Policy

Week in Review: Stopping Idaho's Spending Spree

By Brett Farruggia

November 22, 2025

The Idaho state budget is out of control, and it is the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s duty to the citizens of this state to fight big government spending wherever and whenever possible. Even after accounting for the governor’s three percent holdback, agencies have still requested $14.5 billion for government operations in fiscal year 2027. This is […]

TAGS: fiscal deficit, FY2027 budget request, government spending, Idaho budget, Idaho legislature, IFF spending plan, Medicaid expansion repeal, pre-COVID spending, property tax reduction, tax burden relief, taxpayer relief, unconstitutional programs, wasteful spending cuts

Ending Bureaucratic Excess in Idaho

By Brett Farruggia

November 21, 2025

It’s no exaggeration to say that Idaho taxpayers spend millions of dollars every single day on wasteful and sometimes unconstitutional state-run programs. The Idaho Freedom Foundation’s (IFF) goal is to find and eliminate as many of these programs as possible. To this end, the IFF has submitted recommendations on wasteful spending to the state-level DOGE […]

TAGS: bureaucratic savings, DEI ideology, DOGE Task Force, entrenched interests, government consolidation, Hispanic Commission, Idaho budget analysis, Idaho Digital Learning Academy, Idaho government waste, IDLA, IFF recommendations, Launch program, Library Commission, State Literacy Intervention Program, taxpayer savings, unconstitutional programs

How to get Idaho’s State Spending Back on Track

By Fred Birnbaum

November 20, 2025

Sometimes, events suggest action. At other times, they require action. As has been widely reported and we have written about, Idaho’s state government faces a growing deficit for the upcoming fiscal year based on current revenue projections. We did not have to get to this point. Had spending restraints been built into the budget process, […]

TAGS: FY2027 budget., Idaho budget deficit, Idaho budget growth, Idaho Fiscal Policy, Idaho government spending, JFAC, Launch program cuts, Medicaid expansion repeal, pre-COVID spending, Property Tax Elimination, spending restraint, state appropriations, taxpayer tolerance

Departments Aren’t Banks – Nor Legislatures

By Brett Farruggia

November 19, 2025

Did you know that many Idaho government agencies are sitting on hundreds of millions of your tax dollars with no obligations or direction on how to spend them? Single departments are sitting on cash balances large enough to cover the State of Idaho’s so-called deficit, itself a symptom of government excess. Money just sitting there, […]

TAGS: agency stockpiling funds, bureaucratic excess, capital project funds, government slush fund, government waste, Idaho Code 67-3516, Idaho Department of Water Resources, Idaho government spending, Idaho legislature, Idaho Permanent Building Fund, Idaho state budget, Idaho tax dollars, Idaho tax policy, Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, legislative appropriations, Rep. Rod Furniss, reversion of funds, state financial management, unobligated funds, unspent money

Repealing Medicaid Expansion Is the Right Move for Idaho

By Fred Birnbaum

November 18, 2025

The term cognitive dissonance is applied to people who hold two conflicting beliefs in their heads at the same time. In no other public policy is this more apparent than how Idaho has handled the topic of Medicaid expansion to able-bodied adults in Idaho. Let’s provide some details: Right out of the gate, in its […]

TAGS: able-bodied adults Medicaid, cognitive dissonance public policy, federal deficit spending, Governor Brad Little, Idaho budget deficit, Idaho Freedom Foundation view, Idaho healthcare spending, Idaho Medicaid expansion, Medicaid costs Idaho, Medicaid savings Idaho, One Big Beautiful Bill Act, repeal Medicaid expansion, rising Medicaid program costs, rural healthcare funding Idaho, unsustainable government spending

Obamacare’s Policy Failures Come To Idaho

By Fred Birnbaum

November 4, 2025

As the shutdown of the federal government extends beyond 30 days, the key reasons become apparent: it is about healthcare costs and who pays them. The debate over temporarily expanded healthcare premium subsidies and Medicaid eligibility is really about who pays what. You see, the notion that the Affordable Care Act (often referred to as […]

TAGS: Affordable Care Act, federal deficit, GLP-1 drugs, government shutdown, H443, health insurance premiums, healthcare costs, House Bill 443, Idaho healthcare, Idaho legislature, Idaho spending, Medicaid eligibility, medical cost inflation, Obamacare, public school funding, school district health insurance, state budget, state employee health insurance, state health plan, taxpayer burden

Week in Review: Everything Should Be Smaller in Taxes

By Ronald M. Nate, Ph.D.

November 1, 2025

That’s right, the title says “Taxes,” not “Texas.” Even in Idaho, taxes are out of control. Please enjoy — if that’s the right word — this mini-series on Idaho taxes. But, before you read, one word of reminder: high taxes are merely the symptom of the true disease: out-of-control government spending. This symptom inflicts real […]

TAGS:

Income: You Earned It, You Should Keep It

By Ronald M. Nate, Ph.D.

