Idaho's Lawmakers Face a Self-Made Mess

Idaho's lawmakers are in a tough spot. They are dealing with a big budget problem. But this time, it's not because of the economy. It's because of their own choices. They cut taxes a lot. This was done even when the governor thought it might not be a good idea. Now, the state is short on money. They have a $40 million deficit right now. And they are $555. 2 million short for next year's budget. This is not new. Over the past five years, Idaho's lawmakers have cut income taxes by a total of $4 billion. This means the state has less money every year.In the past, when there was a budget problem, lawmakers raised taxes temporarily. This helped until the economy got better. But not this time. This deficit was made during good economic times. The easy solution would be to reverse the tax cuts. They could also use the $1. 4 billion in rainy day funds. But it's unlikely they will do this. They might not want to admit they made a mistake. There are other things they should not do. They should not cut taxes even more. They should not repeal Medicaid expansion. This would hurt many people and the state's economy. They should not take money from public schools to give to private ones. And they should not cut public school budgets. Idaho already spends less on schools than it did 20 years ago.