Iowa Republicans' tax and economic policies have hollowed out Iowa’s small communities and rural landscape. Their big business approach to every problem has resulted in everything getting bigger: worker shortages, farms, packing plants, chemical and fertilizer companies, tractors, consolidated schools, convenient store chains, food and childcare deserts, water quality problems, floods, wind storms, COVID deaths, and agricultural subsidy payments.

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Just recently, federal Republicans Joni Ernst, Randy Feenstra, Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks all voted against rural Iowa communities and farmers when they voted no on generational funding for rural internet, roads, bridges and water systems. Democrats passed the infrastructure bill that will bring blue state money to fix our dilapidated red state infrastructure. What are they thinking?

Kim Reynolds and legislative Republicans have controlled all of Iowa government the last five years. Every decision. Are rural communities better off today than they were five years ago? More consolidated schools? Longer bus rides? More closed businesses? More low wage jobs? Poor internet services? Population decline? More COVID deaths? More anger. Massive tax cuts for Des Moines millionaires and big corporations time and time again have only made things worse for the average rural Iowan.

If their policies were working, why are they not telling rural Iowans how great they have it? Instead, they peddle rage, grievance and victimhood to Iowans with racial fear, anti-immigrant, anti-government slogans and constant name-calling.

In 2022, Kim Reynolds and legislative Republicans are proposing more tax cuts and more rural austerity. Tax cuts have failed to grow jobs or quality of life in rural Iowa. Tax cuts will not educate our kids or keep them from leaving, create higher wage jobs, solve the teacher or workforce shortage, create more health care services for rural Iowans, improve internet services or clean up our filthy rivers and lakes.

How much longer will Iowans tolerate Republican rhetoric and record of failure?

https://qctimes.com/opinion/columnists/column-republicans-are-failing-iowa/article_6f5d8be6-f5c2-5665-9ec7-594f29e24092.html