Opinion

‘Democracies die behind closed doors’

By Lee Hamilton

We have a secrecy problem. This may seem odd to say during an era in which the most intimate details of individuals’ lives are on display. Yet government is moving behind closed doors, and this is definitely the wrong direction.

In fact, I’m dismayed by how often public officials fight not to do the public’s business in public. And I’m not just talking about the federal government.

Gov. Terry Branstad was forced to acknowledge last week that the biggest and boldest (his words) legislative proposal of his political career is all but dead because of Republicans in the Iowa House of Representatives. The governor proposed to skim money from a sales tax devoted to school infrastructure over the next 20 years to dole out money for water-quality improvements in the wake of the Des Moines Water Works lawsuit against Buena Vista, Calhoun and Sac counties. The House speaker pro tem, Rep. Matt Winschitl, announced the plan’s demise to the statehouse press corps.

Europe and the USA ignore him over Sunday ham

A month ago, while riding on an airplane away from the US-Mexico border, Pope Francis took a question from a reporter regarding whether to build a huge wall along that border to keep Latin Americans out of the United States. The Pope eagerly took the question and answered it at some length, concluding:

On the morning of March 12, I found myself in the hallway at the courthouse by the supervisors’ chambers awaiting entrance for the “Hear from the Public” allotted time. When the closed door session with our county drainage attorney ended, he came out of the chambers and by happenstance, met me in the hallway with a big smile and handshake acting like a man who just won a million dollar lottery. A Cheshire cat vibe came over me as I entered to speak.

The cavalier insistence that Dakota Access be allowed to start work in advance of meeting the conditions of their permit is par for the course.  

All we can muster is a sigh of disappointment after the Iowa House and Senate agreed to a 2.25% increase in state aid for K-12 public schools this week. This barely keeps up with the cost of living, and repeated years of freezes or slight increases are taking their toll. Storm Lake Superintendent Carl Turner says that he sees staff cuts coming in the near future unless state aid picks up. He says state aid increases need to be more in the range of 4%, for Storm Lake at least, to avoid property tax increases coupled with staff reductions.

Across Iowa, farmers have implemented various elements of the nutrient reduction strategies that are the most effective and responsible for their individual farms. Unfortunately, Des Moines Water Works and CEO Bill Stowe think that farmers aren’t addressing nitrate loss and that we are over-applying fertilizer, as evidenced by the lawsuit that has been filed on three northwest Iowa counties.  On our family-owned farm, I am proud of the steps that we have taken to curb nitrate loss and ensure we are stewards of the land and water.

I still try to follow and keep somewhat current on the news of what will always be my hometown and my home “county.”  Recently The Times has been pretty critical of the Buena Vista County Board of Supervisors over who’s paying for legal costs associated with the Des Moines waterworks lawsuit.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is fond of quoting historical precedent for denying President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court hearings or a confirmation vote. He really likes to dredge up former Judiciary Committee Chairman — now Vice President — Joe Biden’s remarks from decades ago to justify not considering a nominee during a presidential election year.

Helping a poor nation help itself is a proud moment in Iowa history

“Obama!” they would call out to us in Havana last October, as my buddy Daryl Beall of Fort Dodge and I rambled around the Cuban capital for a long weekend. The Cuban people love the President because he is hope to them.

There they strode through the rain on the same bricks we trod in front of the cathedral in Old Havana, the Obamas, and I wondered what those people must think.