A pair of U.S. House bills ask for an end to tax credits responsible for creating and propping up the American solar energy industry. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, a Michigan Republican, proposes an end to the federal giveaways. Fellow GOP Congressman Mike Pompeo of Kansas has
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Posted March 24, 2014in Iowa Watchdog
DES MOINES, Iowa — According to reports from the Iowa Department of Revenue, an obscure tax break, the Research Activities Credit, has allowed major corporations to receive millions in tax refunds from the state without paying a dime in state corporate income tax. Exactly how much Iowa has paid to
Read More →DES MOINES, Iowa — Running into a combination of bureaucratic inertia, big-money special interest influence and ignorant state legislators is enough to make anyone want a stiff drink. Iowa’s micro-distillers must be sorely tempted to grab a bottle off their production lines as they push for minor changes in the
Read More →WASHINGTON, D.C. — A fast-growing foreign-student work program is taking jobs from U.S. citizens, while its “alarming mismanagement” poses a national security threat, critics charge. “Foreign students, sometimes aided by school officials, are currently abusing the Optional Practical Training program to acquire unauthorized employment in the United States,” said Sen. Charles
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Posted March 06, 2014in Iowa Watchdog
DES MOINES, Iowa — If a dog at one of Iowa’s two remaining greyhound racetracks was in the same shape as those racetracks’ finances, it would be euthanized on the spot. Both greyhound racetracks lose millions of dollars each year, only remaining open because state law requires the casinos to
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Posted February 28, 2014in Iowa Watchdog
DES MOINES, Iowa — On Jan. 5, 2012, Paul Valin called the police to report he’d found a backpack containing what he believed to be meth-making equipment. That simple act of good citizenship landed his and wife Cindy’s house on the National Clandestine Laboratory Register, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency’s list of
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Posted February 27, 2014in Iowa Watchdog
DES MOINES, Iowa — Hard work and determination may be traditional ingredients for success, but they’re no match for having the federal government force customers to buy your product. Consider these economic numbers. Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted farm income will decline by 27 percent in 2014.
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Posted February 20, 2014in Iowa Watchdog
DES MOINES, Iowa — Exactly what Sioux City’s automated traffic cameras have done to improve public safety is debatable, but the more than $1 million they’ve raised to fatten police and firefighter pensions isn’t. Now new regulations from the Iowa Department of Transportation curbing use of the cameras on state
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Posted February 11, 2014in Iowa Watchdog
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The phone call came the other day as I drove to work. A tired, sad voice said, “Scott there’s going to be another murder trial.” My shoulders sagged. My 3-year-old daughter fidgeted in the backseat. And my mind was suddenly remembering a night of horror 24 years
Read More →DES MOINES, Iowa — Things got testy in the commerce committee as members of the Iowa House of Representatives discussed an amendment to a bill regulating e-cigarettes. The amendment, introduced by Rep. Chris Hall, D-Sioux City, would have defined e-cigarettes as tobacco products, even though the devices contain no tobacco.
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