February 11, 2026
Hard Truths About Idaho’s Budget:
Time to Return to Fiscal Sanity and Constitutional Principles
Five weeks into the 2026 legislative session, the focus remains on the budget—and the hard reality that we’ve been spending borrowed federal dollars we don’t have. As a member of the Gang of Eight, here’s why structural reform is essential now more than ever.
In our homes, we know we must budget below our income to build a cushion for tough times. The same principle should apply to how we handle taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars.
Since 2021, Congress and the president have funneled billions into state budgets through pass-through funds, grants, and other appropriations. You get the idea.
The most egregious part? This isn’t “real” money. We the People are $38,000,000,000,000 (38 trillion) in national debt. That’s money future generations will pay back—with interest.
Now, with the Big Beautiful Bill, times are changing. Many COVID-era handouts are ending. For five years, federally funded programs have propped up spending levels that Idaho taxpayers simply cannot sustain on their own.
It grieves my heart to hear how lives are being affected. I have dear friends who will feel the results of this shift firsthand—and it’s painful to witness.
A year ago, we—the Gang of Eight—made a budget pledge to our constituents and all Idaho citizens. We committed to voting on budgets in a way that would have saved the state close to ONE BILLION DOLLARS, while leaving every bureaucratic agency whole. That approach would have prepared Idaho for the cuts and economic changes we’re facing today.
This year, the Gang of Eight has renewed a similar pledge. We face hard economic times, driven in part by a broader shift in societal values and a fading understanding of basic constitutional principles.
Let’s go back to the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”
The “pursuit of Happiness” is not a guarantee that the government has a duty to create our happiness or provide everything we think will make us happy.
No.
The Declaration provides that we have the opportunity to pursue our own happiness—free from the heavy hand of government overreach. Yet we’ve grown into a society that increasingly sees government as the answer to every problem, where someone “owes” us something.
This mindset has fueled unsustainable spending. It’s time to reset: live within our means, honor the consent of the governed, and protect taxpayers from endless debt.
As your senator, I remain committed to fiscal responsibility, limited government, and the principles that made Idaho—and America—strong. The road ahead won’t be easy, but it’s the right one.
What are your thoughts? Have federal funds masked deeper issues in our state budget? Share in the comments below—I read them all.
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Thank you for reading.
God bless,
Senator Christy Zito
District 8
