The Iowa Policy Project annual report
318 2nd Ave. N • Mount Vernon, IA 52314 www.iowapolicyproject.org 2005 Annual Report for Organization (December 2005)
Four years after Iowans received their first report from the Iowa Policy Project, our organization’s staff and board members re-evaluated our mission in 2005. We wanted a short description yet one that represents the range of work we do – a more difficult task than we initially imagined, because words in the policy arena take on added meaning in the age of political spin machines. In this atmosphere, columnist Paul Krugman has written, “there is no longer such a thing as nonpolitical truth.” This presents our challenge. As we are most effective when we can cut through the spin and offer meaningful information to the public and policy makers, we realized that our mission must be especially meaningful as well. The result: The mission of the Iowa Policy Project is to promote public policy that fosters economic opportunity while safeguarding the health and well-being of Iowa’s people and the environment. By providing a foundation of fact-based, objective research and engaging the public in an informed discussion of policy alternatives, IPP advances accountable, effective and fair government. This represents not a change of course – but a fresh, clear definition of where this young organization had been and where it is heading.
Focus of Activity Iowa Policy Project research reached a national stage in 2005, most notably with the release of Nonstandard Jobs, Substandard Benefits, a report that examined changes in the workforce and the implications for fringe benefits, in particular health insurance. This report received attention in national media circles – one of several IPP reports in 2005 that drew attention from beyond the state’s borders. The year was perhaps IPP’s most productive yet. Besides publishing or contributing to 13 reports in the first 11 months, IPP staff pro- duced dozens of press releases, monthly job reports, fact sheets and newspaper columns. Tax and Budget Work Tax policy analysis led by our Research Director, Peter Fisher, is recognized as the hallmark of the Iowa Policy Project. IPP’s cooperation with the Child & Family Policy Center in Des Moines led to the formation in 2004 of the Iowa Fiscal Partnership (IFP) as a member of the State Fiscal Analysis IPP Executive Director David Osterberg speaks Initiative (SFAI). This designation comes in Dubuque about Iowa’s chronic budget crisis. with funding from the Stoneman Family 2 The Iowa Policy Project
Foundation and technical assistance on fiscal issues from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In the last half of 2004 and 2005, the Iowa partners focused on the state’s budgeting practices and its resulting structural deficit, or “chronic crisis.” A leadership deadlock at the State Capitol, primarily through a 25-25 partisan split in the Senate, blocked the movement of controversial tax policy and offered a window for legislators and the public to take a long-term look at the connection between budget decisions and cuts in public services. Fortunately, the Iowa Fiscal Partnership was well-positioned to provide that perspective. A series of reports released from September 2004 to January 2005 examined how Iowa arrived at Our a situation of chronic deficits by reducing revenues deliberately over several years, putting Iowa “out of step” in comparison with Vanishing other states’ handling of fiscal troubles. The reports illustrated Budgets the resulting effect on local government, education and human services, and concluded with recommendations to modernize Iowa’s tax system to prevent future crises. In February, the IFP Iowa’s Response compiled these reports in a book titled, Our Vanishing Budgets: to$ the Fiscal Crisis in the States Iowa’s Response to the Fiscal Crisis in the States. In addition to the usual press outreach, the reports were offered on our websites,
Budget and tax policy analysis extended beyond state issues to the federal level for IPP and IFP staff in 2005. At the urging of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, state groups took a hand at helping advocates and the media see the impact of revolutionary policy shifts occurring in Washington. IPP involvement included the production of fact sheets, generally authored by Assistant Director Mike Owen, that gleaned information from various national and state sources to “connect the dots” about the choices being made to cut taxes for the wealthy and cut services for low-income working families. At the same time as these budget debates, there was considerable discussion of the “reform” of Social Security – carving revenue out of the trust fund to enable private accounts. IPP staff helped other organizations in Iowa explain the potential consequences of these proposals – an effort that collectively helped to stop these efforts in 2005. In the past, we have tried to help with development of an Iowa fair-tax coalition, which has been difficult to achieve in a formal manner. Our work with other organizations in the state surrounding federal budget and Social Security issues, however, has helped to strengthen our ties with many of the same groups we would like to see band together to work for a sustainable, fair tax system in the state.
