health services for kids. On the heels of the Perry school shooting just a few months ago, they passed a bill to arm teachers. Instead of making Iowa a welcoming place for all, they approved a bill that weaponizes religious beliefs to permit discrimination. They even let an out-of-state special interest group dictate what should be taught in our social studies classrooms, instead of trusting Iowa teachers.

They’ve just gone too far.

I won’t lie, it was a tough week at the State Capitol for so many Iowans, including me. I’m just as frustrated with all the politics as Iowans are.

But the way out of this mess has never been more clear: put people over politics.

State Representative Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights serves the 32nd District in the Iowa House and is the Iowa House Democratic Leader