John Gilbert farms with a brother, a son, and their wives along South Fork, a tributary of the Iowa River. In addition to non-GMO row crops, they raise small grains, forages, cattle, and antibiotic free pigs they sell to Niman Ranch. John is a volunteer with the Southfork Watershed Alliance, and is active in Practical Farmers of Iowa and the Iowa Farmers Union. Their farm has been recognized for its work toward sustainability. 

I’m certain I’m not the only one voting like my life depends on it. Quite literally, here in Iowa it does.

Iowa’s degraded water and record high cancer rates are impossible to ignore, meaning we have reason to live in fear. Water quality and cancer are not specifically on the ballot, but the choices we make will determine if Iowa has any chance of beginning the long battle to cleaner water and a healthier future. 

No item on the ballot has a more direct impact on water quality and cancer than the constitutional amendment (Amendment 1) requiring a two-thirds super majority of the legislature to approve any income tax increases. If Iowans approve this amendment, we’re guaranteed nothing will change, except more of us will die needlessly.

A “NO” vote is a vote for better water quality, for keeping thousands of Iowans from suffering with cancer, and for having a future that doesn’t include a bottom-of-the-barrel economy.

To be clear, this amendment is not really about taxes. It’s another example of the wealthy not wanting to share. It’s the same playbook those who “have” have been running since our species first developed the idea of “mine.”

This political campaign has finally brought some attention to the problems created by Iowa’s unending bad water, even if too much of that attention is just lip service. Invariably, it is tough to be honest about just how difficult it is to make a difference in water quality and cancer. The only certainty is that significant public investments will be required. If Iowans pass Amendment 1, raising those taxes will be next to impossible.

Iowa leaders have allowed powerful outside businesses — often multi-national or foreign-owned — to exploit Iowa, essentially turning our state into a colony to be plundered. We’re left dealing with the carnage.

The last decade of Republican control has ensured those who profit the most from the production of Iowa’s farms, factories and small businesses are not paying their fair share. Iowans have always expected those who create problems to be responsible for cleaning up their messes. Those who have profited defiling Iowa’s water need to pay more taxes to fund the clean-up. 

I’ve heard my whole life that “to whom much is given, much is expected.” That would no longer be possible if Iowans pass Amendment 1.

Nobody likes paying taxes, but the resentment generally stems from the belief that the wealthy have rigged the system to avoid paying their share. Nowhere is that unfairness more evident than in Amendment 1. The tell is that this proposal applies only to income taxes, and wasn’t put to Iowans to set in stone until after Republicans made significant cuts to the state income tax, including making the rate the same for all income levels — a flat tax — meaning just like with the sales tax, those with lower incomes pay a higher portion of their income in tax. 

And note, a super-super majority is not required to cut taxes, just to increase them. That means a tyranny of the minority can hamstring our state, essentially forever. To have anything but a bleak future, a “NO” vote is mandatory.

A number of other states have similar restrictions. Those states end up with the lowest pay for public employees, including teachers. (Do you want your children and grandchildren taught by those willing to work for less, or who have to moonlight to survive?) 

Additionally, inflation will always play havoc with public services, especially now that the GOP’s much ballyhooed Billionaire Bailout Bill is shifting more administrative and program costs to the states. If Iowa has to spend more for food assistance, Medicaid, and disaster relief, what services are you willing to do without? Are you okay without a library? How about fewer police, fire fighters, street lights or pothole repairs? How long are you willing to wait for an ambulance to arrive? How about quality schools, or mental health care? How about where we started, with cleaner water, or more cancer prevention?

You say these are all local services, and Amendment 1 applies to state taxes. That’s right, but tax shortages — like many other things — run downhill. Tighter state finances mean more services get relegated to localities without funding. (Cuts in local services resulting from the new property tax cap are a good example of what’s to come.) That’s what the saying “all politics are local” really means.

This election is without a doubt the most consequential one of our lifetimes. It’s ironic that this election lands on the 250^th birthday of our country. Majority decisions reached by our one-person, one-vote system have not always been perfect, but everyday citizens have inevitably built the best system of government known to man. Amendment 1 violates that principle by giving a one-third minority of elected legislators the power to block Iowa’s chance for a bright future.

Amendment 1 proponents say the two-thirds requirement would foster a greater consensus in tax spending decisions. While that is a nice sentiment, history and human nature have shown that giving a one-third minority the power to block taxing decisions creates authority that flies in the face of our democratic process. Particularly with the way money is corrupting our politics. 

Controlling revenue hamstrings how governments serve their citizens long term. Republican tax cuts at both the state and federal levels mean massive deficits. In Iowa, those GOP cuts mean the state is now in its second year of billion dollar plus deficits, a practice that only gets worse with the flat tax and school vouchers. Amendment 1 magnifies that shortage. 

Join me in voting “NO.” Vote like your life depends on it — because it does.