Work and the Plight of the Middle Class
Job quality continued to be the watchword for IPP in 2005, which saw completion of IPP’s largest project thus far: Nonstandard Jobs, Substandard Benefits by Fisher, Research Associate Elaine Ditsler, Senior Research Consultant Colin Gordon of the IPP, and David West of the Center for a Changing Workforce. IPP coordinated this 2 1/2-year study, funding for which was secured by Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa through the U.S. Department of The Iowa Policy Project 3
Labor (DOL). This work was augmented by a grant from The Commonwealth Fund, which published a separate report by Fisher, Ditsler and Gordon. As of this December 2005 writing, the research is continuing to draw fresh attention to the legions of nonstandard workers who are ineligible for health insurance benefits as well as to the fact that the number of uninsured Americans may be understated in government surveys. In March, Fisher presented a summary of the research to the Task Force on the Future of Health Insurance in Washington. Fisher and Osterberg later traveled to Washington and made presentations both to DOL and Senator Harkin, while Ditsler made a presentation in Washington at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research conference. Fisher also met with officials at the Census Bureau to argue that changes are needed in the Current Population Survey to identify discount card users. Every two years, we publish The State of Working Iowa. The 2005 edition, authored by Gordon, Ditsler and Fisher, again concentrates on economic data most important to working families. The report expanded on a trend we tracked in our monthly Iowa job analysis over the past two years, demonstrating the extremely slow pace of job recovery in Iowa from the 2001 national recession. It also showed the trend of fewer fringe benefits in the jobs that are being created compared to those that were lost, and the continuing low-wage status of Iowa jobs.
Two of the authors of Nonstandard Jobs, Substandard Benefits for the IPP, Senior Research Consultant Colin Gordon, center, and Research Associate Elaine Ditsler, right, discuss the re- search with host Al Kern on Iowa Public Radio’s “Talk of Iowa” program. 4 The Iowa Policy Project
Our monthly Iowa job analyses started in 2003 with the JobWatch project coordinated by the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. We determined in more than two years of this effort that our work offered a perspective that media were not likely to receive from official sources, par- ticularly the historical context that has demonstrated Iowa’s slow recovery. This has raised IPP visibility as a resource for policy makers and the media who are interested in solid job analysis.
Environment and Energy Policy Water quality has become a huge issue in the state of Iowa and IPP has been there to help Iowans understand the sometimes confusing rhetoric surrounding the issue. IPP released papers produced on contract with academic researchers on watershed protection, wastewa- ter management and water-quality concerns associated with the growing use of concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs. The latter report, by Carol J. Hodne, struck a nerve with the industrial agriculture establishment, which predictably attacked the report. However, the report remains the best summary of scientific literature available to help Iowans under- stand the impact of these operations on their communities.
Perhaps we saw our biggest policy impact in 2005 in the area of renewable energy. A paper by IPP Research Associate Teresa Galluzzo demonstrated the economic benefits of small, locally owned wind-generation systems. As she was examining this, a state tax credit bill for small producers was offered in the Iowa General Assembly. Advocates and legislators on both sides of the aisle used Galluzzo’s paper in pressing for passage of the legislation, which has been signed into law by Governor Tom Vilsack. This work was noticed beyond Iowa’s borders, as Galluzzo was invited to Toronto to make a presentation at a community wind conference.
Galluzzo also produced fact sheets about IPP Research Director Peter Fisher and the economic and environmental impacts Research Associate Teresa Galluzzo go of Iowa’s bottle-deposit law. Advocates for over data for a report. Fisher oversees all IPP an expanded bottle-deposit law (to include research; Galluzzo’s emphasis is research in more types of containers and improve re- environmental quality and renewable energy. cycling opportunities) used her fact sheets in March and April to press their case. There was no action on the issue in 2005, but it may return in 2006.
