There are two trains of thought in the Idaho Capitol this legislative session. One wants to cut government spending under the notion that budgets are bloated, spending is excessive, and nothing good comes from state government.
I have lived here most of my life other than times spent away for education and military service. In that time, I’ve watched Idaho grow from one million people to two million people. If I eat healthy and exercise, estimates say I’ll be around to see Idaho with a population of four million people.
I do not think it is realistic to expect our budget will be the same dollar amount when our population has doubled again. However, that is the thought process prevailing in the Capitol.
I do think we can acknowledge our population growth and inflation and maintain our spending at a consistent level. In fact, we have done just that here in Idaho.
In the last twenty years, Idaho government spending, per person and adjusted for inflation, has risen by only a few hundred dollars. If that is hard to believe, join us at our Townhall meetings on February 28th and we’ll share the data. There is a different narrative being shared out there, which pulls at our emotions, but the facts are hard to ignore.
Why am I always talking about the budget? Because it affects us all in every part of our daily life. We drive on state highways. We educate our kids in Idaho. We like to be safe on the highways, at school or work, and in our homes.
State government is simply an agreement amongst ourselves to take on the tasks that we can’t take on as individuals.
Having lived here over half a century, I know what we have been. I want to make sure our kids have the same, or better, quality of life that we have enjoyed.
Which brings me back to voting. I have voted “no” on budgets more this year than any of my five previous years in the Idaho Legislature. The approach to cutting budgets this year has been a lazy one. Across the board cuts were announced and agencies were told to provide us with a list of actions they would implement to achieve those cuts.
The Idaho Legislature is the policy setting body, not the agencies. We have in policy how much we spend per student, who goes to prison, how we fund transportation, how Medicaid is implemented, etc.
To change spending, we should first have the policy discussion where we agree on what the state is going to do and how. The budget is developed based on Idaho law, not the other way around.
As a fellow taxpayer, I am not at all opposed to digging through our agencies and their budgets to look for efficiency. That is what many of us are doing, in contrast to the lazy, across the board cuts.
I will continue to push back on this short-sighted, politically motivated budget process where we are passing large bill packages, instead of considering all agency budgets individually and I will do it because it matters to you.
The sun on the horizon is the upcoming election cycle. May 19, just three months away, voters across Idaho will have their chance to let the Legislature know how they feel. It is the opportunity for Idahoans to let us know whether we should follow our traditional Idaho practices of small, fiscally conservative, responsible government or if we want to continue to migrate to D.C.-style politics.