October 31, 2025

Income Taxes: We have options Are you getting the idea that the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) thinks government takes too much in taxes? Good, let’s keep going. By applying our 2026 Freedom and Family Agenda’s strong position on tax cuts, we have proposed eliminating the sales tax on groceries and have offered a plan to […]

TAGS: Economic Growth Incentives, Eliminate Income Tax, Fiscal Year 2026, Flat Income Tax, grocery tax, HB 40, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho Income Tax, Idaho tax policy, Idaho Tax Reform, IFF, Lower Taxes Idaho, Mississippi Income Tax, Property Tax Elimination, Sales Tax on Groceries, State Income Tax, tax cuts, Tax Reduction, Tax Statistics

Zero Property Tax Would Be a Good Look

By Ronald M. Nate, Ph.D.

October 30, 2025

Nose hair is offensive. A tax on property is like the nose hair of public policy. There may not be a more offensive tax – well, maybe a tax on breathable air, but let’s not give big government any ideas. Here are the three most nose hair-ish things about the property tax: Good news! We […]

TAGS: Home Ownership, House Bill 292, House Bill 521, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho tax policy, Local Government Funding, Property Rights, Property Tax, Real Estate Tax, School District Funding, Tax Elimination, tax reform, Taxation as Rent, Unrealized Gains Tax, Zero Property Tax

Repeal the Grocery Tax Already

By Ronald M. Nate, Ph.D.

October 29, 2025

Beginning in 1965, Idaho has had a sales tax on all consumer goods, including groceries. Since then, a “food tax credit” has been created and increased several times to offset the burden of paying sales taxes on groceries. The tax-and-credit system is flawed in many ways, and Idaho taxpayers are hurt by it in equally […]

TAGS: axe the tax on groceries, citizen initiative Idaho, food tax credit Idaho, grocery tax unfair, Idaho budget surplus, Idaho grocery tax repeal, Idaho politics and taxes, Idaho property tax reform, Idaho sales tax on food, Idaho tax policy reform, repeal grocery tax initiative, sales tax on groceries impact, state grocery taxes comparison, tax-and-credit system flaws, taxing necessities

It Is Time to Tackle Idaho’s Public Spending Addiction

By Fred Birnbaum

October 15, 2025

Idaho officials are addicted. The standard dictionary definition of addiction is “a strong inclination to do, use, or indulge in something repeatedly,” and there is nothing that matches this description more than the Idaho state government’s inability to curb the growth of spending. Mind you, it is not just Idaho. The shutdown of the federal […]

TAGS: budget deficit, budget holdback, fiscal responsibility, Fiscal Year 2026, Fiscal Year 2027, FY26 budget, FY27 budget, government spending, Idaho, Idaho budget, Idaho General Fund, Idaho legislature, Idaho politics, Idaho tax policy, Legislative Council, Medicaid spending, public school spending, rainy day fund, revenue shortfall, spending cuts, state budget crisis, state employee benefits, state healthcare costs

Political Targeting? The Valley School District’s Purported Vendetta Against Levy Opponents

By Rachel Hazelip, M.A.P.P.

October 14, 2025

Nothing says small-town charm quite like political retaliation. On one side, we have the Valley School District #262 trying to pass a $600,000 levy in the May 2025 election. On the other is a local farmer who dared to oppose it. When the levy failed by a mere seven votes, things escalated quickly. Cue a […]

TAGS: Campaign Finance Complaint, Civic Engagement Fear, Dean Dimond, Idaho Code Title 33, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho School Levy, Jerome County, local government, Local Government Overreach, Political Retaliation, Public Records Request, School Board Election, School District Accountability, School Funding Transparency, Small-Town Politics, Sunshine Law Violation, Superintendent Ty Jones, Supplemental Levy Failure, Taxpayer Funds Misuse, Valley School District, Voter Intimidation

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Policy

Week in Review: Stopping Idaho's Spending Spree

Ending Bureaucratic Excess in Idaho

How to get Idaho’s State Spending Back on Track

Departments Aren’t Banks – Nor Legislatures

Repealing Medicaid Expansion Is the Right Move for Idaho

Obamacare’s Policy Failures Come To Idaho

Week in Review: Everything Should Be Smaller in Taxes

Income: You Earned It, You Should Keep It

Zero Property Tax Would Be a Good Look

Repeal the Grocery Tax Already

It Is Time to Tackle Idaho’s Public Spending Addiction

Political Targeting? The Valley School District’s Purported Vendetta Against Levy Opponents

Latest Research

Idaho Freedom Index

Policy

Week in Review: Stopping Idaho's Spending Spree

Ending Bureaucratic Excess in Idaho

How to get Idaho’s State Spending Back on Track

Departments Aren’t Banks – Nor Legislatures

Repealing Medicaid Expansion Is the Right Move for Idaho

Obamacare’s Policy Failures Come To Idaho

Week in Review: Everything Should Be Smaller in Taxes

Income: You Earned It, You Should Keep It

Zero Property Tax Would Be a Good Look

Repeal the Grocery Tax Already

It Is Time to Tackle Idaho’s Public Spending Addiction

Political Targeting? The Valley School District’s Purported Vendetta Against Levy Opponents

Latest Research

Idaho Freedom Index

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