Outreach Iowa Policy Project reports are made available to the media and public at news conferences and on our website, www.iowapolicyproject.org. Iowa Fiscal Partnership reports are posted at www.iowafiscal.org. While we circulate these reports ourselves, the most important ways we have found to reach Iowans is through follow-up newspaper columns and public The Iowa Policy Project 5 presentations to diverse audiences around the state. We believe our straightforward approach encourages more traffic to our websites and more attention from the media, who regularly call our researchers for a fact-based perspective.
Aside from published materials and presentations to organizations, IPP representatives presented testimony in 2005 to the state Senate Ways & Means Committee and before a special executive branch-legislative branch panel examining governance issues in Iowa. They made presentations to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Division of Employment and Training of the U.S. Department of Labor. In addition, IPP representatives have testified at hearings on rules for the new Grow Iowa Values Fund, the 2007 U.S. Farm Bill, Iowa water-quality regulations, and the quality of media coverage on public policy issues.
IPP representatives are routinely asked for one-on-one meetings with government officials and political candidates seeking a full understanding of issues before them, and frequently invited to make presentations to small and large organizations both inside and outside Iowa.
Organization The IPP has settled into a permanent staff of five. This includes three full-time staffers working out of the Iowa City office – Owen, Ditsler and Galluzzo – supervised by the part- time executive director, Osterberg, and part-time research director, Fisher, whose duties are expanding. Gordon, as senior research consultant, is also a regular contributor to the Iowa Policy Project’s work.
Funding and Board Direction Foundations, government grants, labor organizations and individuals provide the base of funding for the Iowa Policy Project. The Joyce Foundation funding has been an important part of our budget since the early days of IPP, but changes in its geographic funding strategies will lead IPP to seek help from other sources. The Stoneman Family Foundation has committed to three more years of support for IPP’s work in the Iowa Fiscal Partnership as part of the State Fiscal Analysis Initiative, a network of state organizations coordinated by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. As mentioned previously, The Commonwealth Fund and the Department of Labor provided funding for the nonstandard work study. IPP also received a grant from the Iowa Finance Authority for a study of homelessness in Iowa, which will be published in January 2006. Finally, IPP receives essential support from trade unions, individuals and other organizations within Iowa, which not only funds IPP research, but also helps our organization meet state matching requirements for foundation grants. Fund-raising duties for IPP are guided by the executive director, but now involve all staff and board members in some manner, giving everyone in the organization a stake in assuring we have the resources to fulfill our mission.
The IPP Board of Directors has remained steady for two years. Officers are Roberta Till- Retz, president; Janet Carl, vice president; and Lyle Krewson, secretary. Other board members are Lana Ross, Mark Smith and Tony Smith. Kay Johansen serves as Treasurer. 6 The Iowa Policy Project 2005 Publications 1/04/05 In Defense of Clean Water: How Iowa and Its Neighbors Protect Watersheds. By Peter Weyer. 34 pages.
1/13/05 A Chronic Budget Crisis: Can Iowa Keep Its Promises. By Elaine Ditsler, Charles Bruner and Peter S. Fisher. 23 pages.
2/0x/05 Our Vanishing Budgets: Iowa’s Response to the Fiscal Crisis in the States. By Charles Bruner, Mike Crawford, Elaine Ditsler, Victor Elias, Peter Fisher, David Osterberg and Jeremy Varner, for the Iowa Fiscal Partnership. (IFP) 48-page book summarizing five-part series.
2/22/05 Analysis: Bush Budget Whacks Iowa Services. (IFP) 2-page release on CBPP report.
