A "Working Families Protection Act"

On September 16, Iowa's First Lady, Mari Culver, hosted a full-day event bringing together policymakers, politicians, advocates and consumers to attack poverty in Iowa. Some great ideas came out of that meeting. My hope is that the momentum that was on display in September is still alive in January when the legislature returns to work.

I realize we dont have any money. I am the last person to suggest some feel-good liberal tripe at a time when the state and federal coffers are about as bare as anyone can remember. Still, it seems when tough times come, folks who are on the margins economically get hit disproportionately hard, and for a longer period of time.

Growing up I watched my dad go through multiple plant closings (all in the fall, leading up to Christmas, which was . . . memorable) and I can tell you what that kind of rapid displacement does to families and communities. We know better.

Far from simply protecting our existing programs like Medicaid that assist the working poor in Iowa, we should aggresively seek ways to alleviate the devastating impact of rapid economic displacement that will cause some residents to leave the state, and others to leave the job market when we need them most.

Look at it like this: when you invest in the people at the top of the economic ladder, they will take some of the money and save it, invest some, give some to the kids, and pay down some debt. All are wise disbursements. But they dont produce an immediate economic stimulus, which is something we desperately need.

By contrast, when you put the money into the people at the bottom, they are like little economic gerbils on the wheel of life, spending every dime of that money on bills, groceries, Christmas, the car and maybe a new microwave. That's an immediate - like within two weeks - impact on the economy.

I've collected a number of ideas and will post them here in the coming days. See what you think. I believe they add up to a workable, affordable working families agenda, that if passed by gutsy Iowa legislators, will go a long way toward assisting families in the short term and saving our economy for the long haul.

As always comments are welcome.