When Will The Idaho Republicans Quit Spending So Much Of Our Money?

The chart above shows what has happened with Idaho's General Fund budget since the Idaho Republican Party took over the Governor's Office in 1994 and solidified its dominance of the Legislature and the entire state budget. It is not pretty--the Idaho Republicans have spent taxpayer dollars at a rate that far outpaces per capita income growth, inflation, and population growth.

The blue line shows the actual general fund budget beginning in fiscal year 1995 and continuing on each year to Governor Otter's proposal for fiscal year 2009. Those numbers come straight from the Idaho Legislature's website.

The red line shows what the general fund would have been if the Republicans had kept pace with per capita income growth, inflation, and population growth. The red line is what I consider to be a "fiscally conservative budget." It does not represent any budget cuts, however; it only represents what would have happened if, beginning in fiscal year 1995, we would have only increased the budget to account for per capita income growth, inflation, and population growth.

To arrive at the numbers on the red line, I used the actual general fund budget for FY 1995 (Cecil Andrus's last budget) as the base year budget. Then, I first increased the actual general fund budget by the annual percentage increase in per capita income, numbers which came straight from the Idaho Department of Labor's website. I had to forecast per capita income numbers for 2007 and 2008 using the past data, because those numbers are not available.

Second, I upwardly adjusted again for Idaho's annual population increase. Those numbers came straight from the United States Census Bureau's website.

Third, I upwardly adjusted one last time for the increase in the consumer price index (CPI), a national figure obtained from the United States Department of Labor's website. The Idaho Department of Commerce's website explains that Idaho uses the national CPI because there is no index for Idaho. I had to forecast the final fully adjusted general fund budget for FY 2009 using past data because economic data for that time period is not yet available.

The chart tells a sad, sad story. Among the many points that can be made from this chart are the following:

1. When Governor Phil Batt ended the Democrats' control of the Governor's Office in Idaho at the end of 1994, the last fiscal year General Fund budget (1995) of former Democrat Governor Cecil Andrus was 1.26 billion dollars. This year, Republican Governor Butch Otter has proposed a fiscal year 2009 general fund budget of 3.13 billion dollars. That is 2.47 times bigger than the budget that the Republican Party inherited from Governor Andrus. If Idaho's all-Republican government had passed the conservative budgets shown on the red line, our fiscal year 2009 budget would be 1.95 billion dollars, or just 1.54 times bigger than Governor Andrus's last budget.

2. The Idaho general fund really started to take off in fiscal year 1999, which was Governor Batt's last budget. Overall, Governor Batt did a good job with the budget, which is a reflection of his honest-to-goodness fiscally conservative nature. Kudos to Governor Batt! Governor Kempthorne, however, really kicked the general fund budget increases into high gear. He and the Republican-dominated Legislature had to back off a bit when the national economy sank into a recession after the Internet bubble burst and the economic consequences of 9-11. Alas, starting again in fiscal year 2005, the Idaho Republicans got back to spending like drunken sailors in a Shanghai saloon. Governor Otter's newest budget proposal (currently being debated in the Idaho Legislature) does nothing the alleviate the huge discrepancy between how much our government spends and how much it should spend if wage growth, inflation, and population growth are considered.

3. If Idaho's general fund budget increased close to increases in per capita income, inflation, and population growth, my forecast would give Idaho a fiscal year 2009 budget of 1.95 billion dollars. I consider this number to represent a truly fiscally conservative budget. Governor Otter proposes 3.13 billion dollars. The grand total difference between all of the actual general fund budgets and truly conservative general fund budgets from fiscal year 1996 to fiscal year 2009 is 5.16 billion dollars.

4. Recent budget increases under Governors Kempthorne, Risch, and Otter are downright scary. Beginning in fiscal year 2007 and continuing through to fiscal year 2009's proposed budget, the increases have been 18.93%, 8.75%, and 10.87%.

Finally, if the Republicans want to argue that their huge budgets are justified by Idaho's growing economy, as represented by Idaho's gross domestic product (GDP), they will lose on that count too. From 1997 to 2006, Idaho's GDP rose by 75.05%, whereas Idaho's general fund budget grew by 121.37%. They can't run; they can't hide. The Idaho Republican Party has spent this tax money with Republican governors, a veto-proof Republican majority in the Legislature, and a Democrat Party that has had no serious power base at all in Idaho for more than a decade.

I am simply stunned and massively disillusioned with how the Idaho Republican Party has grown government and spent our tax money. The Idaho Republican Party is not the party of fiscal conservatism. The stone cold facts reveal the Idaho Republican Party to be the party of taxing and spending.

Speaking of Taxes in Idaho...

