Nampa, Moscow part ways on property tax increases

By Wayne Hoffman | President

The Tin Ear of the Year award has to, without question, go to the Moscow City Council, for having voted recently to force a massive tax increase on the property owners of that town in the middle of an equally massive debate about how to keep Idaho’s rising property taxes from pricing people out of their homes.

Rising pension costs contribute to higher property taxes

By Wayne Hoffman | President

Idahoans fed up with skyrocketing property taxes hope state lawmakers will step in and offer relief. But raising the homeowner’s exemption, which reduces the taxable value of owner-occupied residences, is not the answer and never has been. Raising the exemption only shifts the rising tax burden from homeowners to other types of properties, including commercial real estate and rentals. This has a downstream impact on the cost of food, clothing, housing, cars, and so on.

Common Core hearings scheduled, a chance to undo bad policy

By Wayne Hoffman | President

Some long-overdue public hearings and discussions regarding Idaho’s education standards are coming your way. Hundreds of Idahoans asked the State Board of Education to open a discussion on Idaho’s decision, nine years ago, to adopt Common Core. (Though revised a bit in 2017, much of the troublesome standards remains). As a result, the petitioners got their wish.

BSU’s diversity agenda doesn’t work in the corporate world

By Fred Birnbaum | Vice President

In a recent commentary, former BSU President Bob Kustra attempted to deflect scrutiny from the university’s radical diversity agenda by comparing it to corporate diversity programs.

Neo-segregation is real, and it is wrong for Idaho

By Wayne Hoffman | President

The Post Register would have its readers believe there’s nothing controversial about “diversity” programs at Idaho’s public colleges and universities. Actually, they are controversial. Quite so. So much so that the National Association of Scholars has a name for these types of programs: neo-segregation. The president of the NAS, Peter Wood, says neo-segregation “is a disguised form of political oppression.”

Lawmakers have a duty to oversee public institutions

By Fred Birnbaum | Vice President

Boise State University is going in the wrong direction.

Instead of prioritizing academic excellence and achievement above all else, the BSU elites have decided to implement a radical social justice agenda that won’t lead to anywhere good.

Campus segregation programs raise many questions that deserve answers

By Wayne Hoffman | President

Writing recently in the National Review, Peter N. Kirsanow, an attorney and member of the U.S. Commission on Human Rights, calls for an end to segregationist activities on college campuses across the country. He notes that they have done nothing to reduce the student achievement gap and have increased racial resentment.

Legislature has a key role in diversity debate

By Wayne Hoffman | President

Idaho House Majority Leader Mike Moyle recently told a crowd in Twin Falls that the Legislature should address divisive programs on state college campuses. His comments are significant not just because he’s a key member of legislative leadership, but because this isn’t Moyle’s first rodeo. Unlike his colleagues, Moyle was on deck nearly two decades ago when lawmakers confronted another state agency that went rogue.

Are Idaho colleges and universities adequately funded?

By Fred Birnbaum | Vice President

Earlier this month, Idaho’s 21 legislative Democrats signed a letter to BSU President Marlene Tromp to voice support for BSU’s diversity and inclusion agenda. Their letter also addressed higher education’s funding with the following statement:

“Because of the legislature’s neglect, tuition costs are rising… While some Majority legislators don’t see the need to effectively fund higher education, our educational leaders, like you, continue to demonstrate creativity in the quest to keep college affordable.”

BSU leaders suggest Ehardt letter was 'painful' for students

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director

If civil discourse in this country isn’t dead or on life support, it’s almost certainly doodling in an adult coloring book while cowering in a safe space. 

We experience the ugliness of overheated rhetoric everywhere: It’s on the news, where talking heads scream at one another and never actually discuss anything. It’s on social media, where otherwise rational, thoughtful people spend hours arguing with strangers. It’s in our homes, where politics can break apart valuable relationships.