Policy

The Pay Raise Fire Hose is Wide Open

By Fred Birnbaum

February 14, 2025

Late last week, after several failed attempts, the Legislature’s Joint Finance Appropriation Committee (JFAC) set the state employee pay raise. Rather than a strict percentage, the pay raise, known as the Change in Employee Compensation (CEC), provides a $1.05 to $1.55 per hour increase range for most state employees, with $1.55 roughly equaling a 5% […]

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Idaho’s Proposed Social Studies Standards Embrace CRT

By Samuel T. Lair

February 11, 2025

The Idaho Legislature will soon decide whether to approve the newly revised K-12 social studies standards (Standards) developed by the State Department of Education (SDE) over the past year. Last session, the Legislature adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 116, directing the SDE to create standards that emphasize the history of Western civilization, provide a factual history […]

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Of Course We Can Afford More Tax Cuts

By Fred Birnbaum

February 4, 2025

Three tax-cut bills — four, if you include an education tax credit bill — are before the Idaho Legislature. And yes, they are all affordable. A Little History Over the past five years, ongoing and one-time tax cuts have reduced the tax take by $4.6 billion, of which about $930 million is ongoing. However, it […]

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Is the Governor’s Office Funneling Taxpayer Dollars into an Anti-School Choice Nonprofit?

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

January 31, 2025

Conservatives who watched Governor Brad Little’s 2025 State of the State address on January 6 were underwhelmed by his “promises made, promises kept,” to say the least — particularly regarding school choice. A large section of his speech focused on education in Idaho, but he explained that his priority, “first and foremost [is] our public […]

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Property Taxes Are Extortion

By Ronald M. Nate, Ph.D.

January 28, 2025

“It’s a nice home you have here…” In the movies, it’s called “extortion” — pay us what we require, and nobody gets hurt. But, when the government does the same thing regarding you and your home, it’s called a “property tax.” Nobody truly owns their home when the government demands taxes be paid on it […]

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CRT 2.0

By Samuel T. Lair

January 27, 2025

This article was originally published in The American Mind, a publication of the Claremont Institute In states across the country, left-wing academics and major educational establishments are hijacking the review process for K-12 history and civics curricula. Educators and radicals, in league with one another, are conspiring to turn students against America’s traditional cultural and […]

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Immigration Enforcement: Where the Federal Government Failed, Idaho Can Succeed

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

January 24, 2025

What if someone broke into your house last night, but when you called the police, they were too busy or didn’t care enough to send officers to deal with your situation? You still have the right to protect yourself and your family by kicking the intruder out of your house, even if force is required, […]

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House Concurrent Resolution 4 on Legislative Pay Misses the Mark

By Fred Birnbaum

January 21, 2025

The Idaho Senate voted to reject the 22% raise with Senate Concurrent Resolution 101. For the record the Idaho Freedom Foundation has not opposed a pay raise for legislators. We have stated that the 22% raise was simply too large. Unfortunately, the House response has been to suggest that legislators who believe they are overcompensated […]

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Now It’s Judicial Pay Raises: The Snowball Effect

By Ronald M. Nate, Ph.D.

January 20, 2025

Well, we called it. In the past few weeks, key members of the Idaho judiciary wrote a letter, and Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Bevan spoke to the Legislature about the “need” for dramatic increases of 27% to 31% in judicial salaries. Here is what their proposed increases look like: These are outrageous pay […]

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Bannock County Returns Misspent Funds to the State, but Is That Enough?

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

January 17, 2025

As the adage goes, “Where there is smoke, there is fire.” This appears to ring true regarding the misappropriation of public funds between Idaho State University (ISU) and Bannock County. Since the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s last article on the misuse of public funds, ISU has requested that Bannock County return the remaining balance, which they […]

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Sources and Uses of Idaho’s Taxpayer Dollars

By Fred Birnbaum

January 15, 2025

If you’re a state and local taxpayer, have you wondered where your money goes — your income tax, sales tax and property tax dollars? Let’s examine a chart developed by the Legislative Services Office and updated annually. DISCLAIMER: In our review of the budgets, the buckets depicting expenditures on the bottom row do not align […]

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Idaho’s State Spending Briefly Explained

By Fred Birnbaum

January 10, 2025

The Idaho Freedom Foundation has written extensively about Idaho’s budget, and will continue to do so. Numbers and financial analyses can be difficult for people to understand who don’t focus on it. Let’s discuss some of the basics. Let’s start with a few terms from the glossary of the Legislative Budget Book. General Funds “consists […]

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Policy

The Pay Raise Fire Hose is Wide Open

Idaho’s Proposed Social Studies Standards Embrace CRT

Of Course We Can Afford More Tax Cuts

Is the Governor’s Office Funneling Taxpayer Dollars into an Anti-School Choice Nonprofit?

Property Taxes Are Extortion

CRT 2.0

Immigration Enforcement: Where the Federal Government Failed, Idaho Can Succeed

House Concurrent Resolution 4 on Legislative Pay Misses the Mark

Now It’s Judicial Pay Raises: The Snowball Effect

Bannock County Returns Misspent Funds to the State, but Is That Enough?

Sources and Uses of Idaho’s Taxpayer Dollars

Idaho’s State Spending Briefly Explained

Latest Research

Idaho Freedom Index

Policy

The Pay Raise Fire Hose is Wide Open

Idaho’s Proposed Social Studies Standards Embrace CRT

Of Course We Can Afford More Tax Cuts

Is the Governor’s Office Funneling Taxpayer Dollars into an Anti-School Choice Nonprofit?

Property Taxes Are Extortion

CRT 2.0

Immigration Enforcement: Where the Federal Government Failed, Idaho Can Succeed

House Concurrent Resolution 4 on Legislative Pay Misses the Mark

Now It’s Judicial Pay Raises: The Snowball Effect

Bannock County Returns Misspent Funds to the State, but Is That Enough?

Sources and Uses of Idaho’s Taxpayer Dollars

Idaho’s State Spending Briefly Explained

Latest Research

Idaho Freedom Index

Request your printed copies of the Idaho Freedom Index mailed to you!