You know the old saying, “Give ‘em an inch, they’ll take a yard?”

I can’t help but think about that when I think about the Democrat-controlled Iowa legislature this year.

The Dems have had a firm grasp on the reigns of power for quite a while now here in Iowa, and it’s almost as if they think they are invincible... that their power can never be taken away. And because of that, I think they might be getting a little careless.

Take, for example, the gas tax. I don’t know anyone (outside of the legislature), Democrat or Republican, who is an average, non-political “Joe” who thinks the gas tax is a good idea. A lot of people I know are hurting financially, and the idea of paying more for gas right now really angers them. Yes, I’m seeing actual anger.

Then you’ve got the prevailing wage legislation. Sure, it sounds great... let’s pay the little guys more. Makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over... until you get your next property tax bill and/or increased assessment, which has gone up drastically so that your local governments can fund their now-much-more-expensive infrastructure projects.

And speaking of infrastructure, I’m still waiting to hear if we are going pay for infrastructure with an increase in the gas tax, or with Chester’s $700 million bonding proposal. Which is it guys? Or are you going to shove both down our throats? Or is this yet another pissing match between Chester “Bondo” Culver and the legislative “tax-‘em-like-there’s-no-tomorrow” statehouse Dems (a/k/a Gronstal and Co)?

Despite the fact that we now have millions to spend on infrastructure from the federal porkulus bill, I’m still putting my money on the Dems raising the gas tax AND forcing us to go $700 million in to debt (not that I gamble, of course).

Here’s the thing. People are not happy with government right now, and they are actually paying attention. If the Dems keep this up, they are going to take a hit from a lot of people who are sick and tired of giving too much of their hard-earned paychecks to the government, only to see it wasted.

Remember that this is still almost the biggest proposed budget in Iowa history, yet the Dems still want to raise taxes and whine about how they just don’t have the money to fix the crumbling roads? This is still almost the biggest proposed budget in Iowa history, but, chances are high that when you stop in to your local county courthouse to pay your next bogus speeding ticket (which the officer issued on orders that he needed to do his part to generate more revenue), the door to the court clerk’s office will be locked because we just don’t have enough money to keep the courts open.

This is not gonna go over well with the masses. But, the Dems are too far gone on their power trip to notice.