3/07/05 Social Security in Iowa. 2-page fact sheet, plus press The Iowa Policy Project release, Social Security Saves Iowans from Poverty. fact sheet SOCIAL SECURITY in Everyone seems to have an opinion in the raging debate over the future of S the facts? How does this New Deal program from the 1930s affect Iowans today? HereIOWA is a look, with information compiled by the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Pol ocial Security 3/22/05 Saving Iowa’s Agland Tax Dollars for Conservation. . But what are WHO RECEIVES SOCIAL SECURITY IN IOWA? icy Priorities: ■ Number of people receiving Social Security benefits in Iowa ■ By Teresa Welsh. 6 pages. Percentage of total Iowa population receiving Social Security benefits ■ Percentage of those age 65 and over in Iowa receiving Social Security benefits ■ ...... Percentage of Iowa personal income from Social Security a ■ ...... 546,065 Number of Iowa children under age 18 receiving Social Security benefits .... 19%b ■ ...... Percent of all Iowa beneficiaries who are children ...... 96%c 6.5%d WHY DO IOW ...... ANS RECEIVE SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS 24,170e 3/30/05 In the Budget Balance: Scales Tipped Against RETIREMENT 4%f ■ Number of people receiving Social Security including spouses and eligible children of retirees ? ■ retirement benefits Low-Income Working Iowans. (IFP) 1 page “fiscal Percentage of Iowa Social Security beneficiaries who receive retirement in Iowa, benefits (the rest receive disability and survivors Social Security...... benefits) DISABILITY 398,970g ■ Number of people in Iowa receiving Social Security disabilit...... y benefi facts” sheet, plus press release: Services at Stake for including spouses and children of disabled workers 73%g ■ Percentage of Iowa Social Security beneficiaries who receive disability benefits (the rest receive retirement and survivors benefits) ...... ts, Iowans in Congressional Budget Talks. SURVIVORS 68,755g ■ ...... Number of people in Iowa receiving Social Security survivors benefi including spouses and children of deceased workers 13%g ■ Percentage of Iowa Social Security beneficiaries who receive survivors benefits (the rest receive retirement and disability benefits) ...... ts, 78,340g WHAT ARE ECO ...... 3-4/05 Facts about Iowa’s “Bottle Bill.” 2-page fact sheets ■ NOMIC IMPACTS IN IOWA Total federal government Social Security payments made into Iowa 14%g ■ ? Net balance of Social Security benefits received and taxes paid ■ Number of Iowa seniors lifted above ■ ...... by Teresa Welsh in March and April: Percentage of Iowa seniors ...... $5.3 billione federal poverty line by Social Security the federal pover who would +$250 millionh ■ ty level without have income below ...... Percentage of Iowa seniors Social Security i ...... 179,000 the federal pover who have income below • “Litter Reducation and Recycling” ty level even with Social Security 52.9 i HOW DOES IOWA COMPARE AMONG...... THE STATES? % ■ Rank among 50 states in percentage of population receiving benefits 7.4%i ■ • “Economic Impacts of Existing Recycling Policy” Rank among 50 states in percentage of state income from Social Security ...... 8th • “An Outdated Law in 2005” (Need for update) 7th
4/06/05 Concentrating on Clean Water: The Challenge of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. By Carol J. Hodne. 49 pages.
4/14/05 Small Packages, Big Benefits: Economic Advantages of Local Wind Projects. By Teresa Welsh Galluzzo. 8 pages.
4/19/05 Iowa’s Personal Income Tax: Reform for Iowans at Any Age. By Charles Bruner and Mike Crawford. (IFP). 10 pages.
4/27/05 Understanding Iowa Taxes: A Supplement to the ITEP Guide to Fair State and Local Taxes. (IFP) 2-page “policy points” sheet.
5/05/05 Beyond the Medicaid Spin: Real Cuts to Real People. (IFP) 1 page “policy points” sheet.
5/06/05 Unbalanced Bottom Line: A Quick Look at Implications for Iowa in the Federal Budget. (IFP) 1 page “policy points” fact sheet.
