Posts published in “Jones”

The MAGA movement is running its course both at the national and state level. Fiscal mismanagement abounds in Washington and Boise. Culture war issues at both levels are needlessly dividing us. They do nothing to put food on the family table or address the serious shortage of affordable housing and medical care. The objective of the MAGA warriors appears to be playing a reversal of Robin Hood–taking from the poor to help the rich. It is not a recipe that will continue to sell well with a majority of voters.

On the national level, we have an administration that inherited a growing economy and saddled it with massive, unsustainable debt and illegal tariffs. We are now in an unlawful and unnecessary war in Iran, with no strategy to disengage. The war has caused a massive jump in fuel prices, as well as fertilizer and many other products essential to our economy. From being the most admired nation on Earth, which helped immensely in making our economy the strongest, we have become the most warlike. Other nations will shrink back from helping the U.S. to continue financing its colossal $38.9 trillion national debt.

Trump grossly miscalculated the impact Iran could have on the world economy by closing off the Strait of Hormuz. Not being a student of history, he obviously did not recall the massive shocks that cutoffs of Middle East oil caused to the world in 1973, 1979 and 1990. Iran can keep the spigot closed, regardless of Trump’s massive bombing campaign, until he cries uncle. The new Ayatollah has Trump by the unmentionables and won’t let go until he gives them a favorable deal.

Both the national and state governments are making it difficult for rural families to keep their heads above water. Medicaid programs that are essential to keep both urban and rural families healthy are being ripped away by MAGA warriors at both the state and national level. When the state and federal spending cuts approved by the Idaho Legislature and our entire Congressional delegation start to sink in toward the end of the year, rural hospitals will close, doctors may have to relocate and people will die.

Farm workers, who are essential to growing our crops and milking our cows, are living in a state of fear. Most of Idaho’s 35,000 undocumented workers have been here for years. The great majority are law-abiding and tax-paying residents. They don’t deserve to be terrorized by masked federal agents. Yet, MAGA warriors in the Legislature continue to use them as punching bags while the workers try to render their essential services. These state politicians should take note that Donald Trump has recently acknowledged the farm worker shortage but done nothing effective to address it. In May 2024, a comprehensive bi-partisan immigration bill was teed up to resolve this and a host of other immigration issues but Trump killed it solely for political purposes.

Speaking of our farm economy, which is the lifeblood of Idaho, the combination of the illegal tariffs and unlawful war is a devastating one-two punch. The cost of fuel, fertilizer, farm machinery and a variety of other essentials is growing by the day. Prices have suffered from the loss of long-time markets as a result of tariff retaliation. Trump’s upping of beef imports has certainly not helped Idaho beef producers.

Idaho sugar beet growers are being severely impacted by sugar imports. Trump and Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, who heads up the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over sugar imports, could solve the problem. When I worked for former Senator Len Jordan in the early 1970s, one of my jobs was to deal with Sugar Act issues. Jordan always worked hard, and successfully, with other Finance Committee members to protect Idaho beet growers from imported sugar. Our current MAGA officials could and should do likewise.

Instead of dealing with the real problems facing Idaho, MAGA legislators are tilting windmills on meaningless culture war issues–gay marriage, book bans, vaccine bans, torturing public schools and their teachers, you name it. A growing cadre of reasonable, pragmatic Republicans has stepped forward in the last two years to actually do the job of legislating to make lives better for Idahoans. They will undoubtedly be challenged in the GOP primary by MAGA warriors heavily financed by out-of-state money, but I think voters have had their fill of the culture wars.

By the time the November election comes around, the MAGA movement will have lost much of its appeal. The U.S. House will change hands and, possibly, the Senate. The Idaho Legislature will have fewer MAGA followers. There will be more reasonable Republicans willing to work across the aisle to address real problems facing the Gem State. Amen.

 

Setting aside the fact that Donald Trump’s war against Iran is illegal under both U.S. and international law, there is no rational explanation for his actions. The claim that Iran was about to attack the United States is delusional, if he actually believed it, or simply another big lie. Either way, the war is extremely harmful to America’s security.

