Is Iowa life really that great? (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids: public schools, community college, income)

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by jmgg

In SD 60% to 70% of property taxes goes to the schools. How taxes are allocated varies from state to state and there really isn't a definite right or wrong answer as to which taxing arm pays for education. Granted, some parts of the U.S. have ridiculous monies going for education with little to show for it. Across the state of Iowa you can see the benefits of a state that values education. The number of uneducated illiterate idiots like you see being interviewed or rioting in other parts of the country are huge in comparison with this area.


My thousands of dollars go now to pay for other kids' educations. When we had kids in school, someone else's dollars helped educate MY kids. All that's happening is you've reached a point in your life where your tax money doesn't directly affect you when it comes to education. You've reached a different stage in your life. AZ and IA are totally different states. Other than retirement havens, Arizona has become a very dangerous place to live in comparison to Iowa. People up here will gladly pay higher taxes for a safer lifestyle and having a better school system with kids still taught with a degree of old style values.

Hmmm, I live in AZ and don't feel unsafe at all. Sure, there are sketchy neighborhoods, but they are the exception not the rule.

[atler8]

On the 6th I posted here & among the aspects I discussed was education in Iowa, in particular "public education".
At that time I mentioned the AAU, i.e. the American Association of Universities which is the gold standard organization of universities. To gain membership and to maintain it, a university needs to be among the elite in a number of factors as set by the tenets of that group.
Iowa is by far the smallest state to have 2 public universities, much less 2 universities of any kind, in the select membership that presently consists of 60 America and 2 Canadian, universities. It is a testament to the importance & standards of public education in Iowa that both Iowa State & Iowa are longstanding members of the AAU. This did not happen nor does it continue by accident or just willy nilly.
A co-worker who is a graduate of The University of Michigan & I were discussing the AAU recently. He is a fount of knowledge of all things Big Ten oriented & stressed the absolute import of AAU membership for the schools in the Big Ten. He also stated that, in today's circumstances, The University of Nebraska would not gain entry to that conference if it were applying to join today.
Nebraska lost it's AAU membership in 2011 & as such, my co-worker stated categorically that that university would fail to gain entry to the Big ten today because of that set back.
The Wiki link below gives some basics of the AAU & lists it's member schools. At the page end there is a small section that discusses schools such as Nebraska that have lost membership.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associ...n_Universities

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by princesspiggies

We moved to IA from VA and experienced the same thing. Higher income tax, more than double real estate property tax, comparable personal property tax, higher sales tax, higher gasoline tax...and other than a YMCA-like community center (that requires a membership fee for most things!), I'm not sure where it goes.

I can't comment on your specific tax bill because I don't know the details, but the maximum levy in Iowa is $3 per $1000 valuation lower than Virginia. If you're property tax bill is double it's because either the assessed value of your home is much higher or you lived in a very low tax area in Virginia. Either way it's not an apples-to-apples comparison.

The maximum sales tax in Iowa is 7% including local option taxes, the maximum in Virginia is 6%. But Iowa has no sales tax on food purchased for home consumption while Virginia has a 2.5% sales tax on these items. Overall it's probably a wash for most households.

The gas tax is quite a bit higher in Iowa, but the tax is included in the pump price and pump prices in Virginia and Iowa look to be about the same so it doesn't represent an additional cost to the consumer.

There is no personal property tax in Iowa so there's no way it can be higher, sorry.

I fully agree with you on income taxes, though.

[chgome]

where is the "Creative Corridor" ?

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by chgome

where is the "Creative Corridor" ?

Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Washington counties.

Iowa's Creative Corridor

[princesspiggies]

Originally Posted by duster1979

I can't comment on your specific tax bill because I don't know the details, but the maximum levy in Iowa is $3 per $1000 valuation lower than Virginia. If you're property tax bill is double it's because either the assessed value of your home is much higher or you lived in a very low tax area in Virginia. Either way it's not an apples-to-apples comparison.

The maximum sales tax in Iowa is 7% including local option taxes, the maximum in Virginia is 6%. But Iowa has no sales tax on food purchased for home consumption while Virginia has a 2.5% sales tax on these items. Overall it's probably a wash for most households.

The gas tax is quite a bit higher in Iowa, but the tax is included in the pump price and pump prices in Virginia and Iowa look to be about the same so it doesn't represent an additional cost to the consumer.

There is no personal property tax in Iowa so there's no way it can be higher, sorry.

I fully agree with you on income taxes, though.

You are incorrect.

My home value in IA is within ten percent of the one I had in VA. I pay more than double the real estate tax in IA as I did in VA. The difference is in the real estate property taxing source. In VA, there's one - the county. In IA, I pay real estate taxes to eight - yes, eight - different sources. State, city, county, school district, and four others.

Sales taxes may be a wash overall, but my IA rate is higher than my VA rate.

Gas prices in my old area of VA average ten to twenty cents lower than gas prices in my area of IA. I know this because my parents still live there.

What I call personal property tax you may call an automobile tax, vehicle registration fee, etc. IA certainly does have it. I pay it annually.

[GraniteStater]

Iowa has a balanced pragmatic government that doesn't pander to wild extremes, but has a long-sighted view of steady progress. It hasn't attempted radical experiments in tax policy like Kansas has with disastrous results and continued cuts in services.

[ION1010]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Iowa has a balanced pragmatic government that doesn't pander to wild extremes, but has a long-sighted view of steady progress. It hasn't attempted radical experiments in tax policy like Kansas has with disastrous results and continued cuts in services.

Our governor is working on it. He gave tax breaks to businesses on the backs of the municipalities which have to raise local taxes on the rest of us to compensate. Tax the poor, help the rich, same as Brownback.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by ION1010

Our governor is working on it. He gave tax breaks to businesses on the backs of the municipalities which have to raise local taxes on the rest of us to compensate. Tax the poor, help the rich, same as Brownback.

Yes, citizens have to be paying attention to corporate welfare, tax incentives, etc, because all the costs end up getting shifted to the local level if particular businesses leave for elsewhere. Developers need to pay their own way which is why I don't agree with the concepts of a good number of TIF districts.

[chgome]

Thank you so much