Republicans will control the Iowa House of Representatives and the governor’s office, and they’re making serious noises about big cuts in the state budget. They’re not just riding the wave; they were saying the same things a year ago, but didn’t have the clout to make much happen.

At an April session at Drake University following last winter’s legislative session, state Rep. Linda Upmeyer said the Republicans had suggested ways to cut many millions of dollars from the budget. “I hope we can go back and look again next year,” she said.

Now she’s the majority leader, and she can look wherever she chooses.

They also were saying the same things a year and a half ago. In April 2009, Rep. Kraig Paulsen released a list of “more than $215 million in budget-saving measures.” Those included savings of $72.5 million by cutting all state employee salaries; $17.8 million by charging state employees a monthly fee for health insurance premiums; $34 million by selling the state’s fleet of vehicles; and $20 million by combining all state information technology systems.

Now Paulsen is about to become the speaker of the House.

We would be happy to see the budget cut. If you’ve listened to a state employee complain about the size of their raise while you thought about your lack of same, you probably wouldn’t mind having the Legislature look at pay and benefits.

However, we would be sorry to see the hacking extend to programs such as the Iowa Power Fund.

Cutting back on over-generous compensation sounds good. Backing away from the future is another matter. Some of the Power Fund projects have helped Iowa attract companies, which means more jobs and more tax revenues.

Advocates of smaller government like to say government should be run like a business. However, let’s not forget one of the most basic lessons of successful business: You have to spend money to make money.