After giving any number of reasons for going to war, Trump made the claim that: “It was my opinion that they were going to attack first. They were going to attack if we didn’t do it.” Pentagon briefers told Congress in a March 1 classified briefing that there was no intelligence suggesting that Iran planned to attack American forces. Trump was either delusional or dishonest in using this explanation for his snap decision to start the war.

In fact, shortly before Trump gave the attack order, the mediator handling the U.S.-Iran negotiations stated that the parties had made “significant progress” toward a resolution.

A more likely explanation for Trump’s decision to declare war is that he finally gave in to the continual urging of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch an attack. Netanyahu was likely unsettled by the possibility of a peaceful settlement and determined to foreclose that possibility. Trump obviously agreed.

Trump has little knowledge of history, particularly of the proven historic proverb that “it is easier to start a war than to stop one.” That is abundantly clear from his vow that there will be “no deal” with Iran except “unconditional surrender.” He seems to be oblivious to the untidy outcomes of the nation’s wars in the last 80 years–Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan. The outcomes of modern wars are seemingly unending slogs that have drained our military forces, as well as our national treasury.

It might be well, also, for Trump to consider the history of Iran’s last great war. It was attacked by Saddam Hussien in 1980 and suffered through a vicious, grinding war for eight years that ended up with a virtual draw. The military deaths suffered by Iran in that ugly war likely exceeded 200,000, with almost twice that number of wounded. The country can absorb massive casualties and still maintain its repressive government structure. It will not be a pushover today.

We can bomb the daylights out of Iran all day, every day, but cannot force its surrender. Iraq is a good case in point. Without a massive commitment of ground forces, which would entail many dead and wounded American troops, there is no possibility of coming close to an unconditional surrender. To believe otherwise is delusional.

The absolute worst thing about Trump’s war is that it diverts attention and forces from existential security concerns facing the United States. The war in Ukraine is at the very top of the list. Trump has largely disconnected from the genocidal war being waged by Russia against Ukraine. Iran is simply a wild goose chase that diverts attention and resources from that threat. U.S. security depends on the NATO alliance which has kept the peace in Europe ever since the end of World War II. If we allow Ukraine to fall to Russian aggression, it will be a hammer blow to NATO and our nation’s security.

Here are the problems being exacerbated by Trump’s Iran fixation. The U.S. and its Gulf allies are exhausting their inventories of sophisticated anti-missile defense systems. Replenishing the supplies will take years, leaving Ukraine essentially defenseless, while Russia is relentlessly pounding Ukraine with missiles and drones.

Trump has removed some oil sanctions against Russia that will increase its income and prolong its war against Ukraine. At the same time, Russia has been providing intelligence to Iran to target U.S. forces. It makes absolutely no sense to ignore the great security threat that Russia poses to America, while expending so much of our military resources going after a country that poses no substantial threat to America.

One of Trump’s gripes against Iran is that its repressive government has killed somewhere between 7,000 and 30,000 of its own citizens. That is certainly a source of concern but it does not justify a declaration of war when there is no direct threat to America. If there is a bloodcurdling statistic that, combined with a threat to American security, would merit a strong response, it is the devastation that Russia has imposed on our Ukrainian allies. Russia has killed about 16,000 Ukrainian civilians. Ukraine’s military has sustained 250,000-300,000 dead and wounded. About 20,000 Ukrainian children have been kidnapped by Russian forces. That should be our focus.

There is not much that individual citizens can do to change Trump’s warmongering, but we can put the heat on our Congressional representatives to take action. The gutless members of Idaho’s delegation are all behind Trump’s military adventurism, completely heedless to the fact that the U.S. Constitution places the war power directly in the hands of Congress. We can all demand that they stop cowering in their offices and take action to stop this pointless war. Those who decline should be replaced at the ballot box.

 

Imagine the shock, dismay and disgust Abraham Lincoln would feel about the state and national leadership of his beloved Republican Party, if he were to return to life today. He would find a leadership of the Grand Old Party dedicated to white nationalism, nativism and moral decay. He would undoubtedly feel that GOP leaders had wrongfully seized the GOP label and attached it to a group that opposed almost everything he stood for.

