Policy

Idaho Lands in Idaho Hands

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

November 29, 2025

Is Idaho your “adopted” state? If so, why did you move here? Most people list Idaho’s relatively conservative culture, smaller population, and access to public lands among their answers. Idaho is a state renowned for its vast landscapes, rugged mountains, abundant natural resources, and accessible outdoor recreation; however, we have one of the highest percentages […]

TAGS: BLM, Craters of the Moon, federal land ownership, federalism, Founding Fathers, housing development, Idaho public lands, Idaho resources, IFF land control, land management, land sales, land transfer, public land concentration, recreational land, state control, state sovereignty, U.S. Forest Service, Utah Sen. Mike Lee

Guarding the Guard: Federal vs. State Power

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

November 26, 2025

The operative word in Idaho National Guard is Idaho. In a time of geopolitical uncertainty and unpredictable decision-making at the federal level, Idaho has a responsibility to ensure its Guard remains under Idaho’s leadership — guided by the priorities of its people rather than the ever-shifting impulses of Washington D.C. Do you know the last […]

TAGS: 2026 legislation, Article I Section 8 Clause 11, congressional war powers, constitutional authority, declare war, Defend the Guard Act, federal overreach, Global War on Terror, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho National Guard, Idaho politics, IFF, limited federal power, military deployment, National Guard deployment, political advocacy, state sovereignty, states' rights, Tenth Amendment, US foreign policy

Idaho's Federal Funding Comes With Strings Attached

By Brett Farruggia

November 25, 2025

Federal dollars allocated to the state can often feel like free money, but there is no such thing as a free lunch. Something cannot come from nothing. In Fiscal Year 2025 — the last year with available data — the federal government accounted for 37.2% of the state’s total budget. This adds up to over […]

TAGS: ARPA funds, Budget mismanagement, COVID-19 relief funds, Federal funding Idaho, Federal funds depletion, Federal reliance, Federal tax dollars, Fiscal sustainability, General Fund obligations, Government spending Idaho, Idaho budget, Idaho conservative policy, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho State budget deficit, Idaho state code, IFF agenda, State autonomy, State government leverage, Strings attached funding

Idaho Freedom Foundation to Hold Budget Press Conference

By Idaho Freedom Foundation staff

November 24, 2025

BOISE, ID – (November 24, 2025) – The Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) today announced it will host a press conference to present a comprehensive Conservative Budget Plan designed to bring unprecedented efficiency and accountability to the Idaho state government. Idaho's state leadership has failed to control spending and manage the budget, leading the state toward […]

TAGS: bureaucratic waste, conservative budget plan, fiscal deficit, fiscal discipline, government spending, Idaho budget, Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idaho Legislature 2026, Idaho politics, IFF, Medicaid expansion repeal, Property Tax Elimination, reckless spending, Ron Nate, tax cuts

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 […]

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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

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Policy

Idaho Lands in Idaho Hands

Guarding the Guard: Federal vs. State Power

Idaho's Federal Funding Comes With Strings Attached

Idaho Freedom Foundation to Hold Budget Press Conference

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

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