OPINION: Idaho’s MAGA warriors will be running amok in the 2026 legislative session
Idaho MAGA warriors are giving off troubling vibes as the state heads into the 2026 legislative session. With all signs indicating a severe shortage of revenue to fulfill the needs of critical state programs, they have been sharpening their knives to cut to the bone. They seem to be blind to the fact that there are two ways of balancing a budget. When I worked for Senator Len Jordan in the early 1970s, he told me the Republican philosophy for balancing a budget: decide the funding needs of essential programs and then raise sufficient revenue to fulfill those needs. That’s how Jordan operated as Idaho’s Governor in the early 1950s and during his ten years in the U.S. Senate.
Governor Little is now faced with a budget deficit this year, but the words “tax increase” do not seem to be in his vocabulary. He only speaks of spending cuts. The revenue shortfall should not be a surprise. Last year, Little happily signed a bill granting $400 million in tax cuts that favored the wealthy, despite the fact that it was $300 million more than he had proposed. At that time, he expressed concerns about future years and the effect of expected federal spending cuts but simply disregarded those concerns.
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