Iowa Republicans surely felt a little extra oomph in their argument that the state needs to do more to help new businesses begin. U.S. News & World Report ranked only one state worse than Iowa in the entire country. Here's what it says about Iowa.
2. Iowa
Politically, Iowa is a hard state to pin down. It is known for a progressive streak, but also has a strong conservative voting bloc that voted for George W. Bush in 2004 (although the state went for Barack Obama in 2008). Iowa's strong "purple" nature might explain why it ranks so poorly as a state in which to start a business. It seems to have the worst impulses of its conservative and liberal tendencies--relatively low investment in the things that make entrepreneurs succeed, and high government interference. For the latter, Iowa has very high capital gains taxes and corporate income taxes, and is also one of the worst states for unemployment taxes on wages. In terms of investment, Iowa is 46th out of the states for adoption of broadband telecommunications services, and the speed of those services.
Politically, Iowa is a hard state to pin down. It is known for a progressive streak, but also has a strong conservative voting bloc that voted for George W. Bush in 2004 (although the state went for Barack Obama in 2008). Iowa's strong "purple" nature might explain why it ranks so poorly as a state in which to start a business. It seems to have the worst impulses of its conservative and liberal tendencies--relatively low investment in the things that make entrepreneurs succeed, and high government interference. For the latter, Iowa has very high capital gains taxes and corporate income taxes, and is also one of the worst states for unemployment taxes on wages. In terms of investment, Iowa is 46th out of the states for adoption of broadband telecommunications services, and the speed of those services.
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