Those of us of a certain age remember the old anti-war song, most famously sung by the lefty folk rock band, Peter, Paul and Mary: “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” The song tells the story of the cycle of life, with the flowers ending up on military graves. Remember, this was during the Vietnam War. It got me thinking, are we in an equivalent crisis now?

Perhaps. No, we are not witnessing napalm raining fire down from the skies, but we are witnessing a spending bomb that is currently exploding, and it's global. 

As we commented last week on Governor Brad Little’s 3% holdback, which applied to only 20% of the state’s overall budget, it may reflect an overreaction to one month’s revenue shortfall. On the other hand, however, it came after years of double-digit spending growth.

Let’s be clear, this is not just an Idaho problem, even though Idaho was in a better position to avoid the spending binge. It’s not even just a U.S. problem. It is a global problem. Here are some headlines from a compendium of headlines collected by the National Conference of State Legislatures: 

• Funding Cuts in Big Beautiful Bill Prompt Georgia Governor to Order State Spending Freeze
• Pennsylvania House Moves New Budget Plan, but State Spending Deal Remains Elusive
• Nebraska Ends Fiscal Year $86M Short on Expected Tax Revenues
• Kentucky Revenue Up Less Than 1% for the Year as Sales, Income Taxes Come in Below Expectations
• Analysis: Indiana Budget Drops Spending 7%—With Cuts ‘Telling’ 
• Michigan School Funding in Limbo as State Budget Negotiations Continue
• Colorado Lawmakers Tap Reserve, End Tax Breaks to Fill Budget Gap
• Arizona Faces Potential Government Shutdown as Gov. Hobbs Threatens to Veto House's ‘Skinny Budget’ 

These headlines come from both red and blue states. We didn’t even mention California, which seems to perpetually have budget problems. 

But there is more. Across the pond, in France, the government is on the verge of collapsing due to the debt crisis, with a recent poll showing that barely more than 10% of the population is confident that the Prime Minister can tackle France’s problems. And recently, Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, said that “the welfare state that we have today can no longer be financed with what we produce in the economy.” We might point out that the U.S. federal budget had a higher deficit-to-Gross Domestic Product percentage in 2024 than either Germany or France did. 

Folks, it is a spending problem. European countries tax their citizens at higher rates than the U.S., and other states tax their citizens at higher rates than Idaho (and some at lower rates, too). But as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said, “[Y]ou eventually run out of other people’s money.”

It is time to cut spending at all levels of government in Idaho, including the state, counties, and cities. We can’t tax our way out of a spending problem.