January 17, 2024
Let the Spending Begin!
By: Senator Christy Zito
The legislature is in session, and spending of your tax dollars has begun.
I support our teachers who work in the classroom every day to teach our children the basics of reading, writing, and math. Spending as much time with our babies as they do is a serious responsibility not to be taken lightly. Our children deserve consistency in their learning, and parents deserve to know what their children are learning.
I support our law enforcement and first responders; I am grateful for their hard work. Times have certainly changed, and the profession is not what it was 20 years ago. I appreciate everyone who would choose to enter that line of work.
It’s important to recognize that our legislative spending system is a process starting every year with bureaucratic agencies asking, the Governor recommending, and finally, the legislature passing spending bills.
The teacher in the classroom, an individual first responder on the street, and the taxpayer have little to do with this process.
How much money is too much?
Does the money you spend go to those in the classroom to teach reading, writing, and math? Does the money go to the officers and first responders working in our communities? Do you know where the money goes?
The most important element in this budgeting process is the fiduciary responsibility of those who make the spending decisions (the legislators) to those who pay the bill. YOU THE TAXPAYER.
We are not adhering to the Idaho Constitution and running a balanced budget, with just over 43% of our state budget being federal debt dollars. The bottom line on paper may reflect that our budget is balanced. However, as citizens of this state, we are lying to ourselves to accept that our budget is balanced when those federal tax dollars are borrowed money.
The legislature must hold the executive branch accountable for their proposed spending. It’s not the legislature’s job to rubber stamp every budget submitted, and it’s quite the opposite.
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH SAYING NO.
Your legislator is your voice, your only voice in the process. When your chosen representative votes against a funding bill, that does not mean they don’t support the men and women doing the work; it means they see a problem in the budget. In Idaho, we do not have line-item vetoes on budgets; it is all or nothing.
This is your hard-earned money; we must know where it’s spent and why. As individuals, we must watch our budgets; we save for the future and spend accordingly.
Will you believe the latest smear campaign against a legislator responsibly spending your money, or will you look hard at the facts?
Whatever choice you make matters; choose wisely.