6/06/05 Hunger in the Heartland: A Portrait of Need in Northeast Iowa. By Maureen Berner. (IFP) 10 pages. Plus four fact sheets, released in advance of the report: • “Understanding Food Aid in the U.S. and Iowa” • “A Portrait of Hunger in Iowa” • “Who Receives Food Assistance?” • “Effectiveness of Public, Private Food Assistance” The Iowa Policy Project 7
6/17/05 Food Stamps: A 7 Percent Solution. (IFP) 1 page “policy points” fact sheet.
7/01/05 For Richer, For Poorer. Budget Mismatch: Tax Cuts for Rich, Food Cuts for Vulnerable. (IFP) 1 page “policy points” fact sheet.
7/14/05 Spinning Off Responsibility: Governors Ask Already Burdened Medicaid Clients to Pay More. (IFP) 1 page “policy points” fact sheet.
8/01/05 Medicaid at 40: A Service That Works, For Americans Who Need It. (IFP) 2-page “policy points” fact sheet summarizing Medicaid performance at anniversary of program.
8/30/05 Stagnant Signs for Iowa Household Budgets. (IFP Press Release on Census)
9/01/05 The State of Working Iowa 2005. By Colin Gordon, Elaine Ditsler and Peter Fisher. 36 pages.
10/07/05 Ecological Wastewater Management in Iowa: Hope for Iowa’s Small Communities. By Scott Wallace, Gene Parkin, Brett Ballavance and Ryan Brandt. 78 pages.
10/19/05 IowaCare: Need for Caution. By Charles Bruner, Victor Elias and Kelli Soyer. (IFP) 14 pages.
12/01/05 Nonstandard Jobs, Substandard Benefits. By Peter S. Fisher, Elaine Ditsler, Colin Gordon and David West. 41 pages.
12/12/05 On the Chopping Block: Outline of Iowa Beneficiaries and Threats to Federal Services. (IFP) 3-page “backgrounder” fact sheet.
Monthly Iowa Jobs Report Analysis, same day as release from Iowa Workforce Development.
policy points 1, 2005 Iowa Fiscal Partnership fiscal facts August The Iowa Policy Project www.iowafiscal.org Iowa Fiscal Partnership www.iowafiscal.org COMBATING HUNGER – I fact she MEDICAID AT 40 s creation in et UNDERSTANDING FOOD AID IN THE U.S. AND IOWA IOWAʼS BOTTLE BILL A Service That Works, For Americans Who Need It By Maureen Berner, University of Northern Iowa fectiveness LITTER REDUCTION AND RECYCLING - Iowa’s bottle deposit law, popularly known as the “ Hunger is a major problem in America. This is the first of several fact sheets for the Iowa Fiscal Partner- The 40th birthday of Medicaid is a celebration of health-care access. Before Medicaid’ ated and alcoholic beverage containers. The program i ship about hunger in Iowa and the United States. This piece introduces basic statistics and outlines the 1965, the health-care needs of poor Americans were left to their proximity to nonprofit care providers unfunded mandates. Its impact is both environmentalBottle and Bill,” passed in 1978 and includes all carbon- major ways that both government and nonprofit food assistance is provided to hungry families. and concerned physicians. Its success in assuring better health security for Americans is irrefutable. But environmental impacts of the law through litter reductions self-supported and does not rely on taxes or this anniversary also is an alarm, as some proposals in Congress would severely curtail the ef economic. Here are some facts about the DEFINING THE TERMS of this service – at the same time traditional health-coverage arrangements provided through the work ■ Hunger: “The recurrent and involuntary lack of access to sufficientThe food Iow due to povertya Policy or Projectplace are declining, leaving more Americans with less insurance, higher-cost insurance, or both. HAS THE BOTTLE BILL REDUCED LITTER? and recycling: 1: constrained resources, which can lead to malnutrition over time.”1 fact sheet In 1980, two years after the Bottle Bill took effect, the Iowa Depar ■ Food Insecurity: “The lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times due to MEDICAID WORKS BECAUSE IT CREATES ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE survey to determine the impact on litter. These findings imply that 2 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2005 