It is time for Americans to understand a key political distinction between "progressives" as they relate to both Democrats and Republicans. Progressives are individuals from both parties who commonly believe in social improvement through government action. Traditionally, progressives are thought to be liberal or Democrat in nature. This is not accurate. The first progressives were actually a splinter group from the Republican Party in 1912. Today, it can be argued that most of our legislators are progressive Democrats and progressive Republicans, evidenced by the exhaustive amount of legislation from both sides of the aisle that perpetuates government's ever-growing involvement in American lives.

The notion that a progressive agenda is strictly that of liberals, Democrats, or socialists is a misconception in desperate need of correction. The past century has shown us that any salient differences between the two parties have only narrowed with each new administration and/or legislature.

Governor Chet Culver's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2011 exceeds the state's 99-percent spending limitation and fails to address roughly $400 million in state costs, State Auditor David Vaudt said this week.

"He's actually spending $25 million more than the expenditure limitation, rather than the $61 million under the spending limitation that he presents in his budget document," said Vaudt, a Republican. "The governor's budget numbers just don't add up."

Culver defended his proposed budget, maintaining that it's balanced and spends less in his fourth year in office than when he began his term as governor in 2007.

Governor Chet Culver received a standing ovation at the Iowa State Building & Construction Trades Council convention and shook the hand of almost everyone in the room after signing an executive order that presumes state agencies will use project labor agreements (PLAs) whenever possible.

"It adds stability and structure to a job site that could be chaotic," said Bill Gerhard, president of the Iowa State Building & Construction Trades Council.

"There's a thousand people working big jobs, 17 different unions, all have different work rules, all have contracts that expire at different times," Gerhard said. "It sort of ensures that there's going to be some stability that people, if they go on strike on their contract, they'll keep working on the project. ... The state should have this tool in their toolbox to use."

Revelations last fall about the mismanagement of Iowa's film-tax-credit program came at a convenient time for the governor and the state legislature, as they provide an opportunity to evaluate tax credits at a time when the state budget is tight.

Governor Chet Culver has included two major cost-cutting features in the budget proposal he released last week: reorganizing state government (saving $341 million) and making changes to the state's more-than-two-dozen tax-credit programs (saving $52.5 million). The governor's budget proposal reads: "In Fiscal Year 2011, state tax credits are expected to cost the state $525 million if no legislative changes are made. ... [T]he Culver-Judge Administration believes that state tax expenditures must ... be scaled back in light of declining state revenues."

Culver did not specify how he wanted the legislature to achieve cost savings by $52.5 million, only referring to seven recommendations of his Tax Credit Review Panel, which released its report on January 8.

The legislature has one easy option to achieve the governor's cost-saving target. The review panel estimated that following its recommendations would result in first-year savings of $55.2 million and second-year savings of $106.3 million. Basically, lawmakers could rubber-stamp the report.

But this is also an opportunity for the state to re-think the way it does economic development through tax credits. If it's so inclined, the General Assembly could do a more-comprehensive overhaul of tax credits, making them better tools.