News RoundUp: Feb 21-23
Your Semi-Weekly recap of top news stories impacting Idaho voters
World War III?
President Biden made a surprise trip to Ukraine showing support for the Zelensky regime amidst a cozying of Russia relations with China. Biden echoed VP Kamala Harris’ speech calling Putin a war criminal and that he and others would be held accountable. Apparently in response, Putin pulled out of the New START Treaty signaling that strategic nuclear weapons are not ruled out as part of the escalating conflict.
The events caused increased talk of World War III on social media where some compared it to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Trump released a video on the matter saying that we are dangerously close to something we should not even be talking about - a nuclear war.
Cost of ESA Bill Scrutinized
The Education Savings Account bill (S1038) states the fiscal impact will be $45 million in year 1 and cover 6600 students.
The Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy (ICFP) issued a report projecting costs to be $358 million in year 2, almost 10 times the bill’s estimate.
Mountain States Policy center responded to that with their own analysis (headline link) that questions the ICFP enrollment projections as not consistent with existing states who have adopted ESAs.
Finally, the Idaho Freedom Foundation posted another critical analysis of the ICFP report from EdChoice, an education choice research group.
The overall budget for public education support as requested by the Governor is 3.5 billion of a $14 billion budget overall.
Legislation Roundup
Green highlights indicate change from prior week. Three ESG bills were introduced this week which will be covered as they move forward. Two property tax bills were introduced that will also be tracked. The Idaho Voter doesn’t track all bills, just those that are controversial or of high interest and they will not appear on the above list until they pass the first committee.
Idaho Property Values - Good News and Bad News
Congratulations homeowners, your home value has increased 16.3% over the past five years, one of the highest in the nation. Unfortunately, your property tax has increased as well. While Idahoans can exempt 50% of the market value of their house, that is currently capped at $125,000 and increases have gone beyond that. Many homeowners have been or will be priced out of their homes.
This explains a recent BSU study showing that property tax relief is high on the public wish list. There are a few bills addressing property taxes in the Senate (1107 and 1111) and probably more coming but as yet, none have passed beyond committee.
Food Supply Data - Meat and Poultry
With inflation in the headlines, concern over the nation’s food supply has been heightened. The linked article discusses USDA grants intended for independent meat packers. One recipient is Riverbend Meats in Idaho Falls who will receive a $25m grant.
Overall, the four largest meatpacking companies (Tyson, JBS, Cargill and the National Beef Packing Company) control 85% of the beef market and 55% of the poultry market.