Spending the Public Coffers
Lawmakers sure are generous with your money
The budget for Idaho’s state government is expected to be more than $14 billion dollars this year.
That is billion with a B.
While some functions of government are necessary, such as roads, law enforcement, and public education, (quiet down libertarians!), a look at our state’s budget shows that we are paying for a lot more than that.
Each agency believes that they are the most imperative part of the state government and zealously fights for every dollar in their budget. State agencies have full time staff who come down to the Capitol each year and give slick presentations on why they deserve more of our money. After sitting through dozens and dozens of these presentations, members of JFAC are often convinced that they are doing a noble deed by appropriating money.
It’s hard to be the one legislator who stands up and says “no”. Every budget has an emotional component, and media is prepared to make you out to be the devil for opposing it. Does the University of Idaho really need an additional million dollars for grief counseling after the horrific murders last year? Does the state really need to be paying for people’s childcare? Should the state really be funding public television? Do we need an Arts Commission? A Commission on Hispanic Affairs? How about the Bean Commission?
Take a few minutes and scroll through the A-Z list of state agencies and consider how many come under the the proper role of government. Which ones would you eliminate if you could? Before you say anything, remember that each of these agencies represents numerous jobs for Idahoans. Are you prepared to see them interviewed on TV news, blaming you for their unemployment? Are you ready to see pictures of their sad children? Each agency also networks with non-governmental organizations and contractors, which means even more people rely on the taxpayer gravy train.
We are in this situation today because the Legislature has never had the spine to say “no”. Each successive governor adds new agencies and bureaucracies, and always for good reasons. But that’s the trick, isn’t it? There is always something that the Legislature can justify spending other people’s money on, and then pat themselves on the back for their generosity.
Fixing this requires a Legislature not only willing to say “no” when the bureaucrats come begging for bigger budgets, but also with the courage to start actually reducing government. It’s not enough to stop the growth of government; we must actively shrink government.
We need 36 representatives, 18 senators, and 1 governor who have the courage to do what is necessary to restore government to its proper estate and return the treasury to the taxpayers it was stolen from. There will be tears. There will be media hit pieces. There will be vengeance on the part of the bureaucrats who have built their livelihoods on back of the taxpayers. But it’s necessary.
Your post is both truthful and exasperating. Many of us campaigned hard (and voted for) for the type of thoughtful, prudent, conservative legislators and governor we need, to no avail. A few good men and women made it through the RINO gauntlet, but so many did not.
We must figure out WHY this happened! Media lies, election cheating, poor campaign messages, out of state money, uneducated voters, apathetic voters, sleeping sheeple, all of the above?
We are quickly descending into the wasteful-spending tyranny that so many of us fled. Idaho's legislators and governor are all too willing to slosh other people's money -- OUR MONEY -- around. And, yes, this IS death by 1000 cuts.
We must figure out how we can elect more Herndons and Lenneys. Perhaps we can shame destructive elected officials (and voters) by shining a light on the profligate spending so everyone will see the enormity of what's happening to Idaho.
Brian, please consider writing a Substack article after the legislative session. The article could include a spreadsheet of all 2023 SPENDING BILLS with columns as follows (show numbers separately for the House and Senate; sort data by Party, then by Name; also show grand totals for counts and costs):
Party
Legislator Name
Count of Spending Bills Approved
Cost of Spending Bills Approved
Count of Spending Bills Opposed
Cost of Spending Bills Opposed
Count of Spending Bills Sponsored/Co-Sponsored
Cost of Spending Bills Sponsored/Co-Sponsored
* Link to legislator’s campaign website
Idaho is in BIG trouble and we must fix it before it's too late. Our current path is exactly as predicted in Rocky Mountain Heist at https://www.freedomman.org/video/rocky-mountain-heist/.
Our legislators must stand up for the people who elected them and the campaign promises they made. Idaho does not need wimps in government! We need people of principle who can say no to wasteful spending and learn the proper role of government -- which is not spending our way to oblivion.
* new column suggestion 3/25/23 8:30 pm
Less government now. Stop feeding the damn beast. Stop with the for the children BS, it’s a good idea, all that crap. I do not want my money stolen/taxed and then used for projects or government that is at odds with my beliefs.
The 1,000 little bills is how liberals/satan gets the goal post moved. And once Idaho has a mammoth sized government employee base there will be no way to rein it back in. All the tax dollar parasites will screech and howl and cry about taking away THEIR JOBS like they own them? Get out and create your own job, then you can call it yours. But sitting in a government desk, or behind a government wheel, is nothing you created, you are a parasite.
Stop spending now. Reduce services. Give the services back to the private sector. Then if a resident wants a service they can pay for it out of their own damn pocket. Stop with all the damn hand holding.
If our elected office holders stop holding the residents hands and left them fend for themselves maybe some of the recent transplants from liberal states will head back. Stop with the hand holding, less government now. Less government now.
Ken Mason
7C