lack of financial resources.” policy points CONTACT: Mike Owen (319) 338-0773 or [email protected] Medicaid, funded by both states and the federal government, provides health and long-term consciousness beyond the value of recycling bottl tment of Transportation conducted a Hunger and food insecurityJune can have 17, harmful 2005 effects on many aspects of personal and societal .care to low-income families and individuals. In FY2002, Medicaid assisted 359,000 Iowans — more than 1 in 10 Iowans (51.55 million U.S.) reducing litter and increasing recycling generally: the new law expanded Iowansʼ well-being, such as physical and mental health and development, family life, and work and productivity. n Medicaid ■ es and cans to an understanding of the importance of EDITORS: These graphs illustrate the month-by-m 42,000 aged Iowans (4.76 million U.S.) Decrease in beverage container litter Iowa Fiscal Partnership onth changesn in nonfarm employment in Iowa from ■ www.iowafiscal.org May 2004 through May 2005, and in the state unemployment n 61,000 blind and disabled Iowans (8.06 million U.S.) Over 50 Million Served Decrease in total litter ...... SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Iowa Workforce rate since March 2001, using new figures ...... 3 n 186,000 Iowa children (25.49 million U.S.) ■ USDA estimate of U.S. households experiencing hunger in 2003 ...... 3.9 million Development. 4 n 71,000 adult Iowans (13.25 million U.S.) HOW MUCH DO IOWANS RECYCLE? 77%a ■ USDA estimate of U.S. households experiencing food insecurity in 2003 ...... 1 in 10 ■ A a7 PERCENT SOLUTION? Change in Iowa Nonfarm Employment, Number of beverage containers redeemed for deposit out of 1.9 bi 38% May 2004-May 2005 ■ Applying the Bush StandardWHO PROVIDES to Foodt some ASSISTANCEoutlines Stamp for theCuts kind of cuts thatFigure 1. MEDICAID FILLS IN HEALTH GAPS FOR IOWANS Empty for-deposit containers returned per person in Iowa enate. Senators Chuck Grassley 8,000 Donors ■ ■ For the past 40 years The Food Assistance n Without Medicaid and the related SCHIP for children (known Sales of drinks introduced since Bottle Bill passage that are not llion sold...... Budget negotiations in Washington in the coming weeks may se nate. in Iowa), far more people would be without health coverage as costs have risen and employers 1.7 billion government and nonprofits have Chain 6,000 as hawk-i ...... may be expected bfrom the Agriculture committees in the House and S REDEEMABLE DEPOSIT & RECYCLING, IOWA VS. OTHER STATES shared responsibilityor enormous for food cutsand that would devastates Food Banks have reduced coverage. 2 subject to the lawand Tom Harkin575 bof Iowa both serve on the Ag Committee in the Se 4,000 n Even with Medicaid and SCHIP, the uninsurance rate for children in Iowa stood at 7.2 percent in ...... nutrition assistance to the hungry. In the average bottle-bill state, beverage containers are 2 1/ 15%c may help to review PresidentGovernment Bushʼ 2,000 (See Figure 1.) culture cuts: 7 percent. 2002-03, about the same as the 7.4 percent level in 1998-1999; for working-age adults, the uninsurance tainers in no-deposit states. Cuts in Food Stamps are increasingly likely – some are calling f Assistance ■ this safety net for nutrition for low-income working families. It Agriculture 0 rate leaped in that period, to 13.8 percent from 10.8 percent. Percentage of beverage containers returned in 10 states2 times w as likely to be recycled as are con- s be part of $9 billion in Member Agencies n People with low incomes or disabilities are healthier than they would be without Medicaid. ■ own perception of the burden Food Stamps shouldWHO bear GETS from Agri ASSISTANCE -2,000 Percentage of beverage containers returned in 40 stat imarily working families with children. n Health-care providers are financially healthier because Medicaid reduces uncompensated care. According to a 2000 survey: Number of jobs Costs: