This report and other IPP work note many areas for policy improvements:

• Iowa has not indexed the minimum wage for inflation. When Iowa, in two-step legislation passed in 2007, increased the minimum wage to $7.25, it put the state among the leaders in the nation and put the state minimum wage at a level that will not be reached by the U.S. minimum until July 2009. Nevertheless, it has already lost ground because of inflation, currently with a value, as SWI 2008 notes, of about $7.00.
• While the Earned Income Tax Credit is now refundable, extending its reach to low-income families, it could provide more help if it were expanded.
• Iowa's work supports - initiatives that help people stay in the labor force and support their families despite a lackluster job climate - need attention, particularly in child-care and health-care assistance. Supports are often necessary for both single-parent families and two-parent families where both parents work, especially as health-care coverage through employment has fallen and continues to erode, while health-care costs keep rising and private insurance is not always accessible.
• Iowans need assurance that the state's economic development programs (including tax credits) do not subsidize jobs that fail to raise the bar on pay and benefits. Policy makers must assure accountability for tax-credit programs on the books.