The big issue for this legislative session in Idaho will be spending even more of our money. Governor Otter and Republican Senator John McGee (Caldwell) are spearheading a massive tax increase that will be focused on our car registration fees. As detailed in the Spokesman-Review (Betsy Russell, 1/8/2008, Spokesman-Review story link), the fee increase could result in a doubling of the amount we currently pay to register our cars. The money would supposedly go to fix and build roads, which of course is a noble purpose (the Government almost always has a good reason to spend our money), but the argument that our current registration fees are very low avoids a couple key points.

1. There are 41 other states (including D.C.) that have income taxes and rate systems that are comparable to Idaho's system. Idaho has the 9th highest income tax rate of those 41 states. Seven states do not have an income tax (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.) Two states limit income tax to interest income and dividends (New Hampshire and Tennessee). One state taxes a portion of your federal income tax liability (Rhode Island). Idaho has a high income tax rate.

2. Idaho has the 12th highest sales tax rate in the country. Five states do not have a sales tax, including Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon.

3. Idaho has the 2nd highest sales tax rate on food in the entire country. Only 15 states tax food, and only Tennessee is higher than Idaho (7% v. 6%).

4. Idaho also has the 2nd highest sales tax in the country on nonprescription drugs, with only Tennessee being higher (7% v. 6%). Only 14 states tax nonprescription drugs.

5. Idaho has the 11th highest gas tax in the country, at 25 cents per gallon. Idaho's gas tax rate is 14.9% above the average.

6. Idaho has the 16th highest diesel tax in the country, at 25 cents per gallon. Idaho's diesel tax rate is 12.15% above the average.

7. Idaho has the 20th highest gasohol tax in the country, at 22.5 cents per gallon. Idaho gasohol tax is 4.78% above the average.

8. Idaho has the 20th highest maximum corporate income tax rate in the country, at 7.6%. Not counting the states that do not impose a corporate income tax, Idaho's rate is 3.86% higher than the average. This is a generous ranking, though, because many of the states above Idaho have graduated corporate income tax rates. Among the states that impose a flat corporate income tax rate (which is Idaho's method), Idaho's corporate income tax rate ranks 13th highest in the country.

Source: Federation of Tax Administrators’ website, FTA Home Page.

The point here is that our Republican leaders think they have found a tax imposed by the state that is not as high as other states, and they are using that argument in an effort to convince people that we can and should pay more taxes, via increased car registration fees. Yet, Idaho's existing income, sales, and gas taxes are already very high. The Idaho Republicans apparently want all of our taxes to be high, which makes sense because with the way they spend money, they need us to pay high taxes.

The kicker, however, is that based on data that I’ve been able to find, Idaho’s vehicle registration fees for typical vehicles is not low. Data maintained by the United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration shows Idaho, in 2001, was in 24th place in terms of fees for a typical vehicle. (Summary of State Motor-Vehicle Registration Fee Schedules, Table MV-103 - Highway Taxes and Fees 2001 .) Idaho’s rates were 17.02% below the average in 2001, but 27 states were lower. A couple states (Minnesota and Oklahoma) had exorbitant fees. If you take out the top five and bottom five states, Idaho’s fees are close to average. Idaho's car registration fees are not low; at best they are in the middle tier of states, close to average.

Idaho's leaders are being disingenuous. The argument about whether to pay more car registration fees needs to be conducted in an honest environment, an environment that includes three overarching truths: (1) Idahoans already pay high taxes overall; (2) Idaho's government has grown considerably over the past decade, showing no restraint whatsoever unless forced by outside events (e.g., the Internet bubble and 9-11); and (3) our roads may indeed have been neglected in favor of other spending by the government. However, through it all, since 1995, Idaho has been ruled by the Republican Party, so whatever problems we have today are entirely of their creation.

I believe, as a fiscal conservative, that before we begin talking about raising more taxes and spending more money, our leaders, who are almost uniformly self-proclaimed conservatives, should be cutting all government spending; spending an entire legislative session thoroughly going through the state budget and eliminating all spending that is not absolutely necessary. We must stop this crazy ride we have been on for more than a decade!

Governor Otter: Raises for State Employees is the Number 1 Issue in Idaho!!!