Throughout his political life, Lincoln strongly supported immigrants and immigration. In his stirring Gettysburg Address on November 19,1863, the Great Emancipator proclaimed that America “was dedicated to the proposition that all men were created equal.” In his annual address to Congress a month later, he called for passage of an immigration bill to promote immigration and welcome immigrants to the country as “a source of national wealth and strength.”

His Republican successors carried the message of inclusion, equality and decency for a century following his assassination. I had the high privilege of working for Idaho’s distinguished GOP Senator Len Jordan in the early 1970s. He was fiscally conservative, but a champion of human rights and dignity.

Like many of his Republican counterparts, Jordan voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He opposed two southern segregationists—Harold Carswell and Clement Haynsworth—who President Nixon tried to appoint to the U.S. Supreme Court. Jordan would be repulsed by the current leadership of his beloved party, both at the federal and Idaho level.

Much of the moral decline of the GOP resulted from Nixon’s “southern strategy” that resulted in turning southern-state segregationist Democrats into southern-state Republican segregationists. Most remain so to this very day, although their numbers are being slowly whittled away by a new breed of Democrats who are actually standard bearers for Abe Lincoln’s legacy.

Unfortunately, Idaho’s top GOP elected officials—the Governor and members of our Congressional delegation— have bought into the crumbling anti-civil rights and anti-immigrant playbook of the segregationists. They have betrayed the legacy of Lincoln and Jordan, mainly out of abject fear of displeasing King Trump. The truth is that most Idahoans, including many in the GOP, are better than this. The apostates will be weeded out in future elections.

To add insult to injury, our top GOP office holders attend Lincoln Day events on or near Lincoln’s birthday in February of each year, pretending that they are honoring that fabled leader. Actually, they dishonor Lincoln by espousing policies and beliefs diametrically opposed to those of Lincoln. Imagine Lincoln’s revulsion if he were to learn that former Congressman Matt Gaetz was keynote speaker at the Kootenai County Lincoln Day dinner on February 28.

Senator Jim Risch, Rep. Russ Fulcher and Attorney General Raul Labrador were all slated to share the limelight with this bonafide sleazeball. Congressional investigators found Gaetz regularly paid women for sex, had sex with a 17-year-old girl (statutory rape in Florida) and frequently used illegal drugs. Idaho’s two Congressmen, Fulcher and Simpson, had voted in December of 2024 to block the release of the Gaetz report, but it came out anyway. Idaho’s Attorney General has claimed to be a protector of girls, but seems to have overlooked Gaetz’ deplorable misconduct.

Donald Trump had wanted Gaetz to be his Attorney General, but it was not to be. It must have been a real downer for Trump because the two have so much in common when it comes to sexual mistreatment of the female gender. Since the 1970s, at least 28 women accused Trump of sexual misconduct. Trump was found liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll in May of 2023.

The details of Trump’s longtime friendship with serial abuser Jeffrey Epstein are just coming out, despite his administration’s dogged efforts to keep them under wraps. Our Congressional delegation fought against release of the Epstein files until a few GOP members of the House forced a vote, but there is still significant pushback against releasing what are likely the most incriminating files.

This moral degeneration of the top leaders of our state and federal government is nauseating. The fact that it degrades the moral fiber of our people down to the grass roots is heartbreaking. The fact that our top elected leaders have abandoned the high moral principles of our founding fathers, principles that Abe Lincoln tried to perfect with his new political party, is horrific. The worst thing, however, is that the new GOP defames the Great Emancipator by attaching his name to a dinner event and a political party that repudiates practically everything he stood for. The nativist, white nationalist, morally-bankrupt officials who sully Lincoln’s name are Republicans in name only (RINOs).

 

When Senator Mike Lee of Utah began calling for the sale of public lands in the western states last year, it raised a firestorm amongst westerners across the political spectrum. And, rightly so. Westerners don’t particularly love the federal agencies that manage those lands, but they like even less the idea of turning them over to private interests that will fence them off and exclude hunters, fishermen and others from accessing what westerners regard as their sacred heritage.

