The Iowa Commonwealth Act
A Rising Tide Lifts All Ships
A Progressive Tax Plan to Improve the Lives of Iowans
by Sondra Wilson. Updated July 27, 2025.

The Iowa Commonwealth Act draws inspiration from John Locke’s writings on the commonwealth—a system designed to serve the public good through cyclical wealth distribution. Locke described the commonwealth as a community organized for mutual benefit, not bound to any specific form of government (Locke, 1690/1988). This Act envisions government as a fountain: wealth flows upward through productivity, outward through prosperity, and downward through fair taxation—returning to the center as income.

The shape of a fountain emulates the ideal shape of a government, excluding imports and exports. Photo by IndiaMART used in accordance with the Fair Use Doctrine.

 

💡 Why This Act Matters

Iowa’s economy is productive, yet its wealth distribution is increasingly inequitable. While caregivers earn poverty wages and small businesses struggle, CEOs of managed care organizations earn upwards of $20 million annually (Rosanes, 2023; Centene, 2025). The Iowa Commonwealth Act redirects excess wealth to fund essential services and empower working families.

 

💰 What Will Be Funded

  1. Subsidized Minimum Wage
    • All Iowans will earn $20/hr, funded through wage subsidies—not mandates—so small businesses aren’t burdened by rising payroll costs.
  2. Caregiver Pay Boost
    • All caregivers will earn 20% more than current wages. New hires must earn at least $24/hr, reducing turnover and stress in healthcare.
  3. Civilian Restoration Corps (CRC)
    • Two years of startup funding for CRC programs like FarmHire™, Trail Trimmers™, and SolarBerry Installers™, creating jobs and restoring Iowa’s ecosystems.
 

📊 How It Will Be Funded

A Fair Tax on Iowa’s Top Earners

We propose a progressive income tax on Iowa’s ultra-wealthy, modeled after historical and modern benchmarks:

Income Level Proposed State Tax Rate Notes
$1M–$5M 10–12% Comparable to top state rates in CA & NY
$5M–$20M 15–18% Reflects diminishing marginal utility
$20M+ 20–25% Targets excessive executive compensation
 
  • Effective Rate Goal: Ensure top earners pay at least 25–30% in combined federal and state taxes.
  • Historical Context: In the 1950s, top federal marginal rates exceeded 90% on ultra-high incomes (Tax Policy Center, 2023).
  • Economic Justification: These rates remain below the Laffer Curve’s threshold, maximizing revenue without discouraging investment (Saez & Zucman, 2019).
 

🧠 Why It Works

  • Subsidizing wages avoids inflationary spirals caused by mandated hikes (Cass, 2018).
  • Taxing excess wealth improves community health, safety, and prosperity.
  • Investing in caregivers and restoration builds long-term resilience.

As Locke argued, a just society is one where the good of the whole is prioritized over unchecked private gain (Locke, 1690/1988).

 

Subsidizing Minimum Wage is Superior to Raising It

In general, raising the minimum wage (as opposed to subsidizing it) disproportionately impacts small businesses compared to larger corporations. Oftentimes, larger corporations are able to afford raising it (via slightly raising the prices of their vast product lines, in multiple locations around the state, country, and/or world), while small businesses instead feel stress. Owners of small businesses may have to let employees go and work more customer service hours themselves in order to compensate, thus impeding their ability to tend and grow the business in other ways. Or, they may need to raise prices, which in turn drives customers to go to big box stores to save money. 

Another issue with raising the minimum wage, as opposed to subsidizing it, is that, as businesses raise the prices of products in order to meet the cost, elderly, disabled, and impoverished Citizens who are on welfare or Social Security, have their purchasing power lowered. This is because they receive the same amount of income. This, in turn, puts society in a position where they then have to raise taxes, which makes workers then want more wages, which causes businesses to raise prices, which causes welfare to have be increased, and the cycle continues. In a nutshell, this cycle drives rapid inflation. 

Ultimately, wage subsidization’s got what minimum wage advocates crave. If you’d like to learn more, feel free to read A Better Wage Hike by Oren Cass.

 

A Rising Tide Lifts All Ships

Some argue that taxing the wealthy causes businesses to leave the state, however that is not necessarily the case. Here’s the thing: a wealthy person who lives in an impoverished community only has access to that which society produces. When society is prosperous, and top earners earn a little bit less, they will have access to better products, better service, and they will live among healthier urban ecosystems. A wealthy person living in a poor community thereby lives in a cesspool while surrounded by people who feel resentful, while a quasi wealthy person who lives in a prosperous community is surrounded by a happy, healthy community who feels mutual appreciation. Thus, a rising tide lifts all ships.

 

📝 References

Cass, O. (2018). A better wage hike. Manhattan Institute.

Centene. (2025, September 4). Centene subsidiary Iowa Total Care awarded statewide Medicaid contract. Centene Corporation.

IndiaMART. Indoor Water Fountains. https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/indoor-water-fountains-11067073862.html.

Locke, J. (1988). Two treatises of government (P. Laslett, Ed.). Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1690)

Rosanes, M. (2023, November 22). Which health insurance CEOs get the highest pay? Insurance Business.

Saez, E., & Zucman, G. (2019). The triumph of injustice: How the rich dodge taxes and how to make them pay. W. W. Norton & Company.

Tax Policy Center. (2023). Historical highest marginal income tax rates.