Kathie Obradovich, Iowa Capital Dispatch

“Because I said so,” has to be one of the most infuriating responses someone can give to a reasonable question.

Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have come up with a similar default answer to any question they can’t – or don’t want to – answer: “Because we won.”

We heard it just last week during Iowa Senate debate of legislation providing a 3% increase in per-pupil state aid to K-12 public schools. Democrats asked why the majority Republicans were hoarding nearly $2 billion in reserve funds while schools are struggling to hire teachers, keep class sizes manageable and cope with inflation. ...

Gov. Kim Reynolds couldn't wait until extended federal benefits expired in September, so she ended them three months early. She blamed unemployment benefits for the fact that employers were having trouble filling open positions.

“Federal pandemic-related unemployment benefit programs initially provided displaced Iowans with crucial assistance when the pandemic began," Reynolds said in a press release announcing the change in May. “But now that our businesses and schools have reopened, these payments are discouraging people from returning to work."

Two weeks ago, Reynolds announced new requirements for people to collect unemployment benefits, including increased job-search requirements and weekly meetings with Iowa Workforce Development staff designed to match them with available jobs. She cited a shortage of workers....