Some in Idaho’s Congressional delegation briefly flirted with Lee’s idea, but backed off quickly when they saw the rising outrage from Idahoans. Even Idaho’s Attorney General, who had earlier supported a federal lawsuit to force the turnover of federal lands to the states, went silent on the issue.

The public land issue has resurfaced in a somewhat different format during the current Idaho legislative session. Several legislators want to set constitutional requirements for how any future federal land grants to Idaho should be managed. While it may not seem to be an unreasonable question to address, it is pointless. Practically every Senator from a public land state has been frightened away from the idea of privatizing or transferring public lands to the states. But even if a transfer should happen, history tells us that the feds will direct the state how to utilize and manage any land transferred.

Four proposed constitutional amendments confuse future land transfers of land to the state with lands that the state received upon gaining statehood in 1890. The section of the Idaho Constitution, Article 9, section 8, that is the subject of the proposals is an important part of Idaho’s school law. That section deals with lands granted by the federal government to Idaho in 1890. Those grants were made for the sole purpose of financing Idaho’s public school system.

Section 8, as originally written, required the state to obtain “the maximum possible amount” from sale or rental of the school lands. The federal government approved of the language and granted Idaho 5.55% of the lands within the boundaries of the State. Those lands were to be held in what is often called a “Sacred Trust” for the sole benefit of the public schools. The Idaho Admission Bill, which is still the law of the United States, provided that those lands would “be reserved for school purposes only.”

As time went by, the “maximum possible amount” requirement was thought to be too restrictive, requiring short-term liquidation of lands and depletion of the land base. In 1982, Idaho voters approved a constitutional amendment to change the management requirement to the “maximum long-term financial return” (MLFR) from the school lands. The change has allowed our state to retain productive land and manage it for consistent, long-term, high-value returns. There is no compelling need to change that management directive.

The amendments proposed in the House, HJR 8 and HJR 10, would make a dramatic management change. They would replace the MLFR requirement with a “priority of use” scheme, giving first priority to “revenue-generating activity” and secondary priority to a variety of public uses. The undisputed fact is that over 96% of school lands are already open and accessible for the full range of public uses.

As far as revenue generation goes, the MLFR requirement brought in $58,435,191 for our public schools last year, 92.4% of which was produced by 749,017 acres of timberland with 4.5% coming from 1,357,461 acres of rangeland. Those funds go into the public school endowment fund for the benefit of public schools. Changes proposed in HJR 8 and HJR 10 would more than likely reduce those returns because the Legislature would be able to grant sweetheart deals to certain land users. In the past that has been attempted for the benefit of cabin site lessees and livestock grazers, but the courts have batted those attempts down because they violate the MLFR requirement.

There have been claims that the MLFR requirement has resulted in the rapid liquidation of school lands, but that is not true. Since 2015, the school land base has increased by about 53,000 acres. Timberland has increased by 65,191 acres since it is the primary revenue generator. Holdings of residential and commercial lands have decreased since user and legislative pressure has helped keep market rentals unattainable.

We have all served on the State Land Board, which manages the school trust lands. The greatest controversies have arisen when rentals on leased parcels near rapidly appreciating private properties are exceedingly low. For instance, we’ve had shoreline leaseholds with rentals that are nowhere near market value. A private landlord would not rent land for a small fraction of the going rate and neither should a governmental entity with trust responsibilities.

The present system has worked well to provide substantial funding for public schools, while also providing virtually unrestricted public access and usage of school lands. The system is not broken and does not need fixing. Further, the proposed fix is contrary to the wisdom of our constitutional founders and violative of the terms of the Idaho Admission Bill. HJR was held in the House State Affairs Committee on a tie vote on February 23, but the concept remains a threat to Idaho’s school endowment lands.

