Iowa Fund of Dummies

Over the past month, another taxpayer boondoggle in has been made public in Iowa.  It involves a state-created source of seed capital for companies interested in doing business in Iowa.

Called the Iowa Fund of Funds, it really just invests in other venture capital funds, using state tax credits to back its commitments.  However, there is no requirement for those funds to actually invest in companies doing business in Iowa.  (Huh?!)

Regardless, it's done a horrible job of getting any return on investment.  So horrible, in fact, the state had to negotiate a settlement that resulted in the loss of $26 million in tax credits.

I happen to personally know the chair of the board that manages the Iowa Fund of Funds.  He's a blowhard who has never worked in the private sector, and who loves to spend other people's money.  That board had a lengthy piece published in the Des Moines Register the other day, defending their actions.   I couldn't let it go, so I sent a letter to the editor about it.  Sadly, it wasn't published, but here it is:

In defending the Iowa Fund of Funds' current $26 million loss of tax credits (Read: taxpayer money) in his December 28th Iowa View article, administrative board member Tim Urban notes, "Since we began, our board of directors has never received one dime of compensation, taken no junkets at Fund of Funds expense and volunteered thousands of hours directing the Iowa Fund of Funds." So you see, fellow Iowa taxpayers, we're simply getting what we paid for - minus another $26 million.