Medicaid vs. Private Insurance Est. 2001 Per Capita Costs* ith deposits...... The president had proposed that $600 million■ in FoodOne-half Stamp thecut of presidentʼs food-insecure principle households that only took 7 percent part -4,000 HIGHER DEPOSIT = BETTER RETURN RATESes without deposits...... tamps would be cut $200 million. cuts. This72% cutd would eliminate eligibility for in300,000 at least people, one of pr the three largest federal food MEDICAID OFFERS VALUE Medicaid ■ As shown28% in dthe figure below, however, if Congressassistance follows programs in the previous month. (See Page 2.) n Medicaid provides health care Percentage of beverage containers returned in May '04 Jun '04 Jul '04 Private ■ Aug '04 Sep '04 Oct '04 $4,410 should come from Food Stamps, then for $3 ■billion Aboutin Ag cuts, 17 percent Food S – or 2.4 percent of all Nov '04 Dec '04 Jan '05at a lower per-person3 cost than private Percentage of beverage containers returned in People Who Need Feb '05 Mar '05 Apr See '05 figure at right. Insurance ■ California (2.5-cent deposit) U.S. households – obtained emergency food from a health insurance. May '05 Percentage of beverage containers returned in “President Bush has given - Iowa (5-cent deposit) ...... food pantry at some time during the year.5 Food Assistance n Per-capita costs have risen * Adjusted for health differences us what64% wee could call his Congress: Food Stamp Impact Source: Jack Hadley 2004 and Michigan (10-cent deposit)...... more slowly in Medicaid than in pri $3,145 Inquiry, Beverage Container Rate of Return by State and Deposit Amountʻ7 percent92% dsolutionʼ to the $3 BillionBy 2003, the percentagesUsing had President increased: Bush’s John Holahan, ...... vate insurance. Per enrollee, Medicaid Agriculture95%e portion of ■ Fifty-six percent of food-insecure households Cuts to Ag 7 Percent Solution acute care costs rose an average of 6.9 the budget puzzle,” Iowa received assistance through one of the three largest federal programs. Change in Iowa Unemployment Rate Sin ce Startpercent of Last annually Recession from 2000 to 2003, $795 Policy Project executive $200■ MillionTwenty percent of food-insecure households – or 3.1 percent of all U.S. households – obtained $719 6 compared with 12.6 percent annual director David Osterberg- emergency food from a nonprofit operation during the year. Children 72% 92% growth for 4private health insurance 95% said. “Itʼs fair to under $600 Million Returned While increases in participation in both government and public programs are not statistically significant, premiums. Adults Percentage 64% stand this as his standard : $9 Billion Cuts to Ag, Administrative costs under of Containers they demonstrate that the problem of hunger and food insecurity has not abated in the past three years, n 5 28% for the appropriate burden President Bush and may, in fact, be growing. Medicaid are about half as large as to place on Food Stamp $600 Million from FoodPeople Stamps affected) 40 Non-Bottle those under private health insurance. 10 Bottle Bill recipients as a share of the Bill States California 2.5¢ Iowa 5¢ Michigan 10¢ (7 percent of cuts – 300,000 States Ag cuts. $8 $9
“That amounts to $200 $0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7BILLIONS million. Any amount cut from Food Stamps or any low-income service illion is disproportionate even to the is hard to defend when taxes are being cut for the wealthy. Any amount higher than $200 m presidentʼs proposal.” hase food in grocery stores throughout needs, while at the same time boosting Food Stamps provide funds that help low-income families purc Iowa. As such, the program helps families meet their nutritional farm income and local economies. # # # # # Child & Family Policy Center 1021 Fleming BuildingDes Moines, • 218 Sixth IA 50309 Ave. The Iowa Policy Project (515) 280-9027 • www.cfpciowa.org 318 2nd Ave. N Mount Vernon, IA 52314 (319) 338-0773 • www.iowapolicyproject.org