Jerry Evans, former Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction

Lawrence Wasden, former Idaho Attorney General

Ben Ysursa, former Idaho Secretary of State

Jim Jones former Idaho Attorney General

J.D. Williams, former Idaho State Controller

 

Idaho elected leaders bought into the national tax scheme devised by the MAGA crowd in Washington, DC, to the severe detriment of programs critical to Idaho. It’s as if the Governor and Legislature are unaware that the economic health of the Gem State is highly reliant on proper management of its natural resources or that they must provide for the essential needs of all Idahoans. We don’t fit into the national cookie cutter of the Big Beautiful Billionaire Bill (BBBB), which will increase the Nation’s national debt to an unsustainable $40 trillion. Idaho can’t deficit finance like the federal government and our so-called leaders refuse to raise sufficient revenue to finance important programs.

Rather than carefully considering the essential needs that must be financed, our state officials have chosen to reduce state revenues by $330 million– $155 million for the current fiscal year and $175 million for the next. It could turn out to be closer to $400 million for next fiscal year. That’s on top of $4 billion in tax cuts over the last 5 years.

It is a scandal that water and fire management have been left hanging by Idaho officials. Perhaps they need to get out of Boise to learn that Idaho is facing a serious drought. With scanty snowpack in the mountains and a bleak outlook for improvement, there will likely be renewed fighting over the available supply. Yet, legislative budget writers have cut essential funding for the Idaho Department of Water Resources. The Water Director warned that, “with the stream gauging in particular, you can’t administer a resource if you can’t measure and monitor that resource.” Unless substantial moisture materializes in the next few weeks, administration of the available water resources will be seriously hampered and Idaho’s water warfare will be rekindled.

With little snowpack and dangerously dry conditions in the mountains, there will be a significantly increased fire danger in Idaho. Which makes one wonder why legislators chose to cut funding to fight Idaho wildfires, especially where funding already falls far short and the fire threat continues to grow. The Lands Director said the funding cuts “will cause us to have to cut back the number of acres treated and increase the fire risk across the landscape.” Not only will the fire danger increase, the fire insurance premiums of Idahoans, even in urban areas, will continue to climb.

Funding cuts to programs for mental health services, suicide prevention and child welfare will have devastating effects for vulnerable people. The Health and Welfare Director warned: “We have already cut through muscle, and we are to bone.” Suicide is on the rise in Idaho and the state’s suicide rate is usually among the top ten in the nation. Cuts in Medicaid mental health services have already caused two deaths in the State. Perhaps we should start keeping a body count of deaths caused by the cuts.

Another essential service that will suffer at the hands of short-sighted legislators is the treatment court program, designed to help people swept up in the criminal justice system to address addiction and mental illness. During fiscal year 2025, 636 people graduated from Idaho treatment court programs and 87 participants gave birth to drug-free babies. The treatment program produces big results for a small price.

One essential ingredient of any government is adequate funding to retain qualified and dedicated staff. Based on my 20 years of working in the government, I can attest the great majority are smart, dedicated public servants. Even House Speaker Mike Moyle praised them as “some of the best employees ever.” They deserve to be adequately compensated. Unfortunately, they are not. Their salaries lag significantly behind the market. There is a 14% turnover rate.

Despite the fact that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose almost 3% last year and will likely come close this year, state workers will not receive any pay raise. Additionally, they will be stuck with an estimated 7.3% increase in out-of-pocket costs for health care. With that kind of mistreatment, state employees will keep abandoning the ship of state. The state will lose their expertise and institutional memory.

The $330+ million in tax cuts that the Governor and Legislature granted to some Idahoans, by conforming Idaho’s tax code to the BBBB, might have been just fine in a year when the state could afford them, but we are not there. Eliminating the tax on tips, overtime and the like was not a critical priority. Cutting so many important programs that are essential to the future of Idaho and the well-being of all its people makes absolutely no sense. Idahoans should demand a reversal of the nonsensical program cuts to vital programs or replacement of the elected officials who engineered those cuts.

 

It was not that long ago that Idaho’s top elected officials stood up for human rights. That era came to an abrupt halt with Governor Little’s recent firing of Estella Zamora as vice chair of the Idaho Human Rights Commission (IHRC). Little’s action followed Senate leader Kelly Anthon’s announcement that the Senate would not act upon Zamora’s pending reappointment to the IHRC.

