What the Idaho Legislature doesn't want you to know
Why does the legislature feed voters a steady diet of fear-mongering alphabet soup (CRT, SEL, ESG, BLM, etc.) – while it does nothing to provide the property tax relief people have asked for? Why does the legislature whip up manufactured outrage about library books and gender dysphoria in an election year – while they conveniently forget they promised to get rid of the grocery tax? Why does the legislature create a panic about voter fraud – while never questioning the legitimacy of the results when they get elected? Why? Because they want to distract you. They don’t want you to know what they’ve actually been doing to you, your family and your wallet for last 20 years. Let’s take a look at just one of the top issues most voters mention when I visit with them at their door – the underfunding of public education. Let’s connect the dots. Idaho is ranked dead last in the nation – behind Alabama, Mississippi and every other state – when it comes to funding public education per student. Voters are fed up with the legislature increasing their property taxes and rents by forcing school districts to float bonds and levies every year to close the funding gap created by the legislature itself. The fiscal elephant in the room Solving this problem starts by revisiting fiscal policies that haven't changed in decades. One of those policies is the fiscal elephant in the room that majority party legislators don’t want you to know about: sales tax exemptions. They are never reviewed, they never expire, and some have been in place since the 1960’s. In 2021 alone, the legislature exempted $2.52 BILLION from revenue collection in the form of sales tax exemptions and exceptions. That is more than the entire annual education budget! In fact, since 2005 the legislature chose to not collect a whopping $33.9 BILLION in revenue.
|