Need to end Iowa’s excessive Drug Stamp tax.

Thanks to Lee Rood for her expose’ in The Des Moines Register about the financial devastation of an Iowa citizen that was caused by Iowa’s drug tax.  As Rood reported, Stephanie Hilgenberg was arrested in 2016 after police found about $5,000 worth of meth in her purse.  She was convicted and served time in prison.  She is now free and working to support heself and her two kids.  But she still owes the Iowa Department of Revenue about $150,000 in tax, penalty and interest!  She had failed to pay the “drug stamp tax” required in order to avoid the penalties and interest.

Iowa’s Constitution prohibits excessive fines, but this is technically a tax, not a fine.  Again as Rood reported, part of the strategy of the tax was to use as a negotiating lever to get small time dealers to give up their suppliers.  In our failed drug wars, the little guy is often sacrificed as a means to what drug warriors consider  more important ends.

Drug addiction is a terrible thing.  But we will be better served as a society by treating addiction under a medical model rather than a criminal model.  Education works better than punishment.  One step in the right direction would be to repeal the punitive stamp tax that is added to the injury caused by drug prohibition.  State legislatiors should take that up next session.

Link to Register article by Lee Rood:  https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2019/06/12/illegal-drugs-iowa-crime-law-convictions-selling-drug-tax-stamps-meth-department-revenue/1416512001/

Right To Work – amendment proposal is bad.

Both current Iowa law and the proposed “right to work” amendment to the Iowa Constitution prohibit a private business owner from voluntarily agreeing to hire only union members.

In a free society that respects private property rights and freedom of association, business owners should be free to choose whether or not to bargain with anyone or group about any terms of employment.  Government should not get involved either for or against the employer or the employees except to stop either party from using force or fraud against the other.  If an employer wants to hire only union members and bargain with a single group, then government should not prohibit it.  In that case, individuals who don’t want to join the union can simply refuse to work for that employer.

Just as an employer should be free to agree to hire only people who are members of a union, an employer should also be free to not bargain with any individual or group, including unions, regardless of what employees or union members might vote for.  Unless the parties agree by voluntary contract to the contrary, employees should be free to strike, quit, protest, organize boycotts, etc., and employers should be free to fire, lock-out, hire replacements, etc. – as long as neither party uses force.

The whole issue of whether “union certification votes” should be by secret ballot or by a written card check method should not exist.  There should be no law to force employers to bargain with unions, even if 100% of the employees vote for it.  All employment relationships and contracts should be entered into voluntarily by both parties.  The only proper role for government in private business relationships is to stop the use force or fraud against, and to resolve disputes.

In the special case of government as the employer, there should be no requirement that employees join a union, and there should be no requirement that a government bargain with any union.  Government is paid for by all taxpayers under threat of force.  Therefore, government, as an employer, should not discriminate in its employment practices except on the basis of job requirements or job performance.

The proposed amendment to the Iowa Constitution should die, and current Iowa law should be changed to reflect the voluntary nature of any employment relationship.