Business
We Are In Midst Of Economic Civil War
February 26, 2010 
The Daily Paper’s print edition has competing headlines on the front page today that offer a prophetic sign of the times.
“SOME EDUCATORS GET RAISES IN IDAHO” screams the bold type on the left. The message to the right is “FURLOUGHS COMING TO U of I” .
Bottom line in good stories by Statesman reporters Brian Murphy and Bill Roberts is $22 million in raises for public school teachers and layoffs for U of I educators.
Versions of this juxtaposition hit us daily:
- Economy is improving, but unemployment rate rises.
- If you run a good business and DON’T layoff staff, your unemployment insurance rate doubles.
- Financial institutions are on verge of collapse, but employees get huge bonuses.
- Taxes are cut, but billions in “stimulus funds” are doled out.
- Give us F-35s in Boise, “screw ‘em in Texas.”
- We battle Portland and Tucson for trolley money in Boise, while folks in Boise don’t even want the trolley.
- Change the state constitution and urban renewal laws to “attract business” that will help the economy, but do it on the backs of people whose voting rights are eliminated.
- Health care costs more, but folks have less money to pay for it.
The list goes on and it makes no sense. The point is, we Americans and Idahoans and Boiseans are being pitted against each other. The uncommon enemy is US!
We fear the nation is as divided as it was at the end of the Vietnam War.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Feb 26, 2010, 11:26 am
HB 567 is the “new and improved” Urban renewal law before the legislature. The onerous part is section 50-2012 where they strip away any and all voting rights along with subsection (f) where we can’t challenge them in any court of law for what they want to do with our tax dollars.
This law was written by UR agency lawyers and lobby people, for UR agencies and the people who get to pay can go to hell. This law will allow more deals than ever to be made in the rooms none of us ever get to visit.
I made a simple request to sit in on the meetings to hear about this as it was getting written and was told NO!
UR agencies in Idaho are out of control and desperately need voter approvals and oversight.
We need to get back to basics where they ask and we approve. Bond elections by cities for big buck projects have become a thing of the past with the powers granted to Urban Renewal agencies.
Feb 26, 2010, 1:16 pm
It’s more like “We HATE the feds, but give us the money and jobs.
Feb 26, 2010, 2:19 pm
Amen to both of you! What we need is a law to ABOLISH UR agencies and return to a simpler form of government as intended in the Constitution with cities, counties, states and the nation accountable to voters not to Goliaths and Czars. “We the people” still mean something in this country. I know that sounds naive, but what the heck, nothing else is working.
Feb 26, 2010, 3:06 pm
After watching most of the health care “summit” yesterday, it became painfully clear why those in D.C. don’t want this stuff on TV. What a complete waste of taxpayer dollars and time! These people are so arrogant and pompous, they defy reason. I am smelling “tax-revolt” here. Whether it is here in Boise, on a state level, or nationally, enough is enough! I can’t believe the conservative control of the Idaho legislature would consider this UR garbage but in today’s atmosphere, who knows?
Feb 26, 2010, 5:20 pm
It is all politics on both sides of the fence. The politicians are only worried about re-election. This trumps any and all leadership. We simply need to take this problem on and require sensible election laws and election finance rules.
Senator Bunner R. from Kentucky just threw out an extension for Fed. unemployment. Hope the Tea Party unemployed like this. Hey,how come the Tea Party never talks about farm welfare?
And yes, G-man I’d say this country is about as divided as the days during the Vietnam war.
Feb 26, 2010, 10:08 pm
Yep nothing new here. History tells this tale many times. We are no different and no smarter. Happy the so called smart people are noticing the stupidity that has been so easy to see for decades now. Sorry they’ve had to lose the job and house before they pulled head out. Very worried about voter fraud and super smart people doing what’s best for us with Chicagoland in charge of the country and many state and local governments too.
PS: This is not a pro Republican statement. They lie too.
Feb 26, 2010, 11:11 pm
Does Boise Have home rule, or the General Assembly still running the show?
Feb 27, 2010, 9:54 am
Vote the bums out!
2 Terms get em out of there!
Feb 27, 2010, 10:28 am
My concern is that those we elect totally disregard what the voters want as soon as they are elected. It is like they get elected and that is a free pass to do as they please, especially if they have a 4 year term. They really don’t even pay attention to anything until re-election time then it is just “saying” what the think they need to say to get elected because no one even checks their previous record.
The problem is not only the elected officials that turn their backs on the the voters it is the voters who elect these folks without knowing who or what they are and then vote based only on sound bites. It is time for the voters to wake up.
Feb 27, 2010, 1:07 pm
Something you didn’t put in the article: The government is growing fast. Average government wage is more than 70K, which is 30K above the private sector average. The true middle class is almost gone. Expect many new and creative taxes on the lower-middle and sub-middle class to feed the growing top-heavy, wage-fat government bloat. The best part is about half of this country is so stupid they think this is good and will keep on voting for more.
EDITOR NOTE– Zippo, you will get nailed on the “average wage” date. You need to come up with the MEDIAN wage. In the general population the average may be many millions of dollars. If Bill Gates makes $100 billion and low end workers make $10,000, the average is somewhere around $50 billion…the statement is inflammatory and not really accurate.
Feb 27, 2010, 3:53 pm
Good Point, Thanks.
The overall point I wanted to make is the growing disparity between the typical worker and their government employee neighbor who is for the most part not feeling the heat. It is becoming of the government and for the government. They will run out of money too at some point, but not before taking whatever they can from whoever they can. I think that is the real economic battle in this nation, rather than state vs. state etc.
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2009/08/24/federal-pay-continues-rapid-ascent/
EDITOR NOTE– Can’t argue that while society has a 10% unemployment rate, local government like Boise has “furloughed” only about 8 of the 1500 or so city employees. There have been retirements that were not replaced, but very few layoffs.
Feb 27, 2010, 4:12 pm
And let’s not forget that giant sucking sound Ross Perot was talking about some years ago, aka Globalization. We were the richest nation on earth; this is what happens when you spread the wealth. We also damaged ourselves with over-reaction guilt trips like GlobalWarming. I’ve not heard a peep out of AlGore since the truth started to seep out.
I have great hope, we have a great opportunity; we need great leadership, but seem to have none. Just more of the same.