At the Statehouse, lawmakers are split on whether to uphold the state Department of Agriculture's new rules governing raw milk. The department has come up with rules intended to protect the public. But the rules go too far, restricting farming operations doing business with consumers who willingly and knowingly consume unpasteurized milk.
state government
A dozen ideas too good to ignore
January 11, 2010 | posted by Wayne Hoffman inThis winter, more than one thousand pieces of legislation will be written in Boise. Here are just twelve ideas that many freedom-loving Idahoans believe merit consideration:
1. Cut taxes. There is no greater antidote to economic malaise. Lower taxes requires not a single extra government bureaucrat to administer. It merely requires faith in people and trust in capitalism and the free market.
2. Eliminate state agencies. There are too many agencies and too many programs. Stick to the proper role of government. Eliminate the fluff. Find ways to privatize services.
Looking ahead: A decade advancing the cause of liberty
December 27, 2009 | posted by Wayne Hoffman inIt is human nature to look backward and assess where we’ve been. And, because we’re about to close out the 2000s, it is our nature to offer a ten-year assessment of the decade gone by. From the standpoint of our efforts to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, was it the worst era in American political history? No, but certainly not a happy one, and in case you’re wondering, that’s not a commentary on 2009 alone.
Arts and government TV: Good candidates for the budget ax
December 15, 2009 | posted by Wayne Hoffman inIf Idaho lawmakers greatly reduce or eliminate funding for the arts or government-funded television, I’ll be convinced that they’re serious about not only getting state spending under control but also rebalancing the proper role of government.
Salaries of many state department heads outpace inflation
December 08, 2009 | posted by Jay Howell inWhile many people who have managed to hang onto their private sector jobs this year have done so by taking pay cuts, some state employees are receiving pay raises larger than the annual inflation rate. According to state records, payroll costs (salary + benefits) grew from $888,790,878.02 in FY99 to $1,339,354,569.40 in FY08. That amounts to an increase of about 50 percent, or an average of 5 percent per year. Nationally, inflation was 28.27 percent, or
Tax cuts deserve consideration
December 02, 2009 | posted by Wayne Hoffman inState lawmakers and the governor finally are having conversations that should have been had years ago - how to cut the size of government. That's great. Lawmakers have an extraordinary opportunity to get state spending under control, to eliminate waste and excess in every agency. But let's not stop there. Too little is being said about the other side of the spending equation: the state's disproportionately high income tax rates and the effect they have on the state's economy.
State government could require transparency of local expenses
November 16, 2009 | posted by Wayne Hoffman inI'm a bit of a policy wonk. I think one of the more entertaining things I can do is curl up on the sofa with a nice government dataset, a packet of interagency memos and an enthralling volume of departmental budgets. I believe that the 1939 Idaho session laws are as enjoyable a read as Harry Potter. And I mean that as a compliment to J.K. Rowling.
Generous government employee benefits deserve review
November 01, 2009 | posted by Wayne Hoffman inThis week, part-time state government employees begin taking on a bigger responsibility for their health insurance costs, a move that I've said before makes sense for the folks paying the bill – the taxpayers.
But the problem with the ongoing dispute over whether part-time state employees should pay higher premiums than their full-time peers is this: it's just a fraction of the discussion state lawmakers should be having.
Idaho taxpayers finance political parties
October 25, 2009 | posted by Wayne Hoffman inEach spring, the mysterious being we call Taxman plays the part of the Tooth Fairy. Taxman says if I put a little check mark next to the political party or parties of our choice on my state tax form, the political organization I have selected will miraculously get a dollar.
"This won't increase your tax or decrease your refund," Taxman informs me. Huh. It won't cost me anything, and yet they'll get a dollar. I wonder how that works. Much the same way my son and daughter find a dollar under their pillows after they lose a tooth, I guess: magic.
Hoffman: Government health insurance will mean higher taxes for all Idahoans
August 16, 2009 | posted by Wayne Hoffman inI've lost 40 pounds since January, but I gained a pound back this week. I couldn't resist a second helping of fudge brownies. And I haven't been exercising. I'm sorry. I'll try harder next week.
You care about my corpulence because you're going to be paying for me when we're all on government health care. Whether you're rich or poor, everyone in Idaho will be paying higher taxes to cover more people on public assistance as soon as next July.
