Brian Gongol
Chet Culver's plan to put $25 million a year into a state venture-capital fund for start-ups is way off the mark - and the massive job cuts at Ford are a great example why. Pouring taxpayers' money into private businesses in the name of "growth" or "jobs" is just populistic socialism. If Ford isn't "too big to fail," then any given venture-capital investment must surely be beyond our risk tolerance with taxpayers' dollars.
What Iowa really deserves is $25 million a year to improve access to higher education in the state. Don't laugh -- if Jamie Pollard can get $120 million for new sports facilities at ISU, and if Chet Culver is OK with tossing out $25 million chasing start-ups, then it's certainly more sensible to try to expand access to higher education in a way that will benefit Iowans directly.
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If your DA's office is writing love notes to convicts, you might have a problem.
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Bionic limbs are here, thanks to technology and a dose of profit motive.