Larry McBurney is a Democratic member of the Iowa House representing part of Urbandale.

For years, Iowa Republicans have argued that lower taxes will attract people, businesses, and investment to the state. Governor Kim Reynolds made that case in 2022 while promoting her income tax plan, telling people elsewhere, “Come, move to Iowa.”

The results have been less dramatic than the sales pitch. Iowa’s population grew 1.5 percent from 2020 to 2025, compared with 3.1 percent population growth nationally. More notably, Iowa experienced net domestic outmigration during that period: 10,148 more people moved from Iowa to another state than moved here from another state.

At the same time, Iowa is spending more than it takes in through recurring revenue. For fiscal year 2027 (which began on July 1), the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency projects about $8.4 billion in adjusted revenue and $9.645 billion in appropriations, with the difference covered in part by accumulated balances and a $617.8 million transfer from the Taxpayer Relief Fund.

Larry McBurney is a Democratic member of the Iowa House representing part of Urbandale.

Governor Kim Reynolds’ “Delivering Opportunities for Greater Efficiency” (DOGE) Task Force plans to recommend moving new public employees away from the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS) and into a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan. It’s being sold as a modern update, but the truth is this change would devastate Iowa’s public workforce. It’s a solution in search of a problem, and it targets one of the few benefits still keeping people in public service.

Let’s be clear about the reality for public employees in Iowa. Public sector wages are already 17.6 percent lower than in the private sector. Even after factoring in benefits, public employees still earn 14.5 percent less than their private counterparts.