Dorothy Moon, IDGOP Chairwoman
February 3, 2023
On Tuesday evening, President Biden gave his State of the Union address to a joint-session of Congress. In it, Biden declared war on limited government and fiscal responsibility.
President Biden repeated his calls for trillions of dollars of new federal programs, including free community college and subsidies for wind farms and so-called “green” energy.
To pay for his massive increase in government spending, President Biden promised to raise taxes on high earners (essentially any household earning more than $100,000 a year) and some corporations, especially in the oil and gas industry.
These promises for more spending, more programs, and more control over the economy come as President Biden has already established himself to be a record-spender. Despite campaigning as a moderate, President Biden has dramatically accelerated federal spending during his time in office. Official estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show that, since January 2021, legislation signed by President Biden has set a record $3.38 trillion in new spending.
To counteract the Democrat Party’s aggressive moves to grow government and spend more money backed by Chinese collateral, “Red” states need to provide a responsible alternative.
For example, Governor Ron DeSantis, the Republican Governor of Florida, recently announced a $2 billion tax relief plan that will give families a tax holiday on things like diapers, groceries, energy costs, and commuting expenses. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the Republican Governor of Arkansas who delivered the Republican response to President Biden’s address, signed executive orders freezing new government regulations and preventing teachers’ unions from indoctrinating Arkansas’ schoolchildren.
Unfortunately, here in Idaho we are moving in the wrong direction. Just this week our Republican governor used Democrat votes to enact a massive expansion of unaccountable government spending. Governor Little’s $102 million “Launch Act”—which further grows the reach of unaccountable bureaucrats, this time at the Idaho Workforce Council—follows his $410 million spending spree on teacher union priorities last year.
Instead of advancing legislation that protects Idaho families from ideological bureaucrats or wasteful spending on liberal policy priorities, like the pro-freedom governors in Florida and Arkansas, Idaho seems to be replicating the playbook of national Democrats: hide the growth of unaccountable government by spending more money that properly belongs to the people.
Idaho families have real concerns about the rising costs at the supermarket and the ideological projects targeting the wellbeing of children. Republican governors in Florida, Arkansas, South Dakota, and Tennessee are proving that you can tackle hard problems without copying and pasting Democrat policies.
To counteract the spending spree coming from Washington, D.C., the hardworking men and women of Idaho need Republican leaders who resist the growth of government and return power — and your tax dollars — back to the hardworking men and women that make Idaho strong. It’s been said before but Idaho needs less Joe Biden and more Ron DeSantis.
