Tough Questions-Straight Answers
by Senator Brent Hill
During this unique and challenging legislative session, my family and close friends have watched me struggle with difficult issues. They have posed a number of pointed questions that deserve some straight answers. Many Idaho citizens, no doubt, have similar concerns, so I thought I would share my responses with all of you.
Q: Why is this legislative session lasting so long?
A: There are a number of reasons, but most significant is Republicans hate raising taxes. And for that, we should be grateful. I believe our first responsibility is to control government spending. We owe it to the people who will pay extra taxes to exhaust every alternative. As a member of the Legislature's budget-writing committee, I have been relentless in my quest to reduce expenditures. Agencies and programs have seen substantial cuts the past two years and next year will bring even more reductions.
Q: Can't we just cut more fat in state government?
A: Our legislature has been very conservative in allocating budgets and we have not made a habit of allocating "fat" that can now be cut. To presume that all excess has been eliminated would be naïve. We must continue to exercise fiscal conservatism, but three months ago I warned that anyone who tells you we can avoid injuring our children's education, the safety of our citizens, and the stability of our communities without raising revenues has not crunched the numbers.
Q: I thought Republicans didn't believe in taxes.
A: We believe in limiting the powers of government, but we do believe in government. Taxes are the price we pay to preserve, protect and defend our government and the people it represents. Abraham Lincoln was also accused by some of his colleagues of being un-Republican when he signed the first income tax law in 1861.
Q: How can you increase taxes when it goes against everything you believe in?
A: Believe me, if there were another way out, I'd take it, but I also believe the investment we make in education is an investment in the economic and social well-being of this state. I believe the public safety and health of our citizens is essential if we are going to preserve the opportunities that a free society should provide. Freedom has a price---sometimes it is paid with lives, sometimes with service, sometimes with taxes.
Q: But people have had to tighten their belts, why shouldn't the state have to do the same?
A: It should and it has. We have cut state spending by $200 million-over ten percent of the total budget. A statewide hiring freeze was enacted and those state employees whose jobs have not been eliminated have not seen raises in two years. We have cancelled construction projects and postponed building repairs. The problem is, businesses can cut back when demand for their products or services declines. But, when the economy slows, demand for public services rises. Unemployment, job training, education, Medicaid, health and welfare services all face increased demands.
Q: The federal government is cutting taxes during this recession, why doesn't Idaho do the same?
A: Idaho is required to balance its budget each year. States cannot spend more than they collect in tax receipts. We cannot borrow funds or print our own money to cover deficits like the federal government can. Idaho simply must raise taxes or cut major programs such as education, public health, drug courts and corrections. It is true that you cannot tax your way out of a recession, but you cannot cut your way to educational excellence either. We can postpone many things, but my granddaughter cannot postpone first grade.
Q: Why does public education always get what it wants?
A: It is true that public education has always received an increase in appropriations and was untouched by Governor Kempthorne's holdbacks this year, but we are a long way from over-indulging our schools. Our school districts are still among the most frugal in the nation. The Idaho Republican Party platform recognizes that "the future of this great state lies in the quality of education it provides for its citizens." Public and higher education will always be a priority of the Idaho legislature because only a well-educated society can thrive, economically and politically.
Q: Why do you keep doing this?
A: The democratic process is often slow and sometimes frustrating as we have seen this session, but it is the best system of government on this earth. In a year that required both massive budget cuts and a tax increase, no one is very happy. There are many critics and detractors, but to stand firm for what you believe is right is its own reward. After a very difficult first term, Abraham Lincoln began his second term in office with this statement: "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right."