Yes, But…
By: Senator Carl Crabtree
This past year has been nothing if not unbelievable. The world was set on edge by a global pandemic. This impacted lives, world-wide, and continues to do so. It has impacted your life and mine.
From the beginning of the chaos politicians were some of the first to be attacked, and perhaps rightfully so. Simply put, we were unprepared and had no idea how to manage a pandemic – legally, politically or any other way. Our laws did not address the questions we faced, and protocol had not been established on who should be in charge. Was it the government’s responsibility, should there be no government at all, or was it somewhere in the middle? Bottom line: we were ill prepared.
Now, at the beginning of this legislative session, we are faced with making decisions that we could argue should have been made already. We will seek answers to questions posed during the pandemic, ultimately leaving us better prepared for the next crisis and perhaps in a position to better manage government. We now have some experience and a much better set of facts to work with.
I wish I could say we did it all right here in Idaho, but we did not. We were not spared from disorder and disappointment. We made our share of mistakes, but one thing we did right was our fiscal conservatism and financial management. The overall fiscal picture for Idaho is good! Some states have seen huge losses, but we have come out as one of the winners. We had hoped for the best but planned for the worst – and it worked!
From March through October, Idaho’s positive change in revenue was one of the largest in the nation and we are on track to have a budget surplus of more than $600 million. Should this continue to year end, it will be the largest surplus in state history.
So, what can, and should you expect from us in the next couple of months? You will see the Idaho Legislature find ways to reduce taxes and prepare for an even stronger economic future.
The next time you hear one of your friends, family or a neighbor say there are so many things around us that are failing right now, I would respond, “that could be true, but… the facts are, Idaho’s economy is doing extremely well, and money matters.”