Is this heaven?

You’ve all seen the movie, but now Forbes Magazine is here to tell us what Kevin Costner knew way back in 1989: It’s Iowa. Well actually, according to Forbes’s new list, The Best States for Business, Iowa is a pretty great place to live, but maybe not so heavenly for businesses.

By the numbers Iowa was ranked the 1st in quality of life (looking at “index of schools, health, crime, cost of living and poverty rates”), but 25th overall. This is probably due to its low, low ranking of 47th in labor (”educational attainment, net migration and projected population growth”), beating out only West Virginia, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Iowa also fell below the half-way mark in economic climate and growth prospects, scoring 31 and 41, respectively.

This brings up some issues looming large in the gubernatorial campaign such as how to get people to come to Iowa and stay in Iowa once they’ve received their diplomas. This is apparent in all of the major campaign topics–education, health care, and the economy. Forbes may think that Iowa is a great place to live, but not a lot of young people stay here after graduation. Back in April I remember Andy McGuire asking me and a few other Grinnell College Democrats what it would take for us to stay here after graduation–something none of us were planning on doing. We liked the sound of bridge health insurance and, you know, good jobs. Although I think a friend of mine wanted a major league sports team as well.

The Blouin-McGuire ticket was not the only one that realized this problem, of course. Culver’s website provides this tidbit:

We can do even better by building on, rather than disinvesting in, our higher ed institutions, so that more students stay in Iowa after graduation and, along with their faculties, help to build the research and manufacturing spin-offs that higher ed has generated for economies elsewhere. My plan will expand investments in colleges across Iowa, including creating Centers of Excellence at each of our public colleges and universities so that each can become a generator of world-class new businesses and economic activity, and better integrate all facets of higher ed with business.

Nussle, on the other hand, says he wants to “empower parents to be more involved in their children’s education,” which sounds like a euphamism for school voucher, something he has consistently supported in the past for private and parochial schools. I guess Nussle isn’t too excited about public schools, or the constitution for that matter, considering he has also voted to allow prayer in schools and also voted in 1994 to only give federal aid to schools that allowed voluntary prayer. I guess that is why the NEA rated him 17% on public education.

Add comment August 30th, 2006