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Public Education I have a vision, a vision of Idaho leaders committed to developing a world class public education system. From preschool to PhD our education system must be excellent, accessible, and affordable.
Idaho's economy is a dismal mess. With no real vision from our state leaders the economy has wandered aimlessly without any real diversification. With a paper thin high tech industry we are exposed to the whims of the global marketplace. Our colleges are slashed and the brain drain from Idaho is noticeable. Unemployment currently hovers around 10% (much worse in many counties).
We have an early 20th century economy backed by an early 20th century tax system. That is the recipe for the disaster that we are currently experiencing. Expect Idaho to be last out of recession because of the lack of vision from our current leaders.
In the vacuum left in the statehouse the Democrat's have stepped up and laid out a vision of prosperity and opportunity for Idaho backed by a plan to quickly create jobs. The Idaho Jobs and Opportunity Blueprint (IJOBs) consists of six pieces of legislation that aim to turn unemployment checks into paychecks.
• The Grow Green Idaho Jobs Act - Each year Idaho sends almost $3 billion out of state to purchase energy. That money and those jobs should stay in Idaho. The Grow Green Idaho Jobs Act recognizes the importance of the creation of jobs in the renewable energy sector by ensuring state and local units of government slash the red tape and prioritize permitting for renewable energy projects. • The 2010 Idaho Jobs Council Act - Efforts must be focused on the critical issue of job creation and retention to realize our vision of a prosperous Idaho. The 2010 Idaho Jobs Council Act brings together state and private sector leaders to quickly focus their energies and create specific action items for creating high wage jobs with benefits in Idaho. • The Idaho Home Grown Business and Jobs Act - Knowledge is power and small businesses in Idaho need the best information available to effectively compete against out-of-state companies. The Idaho Home Grown Business and Jobs Act benefits Idaho small businesses and expands job opportunities by directing the Departments of Commerce and Labor to provide useful market intelligence to Idaho small business. This information will allow Idaho small business to better compete in the marketplace and create jobs for Idahoans. • The Idaho Small Business Venture Capital Investment Act - Access to capital is the lifeblood of small business. Because of the current credit crunch, many small businesses have had to delay their expansion plans. The Idaho Small Business Venture Capital Investment Act creates Idaho jobs by increasing access to capital for small business (less than 20 employees) by offering a transferable 50 percent tax credit on all earnings (other than interest) from venture capital investments in Idaho companies. • The Small Business Incubator and Jobs Act - Business incubators provide small entrepreneurial businesses with affordable space, shared support, and business development services. This facilitates business success during the startup phase, when companies are financially vulnerable. To assist Idaho entrepreneurs the Small Business Incubator and Jobs Act directs the Departments of Commerce and Labor to focus existing, low-cost resources to provide a full array of business services to startup companies. • Idaho Small Business Jobs Development Act - Small businesses are the engine of our economy creating over 80 percent of the jobs in Idaho. The Idaho Small Business Jobs Development Act accelerates the creation of jobs by small businesses of 50 employees or less by providing a $2,500 tax credit for permanent, new employees earning over $35,000/year and receiving health benefits. In addition, qualifying small businesses receive priority access to state sponsored business services. As you can see, the bills cover services for start up businesses, cutting red tape for renewable energy projects, tax incentives for venture capital investments, and a tax incentive for creating high wage jobs with health benefits. The bills are structured so that we collect more revenue than we pay out for any new job or investment. Small business gets assistance and the state receives added revenue to support schools. A win-win.
Where Republican leadership sees doom, Idaho Democrat's see the hope of a better tomorrow. Its only logical that if you have a vision and a plan you can see how better days are just around the next bend.
I pledge to you that I will keep working for a better Idaho. One with a 21st century economy that provides opportunity for our citizens. An Idaho where our children go to world class schools, head to college in large numbers, and stay in Idaho to work in fulfilling and high wage jobs.
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Taxes Property Taxes Residential home values rose four times faster than any other property classes from 2000 to 2005. To address this the legislature passed a minor ($25,000) increase in the Homeowner's Exemption (even that was a struggle to get passed). You, the homeowner, have been left out of the property tax equation. In 2006 then the Governor Risch and the legislative majority figured it was pay back time to the special interests. They passed a bill that raised the sales tax 20% to pay for a tax cut for special interests (2/3rds of the cut went to properties other than owner occupied homes). Unfortunately almost 70% of sales tax is paid by individuals (remember all those exemptions for special interests) so you now pay annually for the tax cut for special interests. The gap between what the property tax for schools would have collected and what the sales tax brings in has grown from $50 million in 2006 to over $160 million today. That is $160 million less to educate our children. That represents over 5,000 teacher salaries (and smaller class sizes). Facing deep cuts to public schools it would be nice to have that money back! We must have property tax relief for homeowners - not special interests. This means an increase in the Homeowner's Exemption to $150,000. It is time to rebalance the scale in your favor.
Other Taxes With an early 20th century tax code Idaho is primed to remain an early 20th century economy. Special interests rule the roost and pick the pockets of Idaho citizens and of our economy for almost $1 billion each year. This madness must come to an end!
For the last six years I have submitted legislation to require the expiration of all tax exemptions so that every special interest is required to come before the people and justify their special tax treatment. If the exemption makes sense (creates jobs and enhances our economy) then we can keep it. If it doesn't then we scrap it and dedicate those funds to building a 21st century economy or lowering the overall tax rate.
The tax on food must be eliminated! We are one of only eight states that tax food. This is a punishing tax on our lower and fixed income families. Increasing the food tax credit just is not enough. This is a half measure. Idahoan's need relief at the cash register. We must eliminate the tax on food now and forever. All Idahoan's must be taxed fairly with all groups picking up their fair share. The shift of taxes to the middle class must end!
Caring for your health and treatment for illness is a basic human right. This right is not available for hundreds of thousands of Idahoans who cannot afford health insurance. And for those that can, high deductibles and outrageously expensive prescription drugs often lead to doing without.
Up to 85% of inmates in the state prison system have a substance abuse or mental health condition. Our state prisons have become the top provider of substance abuse and mental health treatment in the state. At a cost of $25,000/year and added state services for families left behind and impoverished, that's just plain dumb on crime! In addition, a recent legislative audit indicates that a lack of coordination between the Department of Corrections and the Commission on Pardons and Parole keeps people in prison longer and costs our citizens about $3 million/year! You can read the report and the responses of the agencies and the governor at http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/ope/publications/reports/r1002.pdf. As a state we need to ensure that the people that we place in prison represent a substantial threat to society. If a person has a mental health or substance abuse issue, the answer is usually not incarceration. The answer is treatment.
We must reform our corrections system to incarcerate those individuals that represent a threat to society while developing alternatives for non-violent offenders that require treatment, training, or behavior modification. The time has come for our legislature to be smart on crime and stop wasting our precious tax dollars.
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