Your ideals are reflected in your budget. It’s that easy. Either you fix the dishwasher or you stop watching Hulu.
We, the voters who elected our Idaho Legislature, are getting a clear picture of their principles. I want to know if this reflects my principles, and you should too.
A plan to provide tax credits to families who homeschool or send their children to private schools is being considered by the Idaho Legislature. If our governor remains steadfast, this simple idea will only cost us taxpayers roughly $50 million. That’s only in the first year, of course. We can rely on our politicians to closely monitor our tax monies, can’t we? Arizona experienced a similar tax credit explosion to enormous multiples of this. Therefore, we will not be concerned about the future at this time. However, any sound budget should, of course.
In keeping with this, our lawmakers have closely monitored the Medicaid expansion funds. As of right now, the cost to Idaho taxpayers is approximately $100 million. Many well-known lawmakers believe this is excessive.
We are currently discussing budgets. We must engage with arithmetic and numbers. I’m sorry now. I am aware that you would like to argue over values, morals, ideologies, and ideas, but if you can tolerate some statistics, that is where we are going. Remain with me.
Right now, lawmakers may think it wise to provide $50 million in private school and home school funding for Idahoans. The large bucks behind this have been telling them a lot.
10,000 households in Idaho may receive some of your tax dollars to send their children to a private, maybe religious, or alternative school that isn’t subject to public school standards if the proposal limits the benefit at $5,000 per family making less than $100,000.
Put those figures in writing.
Meanwhile, our lawmakers have determined that health insurance is too costly for the working poor. In order to provide health insurance to 90,000 families in Idaho who would not otherwise be eligible, we cannot afford to spend $100 million.
Put those figures in writing.
Since many people want to support sending their children to private schools because they are too expensive, our legislators are considering removing health care coverage for nine times.
This is a basic value proposition and budget.
Not to mention House Speaker Mike Moyle’s proposed tax cuts for Idaho. Idaho has had remarkable expansion in both population and GDP. However, the decline is imminent. We ought to prepare for it. Our supplies won’t be enough.
It may be argued that Idaho’s decision to remove Medicaid expansion coverage will aid our federal allies in resolving our financial dilemma.U.S. Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho served on the Simpson/Bowles Commission, which made sensible suggestions for reducing the debt. Medicaid was not being dropped by any states. This argument is a straw man.
Without a doubt, our nation is being crippled by health care prices and profiteering. I’ve been a reformer for a long time. However, the fact that the Idaho Legislature is now weighing these two balls should cause you to consider your own ideals.
If you phrase it in terms of the market, competition, choice, entrepreneurial capitalism, and the like, it could make sense to send our tax dollars to 10,000 families who decide not to participate in public education. As a result, we allocate $50 million of Idaho public funds in that direction.
However, we also deny health insurance to nine times as many Idahoans because we are unable to pay twice as much as such a voucher benefit would cost.
This math is flawed.
It has to do with budgeting. It has to do with ideals.
Think about your values, please. Education is important to me. Health care is important to me. These principles, in my opinion, are not shared by our Idaho Legislature. I’d like you to.
GET THE HEADLINES FOR THE MORNING.