The Spokesman-Review’s Betsy Russell reported in her blog on February 4, 2008 (Eye on Boise :: spokesmanreview.com), Idaho’s Republican Governor considers 5% raises for state employees to be his “No. 1 priority.” In fact, Governor Otter’s budget director said that 5% raises for state employees has been his number 1 priority since August, which was 5 months ago. Here’s the entry from Betsy’s blog:

Otter insisting on three things
Quizzed at his confirmation hearing by the Senate State Affairs Committee this morning, Gov. Otter’s budget director, Wayne Hammon, said the governor recognizes that state revenues may fall with a recession, but he’s “insisting” on keeping three items he called for funding in his budget: 5 percent average merit raises for state employees, along with benefit changes; funding for expanding a state scholarship program; and $20 million for aquifer modeling. The 5 percent for raises, Hammon said, "has been since August his No. 1 priority." Posted by Betsy 4 Feb 8:06 AM

All I can say to this is “wow! WOW!” Is it any wonder why the Republican Party is reeling? Back in the day, the Republican Party stood for fiscal conservatism and smaller government. Now, the leader of the entire party considers 5% raises for state employees to be the most important issue facing the state. Unreal. Obama is looking better and better to me every day, in every way.

Super Bowl Sunday: Pulled Pork and a Fatty!

Here's the finished product, right before serving. We ate at halftime of the game. The pulled pork was on the grill for about 8 hours, and the fatty took about 90 minutes. They both came off during the first half, and I wrapped them in foil until we ate. It was excellent--the best pulled pork I've yet smoked. The fatty was excellent. This was the first time I used feta cheese, which is strong. Next time, I will use it again, but not quite as much, and I will put in a thin spread of creme cheese.

As far as the Super Bowl goes, it was awesome. Probably one of the three best games ever. After all the hyperbolic talk about the Patriots being the best ever, two truths remain: (1) the 1972 Miami Dolphins reside in Perfectville, population 1, and they can toast with champagne tonight, because they are the greatest single team in NFL history; and (2) the 1970's era Pittsburgh Steelers are the greatest dynasty team in NFL history, winning 4 Super Bowls in 6 years, two of which came against very powerful Dallas Cowboys teams. The Patriots have been a great team, but they are not in the same league as the 1972 Miami Dolphins and 1970's-era Pittsburgh Steelers.

Here's The Pork Roast & Fatty On The Grill

I just put on the Fatty, and I turned the pork roast and moved the probe. You have to move probes now and then, because you can get false readings, especially if it's near fat or the bone. Always use a bone-in roast, and avoid roasts that are injected with stuff. Like I said below, I'll take the Fatty off the grill at 165 degrees, and I'll take the pork roast off at about 200 degrees. I will probably let them both rest for awhile after cooking inside some foil. Foil is okay to use after you've cooked the meat.

Here's What A Fatty Looks Like Before Smoking!

Alright, continuing from the post below, after I filled the flattened out fatty with the good stuff, I then rolled it back up, making sure to seal in all the stuff inside. You might need to add some more oil to your hands when doing this, as it makes it easier and prevents the sausage from sticking to your hands. Once rolled up, I put some of the same dry rub on it that I used on the pork roast. Then, I wrapped it in plastic wrap. Always rap your dry rubbed meats in plastic wrap before you cook them. Do not use foil or a container. Wrap in plastic! This fatty will sit in the refridgerator for a couple hours before I put it on the smoker. In a little while, I will add another post with a picture of the fatty and pork roast on the grill.

By the way, here's the dry rub recipe I used for both meats today:

1. 8 parts paprika;

2. 4 parts All Season;

3. 4 parts garlic salt

4. 2 parts chili powder;

5. 2 parts ground oregano;

6. 2 parts coarse ground pepper;

7. 1 part cayenne papper; and

8. 1 part kosher salt (kosher salt sticks to meat better).

This dry rub recipe is adapted from a recipe I got from a Memphis Tiger football fan. I use more salt, especially with pork. If you use it on beef, I would use garlic power instead of garlic salt, and I also might reduce or eliminate the kosher salt altogether. I refuse to use rubs with sugars in them, although I do sprinkle brown sugar on salmon, but only with a few minutes left in the cook. Sugars burn, and I've never had much luck with sugars in rubs used on meats like pork roasts and brisket.

Super Bowl Sunday Smoke! A Fatty and Pulled Pork!

Today, Super Bowl Sunday, I am smoking a pork roast to make some pulled pork and a "fatty." For you hippies, a "fatty" is a sausage roll wrapped around some stuff, like cheese and peppers. The picture above shows you the Fatty I made this morning. It consists of a Jimmy Dean sage sausage roll flattened out (rub with some olive oil before doing that, and also let it cool down outside the fridge for a little while before doing it). Then, I put some thin slices of Jarlsberg cheese it in, covered with some feta cheese mixed with garlic, and then some slices of jalapeno and Anaheim chili peppers.

To smoke it, I will put it on the grill (with my pork roast, which has been going since early this morning) about 2 o'clock this afternoon. I am maintaining a smoker temperature of about 240 degrees. The fatty will take about 90 minutes, until it reaches an interal temperature of about 165 degrees. For you non-smokers, you must have one or two internal probes--that's how you know when to take off any kind of meat (although I don't use them for fish or ribs).