By Daniel Nardini
I have been to Iowa many, many times. The difference between what I saw in eastern Iowa and what I saw in western and northwestern Illinois could not be more telling. The poverty was so pervasive in Iowa that it shocked me. A Jewel store in Iowa was way poorer than any Jewel I have ever seen in Illinois in terms of variety and the quality of food. What equally shocked me was the quality of health care I saw in many places in Iowa. It seemed to be 10 to 20 years behind what I saw and see in Illinois. But the biggest telling point is the minimum wage between the two states. In Illinois, the minimum wage is $15.00 an hour. In Iowa, the minimum wage remains the federally mandated $7.25 an hour (which incidentally has not changed since July of 2009). The prices may seem lower in Iowa, but not significantly lower compared to Illinois. But for the people of Iowa, the prices are too high for what they earn.
It would be dishonest of me to say that people in Iowa only earn minimum wage. There are those who of course have high paying jobs in well-known companies like ADM which is a very big agricultural corporation. What surprised me of course is that there were many cars in western Illinois with Iowa license plates. It was clear to me that they are working in Illinois and earning $15.00 an hour which is good pay in Iowa. But these are the lucky ones who are able to have jobs in Illinois, and to be able to provide for themselves and their families. Seeing the poverty and problems in Iowa was a terrible shock, but the other serious issue I saw was crime. Having talked to people in Clinton, Iowa, the crime situation was very serious. Even the police had trouble dealing with it. In contrast, in Fulton, the Mississippi River town on the other side in Illinois, was as peaceful as could be. The reason for the crime in Iowa lies in its poverty issue.
One problem I learned about is that gangs in Iowa are running guns into Illinois. These Iowa gangs illegally smuggle in guns into Illinois to gangs in Illinois who then use these guns to kill Illinois residents, and in return the Iowa gangs are paying a lot of money for the illegal guns they smuggle in. If Iowa would greatly increase its minimum wage, then it would go a long way to helping Iowans get out of poverty and greatly reduce crime. Since Illinois inaugurated the $15.00 an hour minimum wage, it has helped to reduce poverty in the state for 200,000 people outside the Chicago area. Yes, there is a definite connection between how much a person receives an hour and their economic stability. But it would seem that the Republican politicians in Iowa have no clue about this. Worse, Iowa has basically outlawed abortion, seems to be defunding public schools, and trying to cut Medicaid.
Given this background, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa gave her now infamous quote at a town hall meeting. When someone at this town hall meeting said “we will die” if the national budget cuts Medicaid, Senator Ernst replied “we are all going to die someday.” A truly horrid thing to say, and Ms. Ernst doubled down on this in a later video. So these are the ones representing Iowa. No wonder things are awful in Iowa compared to Illinois. Illinois has its own problems, but I thank everyday I live in Illinois, and the fact we have representatives (especially among the Democrats) who truly try to represent us at a critical time like this. It truly is a tale of two states.
A Tale of Two States
By Daniel Nardini
It would be dishonest of me to say that people in Iowa only earn minimum wage. There are those who of course have high paying jobs in well-known companies like ADM which is a very big agricultural corporation. What surprised me of course is that there were many cars in western Illinois with Iowa license plates. It was clear to me that they are working in Illinois and earning $15.00 an hour which is good pay in Iowa. But these are the lucky ones who are able to have jobs in Illinois, and to be able to provide for themselves and their families. Seeing the poverty and problems in Iowa was a terrible shock, but the other serious issue I saw was crime. Having talked to people in Clinton, Iowa, the crime situation was very serious. Even the police had trouble dealing with it. In contrast, in Fulton, the Mississippi River town on the other side in Illinois, was as peaceful as could be. The reason for the crime in Iowa lies in its poverty issue.
One problem I learned about is that gangs in Iowa are running guns into Illinois. These Iowa gangs illegally smuggle in guns into Illinois to gangs in Illinois who then use these guns to kill Illinois residents, and in return the Iowa gangs are paying a lot of money for the illegal guns they smuggle in. If Iowa would greatly increase its minimum wage, then it would go a long way to helping Iowans get out of poverty and greatly reduce crime. Since Illinois inaugurated the $15.00 an hour minimum wage, it has helped to reduce poverty in the state for 200,000 people outside the Chicago area. Yes, there is a definite connection between how much a person receives an hour and their economic stability. But it would seem that the Republican politicians in Iowa have no clue about this. Worse, Iowa has basically outlawed abortion, seems to be defunding public schools, and trying to cut Medicaid.
Given this background, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa gave her now infamous quote at a town hall meeting. When someone at this town hall meeting said “we will die” if the national budget cuts Medicaid, Senator Ernst replied “we are all going to die someday.” A truly horrid thing to say, and Ms. Ernst doubled down on this in a later video. So these are the ones representing Iowa. No wonder things are awful in Iowa compared to Illinois. Illinois has its own problems, but I thank everyday I live in Illinois, and the fact we have representatives (especially among the Democrats) who truly try to represent us at a critical time like this. It truly is a tale of two states.