The results of Oregon's special election to actually raise taxes on those people who can most afford to pay them is a breath of fresh air! Here's a link to a story in the Oregonian: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/01/voters_pass_tax_measures_by_bi.html
This shows us that a growing number of people are finally waking up to the fact that you can't have good services provided by your state government unless you're willing to pay for them. And the truth is, many Americans are willing to pay for them, they just think that others should help shoulder the burden. For too many years the low and middle income earners in Idaho have been paying far more than their fair share of taxes, and big business, big landowners (farmers), and wealthy people get all the breaks.
While there's no doubt that Idaho voters are different than Oregon voters, and passing any kind of a tax hike in Idaho could be fatal for legislators in an election year when so many of them are up for re-election, here's hoping they will at least act like grown-ups. Is it too much to hope that all of our state legislators will do what's best not only for state employees, but for the citizens themselves? There is a bigger demand for state services now than there ever has been. More Idahoans are unemployed and need retraining. Is this the time to keep cutting funds for our colleges and universities? More unemployed Idahoans than ever are applying for food stamps and other assistance. Is this the time to cut Health and Welfare? More young families than ever will rely on state parks for their family's camping vacations. Is this the time to cut Parks and Rec?
Here's hoping our own state legislators will realize that they MUST start looking at the revenue side of the budget equation. We can't meet the needs of Idahoans by spending cuts alone. We MUST find a way to bring in more money. Here's for passing Rep. Shirley Ringo's temporary surtax on those Idahoans who make more than $125,000. Here's for eliminating some of the big tax exemptions given to large companies like Micron. Do we need to keep giving companies like Micron tax exemptions when they continue to ship jobs overseas and lay off more Idahoans?
Here's for state legislators who are willing to make the hard decisions even if they do face difficult reelection campaigns. It would be nice to see more idealism (working for the greater good) rather than more ideology in our state legislature.
