Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Fruit is Ripe, but...


... the market just won't support the picking.

Many times we refer to legislation as being like fruit, it's either ripe and ready to harvest (pass) or it's just "not ripe" (good idea, but not quite ready yet). We have a very different case this legislative session, the "fruit is ripe, but the economic conditions don't warrant or support the picking."

I believe most House members feel a good case has been made for more funding of some type to ensure proper maintenance and preservation of our transportation investment needs to be done. The issue, is and has been, that we are in a recession (close to depression) where raising taxes is just not a prudent move for the folks trying to make ends meet and recover. We must consider the residents of Idaho before we consider increasing funding state government with their money.

The House has respected each and every VETO the Governor has presented us on bills that we (both the House and Senate) thought were in the best interest of the State. We would expect the same respect for our votes, based on the input from our constituents on new gas taxes.

We all know that the need is there, we also know that our folks are telling us that now is just not the time. We have done our best to reflect the desires of the majority of the folks we represent, now it's time to finish the business of the State and quit spending the people's money for no reason other than political posturing. We see no reason to continue down a road with no end, as the Governor has spoken with his stamp, so has the House with their votes on fuel taxes. It's time to move on and consider alternatives.

We worked hard and long today to ensure we provided the Senate and the Governor with everything they need to wrap up this session. We have provided alternatives, some in the bills we've sent to the Senate that are either still pending or that we sent today for transportation. Does it reach the bar the Governor set? No, and we all know that... sometimes you just have to accept the fact that even though you believe the fruit is ripe, it just might not be a good season to pick.

The House has completed the work required for operation of the State during the worst economy since WWII. We believe spending anymore of the people's money to keep us here for taxes that we all just can't agree upon would be a waste of their hard earned money. We've decided it's time to move on instead of trying to pick fruit that just won't sell.

Your thoughts?

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