Idahoans can barely afford to put food on the table.
The basic necessity items at the grocery store, such as eggs, milk, and vegetables, have skyrocketed in price. Our monthly food budget has passed our mortgage payment and utility bills combined.
With billions of surplus taxes being raked in by Idaho’s government, Little and other moderate Republicans have concocted a plan to give graduating students “free” money for an education that they hope will lead to in-demand jobs being filled.
The bill is known as the “Idaho Launch Scholarship,” or HB 24.
Under the scholarship, EVERY Idahoan who graduates high school and wants to enter into a trade program or a college degree that leads to a path for an in-demand job, like welding, plumbing, or electrical work, will receive a MINIMUM of $8,500.
So, while Idahoans can’t pay their mortgages, utility bills, car loans, or buy the necessary food for their families, Little wants to dish out at least $8,500 to high school graduates in hopes that they actually complete their schooling. There’s nothing wrong with going into an in-demand job, and I would argue it’s far more critical than a liberal degree which leads nowhere, but this isn’t their money.
I don’t know about other Idahoans, but I could use $8,500 of my money back from the government to provide for my family.
The bill is so anti-liberty that it received a -6 rating from the Idaho Freedom Foundation. In my years of watching IFF’s ratings, rarely have I seen many bills go lower than that.
Let’s be honest: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would be proud of the socialist handout Little and other Republicans in the legislature are trying to accomplish with HB 24.
This is just another program in a long line of Republican-proposed big government programs in a legislature that should cut government spending, not creating new government spending.
Again, let me reiterate that in-demand jobs are crucial to Idaho’s economy, and more emphasis should be put on those jobs than the many meaningless degrees put forward by the university money pits. But right now, Idahoans need to have all of the tax surplus given back to them, not doled out like a Venezuelan socialist government.
HB 24 has already cleared the Idaho House Education Committee, and is now waiting for a full vote in the Idaho House. Be sure to contact your two House members today and tell them to oppose HB 24!
CHICKEN LITTLE WILL GIVE FREE COLLEGE TUITION TO PEOPLE WHO DO NOT EARN IT BUT NOT GIVE IDAHO’S K-12 STUDENTS THE SCHOOL CHOICE THEY DEMAND???? CHICKEN LITTLE WASTING MORE TAXPAYER DOLLARS FOR NOTHING!!!!
Do Idahoans “monthly food budget has passed our mortgage payment and utility bills combined”? Hard to believe that rhetoric. Basics have gotten less affordable/more expensive/ just like other in other inflationary times. Republicans have had their hands in those policies too. Many youngsters need assistance to attend post high school educational institutions. Let’s budge for this. Let’s not budget Gov. Little’s requests. Let’s play hardball with the budget and who gets what and when.