Both Little and Anthon acted after Idaho’s MAGA propaganda machine attacked Zamora for standing up for decency and the rule of law. She, like a solid majority of Americans and many federal judges, rightfully criticized the unlawful and heavy-handed immigration enforcement tactics of ICE. Anthon, who is a lawyer, claimed Zamora’s comments could reflect bias in IHRC proceedings. That is totally bogus because IHRC has no jurisdiction over ICE or its officers. It only deals with Idaho civil rights disputes.

But the IHRC has always performed an important role in speaking out on human rights issues that go beyond the Gem State’s borders. I know that from deep experience as Idaho Attorney General for 8 years. When I came into office in 1983, I became acquainted with Marilyn Shuler, the highly-regarded Director of the agency. I quickly learned the important role she and IHRC played in advocating for the basic rights of human beings. She and the IHRC played an instrumental role in ridding the state of the Aryan Nations scourge.

Former Governor Cecil Andrus called Shuler a “champion for human rights and basic decency.” Former Governor Butch Otter said she was “a guiding light and an Idaho icon of compassion and decency.” Former Governor Phil Batt, who was behind the establishment of the IHRC, praised Shuler for “pointing out our human rights deficiencies and finding ways to correct our failures.” Shuler was succeeded as Director by Leslie Goddard, who had previously served as a deputy Attorney General for the IHRC. She was also a vocal and effective advocate for human rights and the rule of law.

Zamora was continuing that important Idaho legacy.

Governor Little was not particularly regarded as a friend or foe of immigrants until Donald Trump was elected to a second term in 2024. Little has become increasingly supportive of Trump’s MAGA policies, especially since receiving Trump’s endorsement last year for another term as Governor. Little appears to be all-in for Trump’s campaign against immigrants and refugees of color.

Trump’s storm troopers have concentrated their hard-edged, highly-dramatized tactics against the country’s nonwhite population. Trump has suspended visa processing for immigrants from 75 countries, most of which have predominantly nonwhite populations. U.S. refugee admissions will be at an historic low of 7,500, open only to whites.

Some extremist members of the Idaho Legislature have jumped aboard the anti-immigrant train. A group of anti-immigrant legislators gathered at the Capitol on February 3 to badmouth immigrants, apparently oblivious to the fact that only our Native American population has been here for thousands of years, while the rest of us came as immigrants. These latter-day jingoists want to slam the door shut, just as the U.S. needs new blood to make up for a declining birth rate and an aging population.

One of the anti-immigrants, Senator Brian Lenney, espoused the great replacement conspiracy theory– that nonwhite refugees and immigrants are surreptitiously replacing white folks. Rep. Dale Hawkins bemoaned: “We’re losing our culture as Americans” and “It’s damaging our way of life.” Perhaps it would be helpful for them to study history and learn that the United States was founded and nurtured to greatness by immigrants– people who had the courage to leave home for a better life and the drive to prosper in a society free from government and religious persecution.

Congressman Russ Fulcher has added to the silliness by helping to found the Sharia Free America Caucus, claiming that Muslims are trying to establish Sharia law in the U.S. They obviously don’t know what Sharia is, that it poses no threat to America and that it smacks of the Idaho Constitutional founders’ efforts to target our Mormon population.

If any religious agenda poses a threat, it is the growing number of Christian nationalists who are actually endeavoring to take over the law writing functions of the Idaho Legislature.

Speaking of refugees, I’ve had the privilege to work with refugees in Boise and Twin Falls these last few years. They include people from Somalia, Myanmar, the Congo, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Russia, Armenia, Romania and a host of other countries. Many have faced dangerous living conditions, even death, in their homelands. These people appreciate freedom. They are dedicated to starting businesses and educating their kids. Most of all, they are pursuing the American dream. They do not deserve to be vilified by people who have never taken the time or had the inclination to get to know them.

If there is a refugee problem in Idaho, it comes from the white know-it-all political refugees who have moved to Idaho from blue states to teach Idahoans how to think and live.

Perhaps it would open their eyes to read a January 19 report by Miriam Jordan, a New York Times Reporter, whose title tells it all–”Twin Falls needs immigrants, but the Trump administration has limited the program to white South Africans.” The article touches on Hamdi Ulukaya, the immigrant from Turkey who built the burgeoning Chobani business that has vitalized the economies of the Magic Valley and the Gem State.

