December 30, 2024
New Year
New Courage, New Motivation!!
By: Idaho Dist. 24 State Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld
Happy New Year to all! As we step into the New Year, I am preparing to begin the 68th Legislative Session on January 6th, starting with Governor Little’s State of the State address. (The time hasn’t been posted yet, but last year it was at 1 PM.) This address will provide valuable insights into his priorities for the year ahead.
This year, I will have a full schedule as I take on responsibilities with two significant committees. I will serve on the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC), which meets every morning, Monday through Friday, at 8 AM, and the Health and Welfare Committee, meeting Monday through Thursday at 3 PM.
If you’re interested in following our work, you can listen in on our committee meetings through the Legislative website. The more informed you are, the better equipped you’ll be to hold your elected officials accountable.
As we enter the New Year, I’m filled with confidence and determination to bring you meaningful tax relief. I’ll be reintroducing the 2022-H448 bill with updated dates. This is a team effort, and you are an essential part of it—like the Seahawks’ 12th man. I need you to stay vocal and involved.
I’m optimistic that leadership shares my drive to provide relief during these challenging times of inflation. Frankly, I can’t imagine them denying Idahoans this much-needed support. One concern raised is that grocery stores might increase prices if we remove the 6% tax. However, I’ve demonstrated that Idaho’s grocery prices are already identical to Oregon’s, where no such tax exists. In a competitive market, stores are driven to keep prices low to attract consumers. The only entity profiting from the grocery tax is the government.
I encourage you to write your legislators and ask them to co-sponsor the grocery tax repeal bill I’ve drafted. Together, we can secure the relief Idahoans deserve.
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Another goal this year is to identify and eliminate waste in our $13.9 billion Idaho State Budget. As a member of JFAC, I’m hopeful I can shine a light on inefficiencies and work toward meaningful cuts. However, with 20 members on the committee, achieving consensus for significant reductions will require a collective effort. This will not be an easy task, but I remain optimistic that we can move toward an Idaho Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by its citizens. Some of the work has already been started for you. Read full article HERE
To be effective, our approach will need to be bold—think Milton Friedman bold. I recently read an article where Friedman was asked to give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on the 14 cabinet-level departments, and his uncompromising perspective was clear.
Now, 14 is a lot for television, so I just want to go right down the list quickly and have you give me a thumbs up or a thumbs down, keep them or abolish them,” Robinson said.
Department of Agriculture: “Abolish,” Friedman said.
Yes No
Department of Commerce: “Abolish,”
Friedman said.
Department of Defense: “Keep.”
Department of Education: “Abolish.”
Department of Energy: “Abolish,” although Friedman said he would “accept that energy ties in with the military.”
“Well, then we shove it under defense,” Robinson said.
Department of Health and Human Services: “There is use for some public health activities to prevent contagion[s]” and the like, he said.
“So you keep the National Institutes of Health, say, and the Center for Disease Control,” Robinson said. No, Friedman wouldn’t: “Those are mostly a research agency. No, no, that’s a question about whether the government should be involved in financing research, and the answer is no.”
However, the answer isn’t easy due to contagions and other such matters, so Robinson said “We’ll eliminate half the Department of Health and Human Services.” This, Friedman agreed to.
Department of Housing and Urban Development: “Out.”
“Oh, didn’t even pause over that one,” Robinson said, as Friedman smiled.
“But Housing and Urban Development has done an enormous amount of harm,” Friedman said, insisting to pause a little bit. “My God! If you think of the way in which they’ve destroyed parts of cities under the rubric of eliminating slums.”
Are you excited for the DOGE to begin working?
Read full article HERE
That level of clarity and determination is what it will take to make a real impact. It will not be popular, but I wasn’t sent to the legislature to be popular. I can already see the headlines: “Senator Zuiderveld Wants to Defund Everything.” Standing up and fighting for taxpayers comes at a cost, and I am willing to take the arrows for it.
I’m already being told that I must vote “yes” on appropriations and that my Idaho Freedom Foundation spending score will plummet if I don’t. Yes, appropriations need to be passed—that is our main job as legislators. However, we can and should pass appropriations with significant decreases. Small cuts aren’t good enough for my constituents; I want to see a substantial 20% reduction.
Some Milton Friedman quotes:
“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.”
“Inflation is taxation without legislation.”
”When government – in pursuit of good intentions – tries to rearrange the economy, legislate morality, or help special interests, the cost come in inefficiency, lack of motivation, and loss of freedom. Government should be a referee, not an active player.”
“We have a system that increasingly taxes work and subsidizes nonwork.”
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I am looking forward to 2025, with God all things are possible, He is my Protector and Provider.
