There’s gotta be a joke that fits this occasion, but I can’t come up with it. Maybe I will.
The Idaho Republican Legislature is not a punch line. It’s a simple fact. Nobody’s laughing. But we voters keep returning these jokers to the statehouse. Maybe us voters are the joke.
Six years ago, when the proposal came before the Idaho legislature to cap the homeowner exemption, there was good testimony that predicted where property taxes would be right now. A retired expert on taxes made some good graphs and analysis of the proposed law. He told the lawmakers that homeowners property taxes would start to climb, and commercial property taxpayers’ taxes would level off. And his analysis didn’t include dramatically rising home values. It just included a steady increase. So even if things had stayed the same, the local property tax burden was going to shift to homeowners. Well, home values did climb. In some places they have doubled in this short six years. Now, it seems, Idaho Republican legislators have decided there is a problem with property taxes. And they can’t seem to find the right solution.
Every Idaho Democratic legislator voted against this proposal six years ago. Less than a dozen Republican legislators joined them. I remember the Assistant Senate Majority Leader (now the Senate Pro Tem) even acknowledging in his debate there might be “some shift” in the coming years. But he argued this change was good for “business”. I guess not your or my business. Somebody got a break on this shenanigan, and it wasn’t Joe Homeowner. But Joe Homeowner probably votes Republican.
So now, with many suggestions brought up to fix these skyrocketing property taxes, the Idaho Republican legislature can’t seem to find the solution. It’s not hidden. Why can’t they see it? It’s pretty obvious.
Okay, here’s the joke. I walk out to my old bicycle outside the Capitol to pedal home in the dark. Billy Republican is wandering around looking at the ground. “Can I help you?” I asked.
“I dropped my keys, and I can’t find them.” Billy says.
“Let me help” I say. After some minutes I can’t find anything either and I ask him. “Where did you drop them?”
“Over there”, he gestures to a darkened sidewalk.
“Why are we looking here?” I’m perplexed.
“The light is better over here.” Billy admits.
It’s hard to admit you made a mistake. It can seem very dark and foreboding to fess up. I have always found it a learning experience, not something to be avoided. I’ve made lots of mistakes in my life, in my votes, in my diagnoses, in my relationships. Admitting mistakes is a sign of character, not weakness. Even in a politician, though all the experts tell politicians to never make such a confession. They think we want to vote for infallible representatives. There is no such thing.
The Idaho Republican legislature made a mistake six years ago and we, the voters, have been paying the burden ever since. Property taxes have driven some fixed income elderly from their homes.
It’s past time when the Idaho Republican legislature should have fixed this. So now they are wringing their hands and scratching their heads about a solution. Solutions have been brought up for the past three years. They don’t get a hearing. I guess the Idaho Republican legislative leadership just wants to look in the comfort of a well-lit hallway and not really find the keys they say they lost.
In this case, Idaho Republican legislators did not lose anything. They voted for this mess. Now they need to admit they made a mistake and man up to choose the simple solution. It’s in plain sight.