Instead of acting in ignorance, Idahoans should continue the long-standing tradition of speaking out for human rights, just as Zamona was doing when Little and his MAGA supporters tried to silence her. That includes welcoming refugees and other immigrant families who enrich our state and support our economy.

 

While the MAGA folks in the Idaho Legislature are running amok, there are some glimmers of light and reason peeking through. Kudos to State School Superintendent Debbie Critchfield for telling the clueless budget cutters that she won’t go along with a $55.1 million cut in the education budget. She is on solid ground because Idaho spends less per student than any other state in the nation. Idaho is the second-fastest growing state, giving us the tax base and resources to keep our children from being the least educated and least competitive in the country.

Critchfield raised some hackles last year for giving in to the school voucher law, House Bill 93, which gave an income tax holiday for those sending their kids to private and religious schools. That reduced state revenues by $50 million, with virtually no accountability except the skimpy guidelines contained in the bill. That tax subsidy will not face the chopping block in the budget-cutting frenzy this year. Most of the recipients of the subsidy, except for the highest earners, will not contribute a dime to the vast array of state programs being cut by the MAGA crowd. She has partially redeemed herself.

There is no redemption for legislators savagely cutting budgets for so many necessary state programs–road construction, Medicaid, higher education, State Police, on and on. We were just told that our prison population is growing while prison financing is declining. Prison staff may have to be furloughed, leading to increased prison violence. Since 36.5% of Idaho’s prisoners were sentenced on drug charges, it would make economic sense to make drug treatment programs more readily available, both in and out of prison, but that does not seem to register with the legislative budget choppers.

Any reasonable and responsible legislative body would see the desperate need to increase state revenues to adequately fund essential programs. An income tax increase on the wealthier Idahoans would barely be noticeable to them, especially since they have seen $4 billion in tax cuts over the last 5 years. We should leave the modest earners alone while increasing the tax rate for those who can afford it.

Besides Critchfield, Rep. John Shirts has injected a positive note into the legislative mix. His House Concurrent Resolution 23 calls upon Congress to support a constitutional amendment setting term limits for Congress. Congress would likely cut their terms only after Hell froze over, but Shirts is to be commended for starting a conversation.

Idaho’s Congressional delegation is exhibit one in the case for limiting the time our exalted potentates can feed at the public trough.

Jim Risch has been in the Senate since 2009 and is now, at age 82, seeking another 6-year term. I worked for one of Idaho’s very best Republican Senators, Len Jordan. Unlike Risch, he was principled and courageous. When President Nixon was wrong on an issue, like withholding appropriated funds, Jordan publicly and effectively objected. Risch meekly goes along with anything Trump does or says–trashing our NATO partners, imposing unconstitutional tariffs, whatever. When Jordan was deciding whether to run for another term in 1972, he decided against it because he would be 79 years old when his term ended. Jordan was in good health, but he had a conscience.

Mike Crapo is 74 years old and there is every indication that he will run for another 6-year term in 2028. He was in the House for 6 years and has been in the Senate since January of1999. He is just a Trump puppet. It’s time for him to move on.

Mike Simpson has been in the House since January of 1999. Mike is the most disappointing because he has morphed into a full-throated MAGA convert. His recent opinion piece praising “our brave Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers for doing their job and protecting our communities,” is stomach-turning. He says, “left-wing agitators have taken to the streets to defend child sex offenders, drug traffickers, murderers, and other violent criminals.”

Mike overlooks the video evidence showing the intimidation and fear being inflicted by masked ICE thugs on Americans across the country– much like the British troops of King George III were inflicting upon peace-loving American colonials 249 years ago. It might not hurt for Mike to check out the ruling issued by a federal judge appointed by George W. Bush, finding 100 violations of court orders by ICE in Minneapolis.

I regret having supported both Simpson and Crapo when they first ran for the Idaho Legislature in 1984, when I was Idaho Attorney General. They, along with Jim Risch, will not be turned out by a constitutional amendment. That job can and should be done by Idaho voters.

 

Those in charge of Idaho’s executive and legislative branches have a difficult time seeing beyond the end of their collective noses when it comes to funding programs important to Idahoans. All we have heard from the governor and the penny-pinching legislative leadership is “cut, cut, cut.” When times are tough, cuts may be needed to make ends meet. But, if you listen to the president and our governor, times are not tough. Both speak of how we are doing very well under their stewardship.

Governor Little continually touts Idaho’s strong and growing economy. In December, he proclaimed, “Idaho is # 1 nationally for wage growth – proving our economy is strong and moving forward!” One might wonder then, why we are in such a budget-cutting frenzy. It might be partly because he approved $300 million in tax cuts that he knew were ill-advised. Or, that he greenlighted the $50 million tax holiday for primarily well-healed folks who can already afford to send their kids to religious schools. Delaying the effective date of that tax give-away until next year would be an easy fix to the $40 million budget deficit for this year. A graduated tax increase would be a long-term fix.

The main budgeting problem with the MAGA folks running the state is that critical programs which serve large numbers of modest-means Idahoans are put on the chopping block without considering the long term effects. We may save a few bucks today but end up spending gobs more in the future to address the consequences.

The poster child for this type of short-sighted budgeting is Idaho’s Medicaid program.

With spending cuts, both those implemented and proposed by the Governor, future expenditures are certain to substantially eclipse the immediate savings.

The Idaho Sheriffs Association warned in December that cuts to behavioral health programs would likely increase future outlays for emergency medical services, incarceration and public safety. The Governor’s proposal to cut $45 million in Medicaid spending could result in the state getting $106.8 million less in federal funds next year.

This is just a small part of a much bigger picture of concern in the budgeting arena. The Big Beautiful Billionaire Bill (BBBB), passed with the votes of Idaho’s Congressional delegation, will cut Idaho Medicaid by $4.3 billion over the decade, starting next year. It will likely reduce our Medicaid roles by about 40,000. Combined with whatever cuts are made by Idaho’s government, the impact on Idahoans are likely to be catastrophic.

Like it or not, Medicaid funding is the lifeblood of Idaho hospitals, particularly those in the rural areas of the state. The tremendous reduction in federal funds, combined with cuts made by the Governor and MAGA legislators, will imperil the existence of rural hospitals already on the brink. The piddly $100 million provided to the state in the BBBB will not suffice to fill the gap.

The MAGA legislators are clamoring for the repeal of Medicaid expansion that was approved by over 60% of Idaho voters in 2018. It covers about 90,000 Idahoans. Repeal would deal a hammer blow to our already-endangered rural hospitals, not to mention the damage inflicted on sick Idahoans. We get $9 dollars in federal funds for every $1 in state funding. That results in about $1 billion invested into Idaho health care.

Substantial cuts to Medicaid funding would be completely counter to another priority of some reasonable legislators who are trying to remedy Idaho’s chronic shortage of healthcare providers. Idaho ranks lowest in the nation for both doctors and nurses on a per capita basis. The lawmakers tell us that 1,400 additional medical professionals are needed to catch up to the national average. That simply can’t happen unless substantial funds are forthcoming. Idaho’s 4% cut in Medicaid reimbursement for doctors certainly won’t help. Idaho simply can’t attract the necessary healthcare workers to serve our rural areas by short-changing them. With the state’s unfriendly attitude toward doctors, there is already a stiff headwind to overcome.

Numerous headlines expand upon Idaho’s short-sighted approach to medical funding:  “Idaho Medicaid cuts for nursing homes are unsustainable”

“Proposed Medicaid cut could end meal deliveries for thousands of Idaho seniors”

“Idaho Medicaid cuts could force disability providers to close”

“Idaho Medicaid contractor to cut critical services for people with severe mental illness”

This is just a sampling of the penny-wise, pound-foolish approach of those currently in power in Idaho. There are many reasonable and pragmatic legislators in the GOP ranks who try to work across the aisle with Democrats to move the state forward in a rational fashion. They need the support of Idahoans of good faith who will speak out at the ballot box.