Bryan Fischer: We Don't Want To Be Stimulated

Now that President Obama has officially signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law and Idaho Governor Butch Otter has signed an executive order creating a "stimulus executive committee" (members to be appointed whose job it will be to make recommendations on what to do with Idaho's share), lately there's been little talk of anything but stimulus.

Today's broadcast of "Zeb at the Ranch" was no different, with Bryan Fischer of the Idaho Values Alliance joining Zeb Bell to talk about, what else, but the stimulus package, among other things.  Despite being "the third-most stressed state economically," Fischer's suggestion is that Idaho should refuse to be stimulated.

Bryan Fischer:  Well, one thing, I would like to see, uh, Idaho's lawmakers turn down this stimulus money.  You know the Legislature right now has even suspended a number of committee hearings to wait and see how much money the federal government is gonna promise them, but I will guarantee you that this money is gonna come with strings.

Zeb Bell:  Uh-hum.

Fischer:  And one of the things that Idaho citizens could do right now is simply be [sic] to contact their representatives and say, "Look don't take the stimulus money.  This money is gonna come with strings from D.C.  We don't want bureaucrats in D. C. telling us how to run our schools," and that sort of thing and urge them to just politely, uh, decline.

You know, I know the education money for instance comes with strings attached that Idaho can take the money as long as they promise not to layoff any teachers or reduce any teacher salaries.  And the education committees were just right on the cusp of some fairly dramatic and long overdue educational reforms and all that got put on hold when this offer of this kind of free money from D.C.—I mean, it's not free, obviously; our kids and grand-kids are gonna have to pay for it.  But when this offer of this money, uh, came, it kind of short-circuited all that process of budgetary reform.  And so that's one place to begin.

The arguments surrounding education budget cuts are varied but Fischer may be one of the few, if not the only one, at the Capitol Annex publicly cheering these budget cuts as "long overdue."  Even the House Education Committee chairman Rep. Bob Nonini (R-Coeur d’Alene), (making news today for appearing to strong-arm new Lieutenant Governor Brad Little over State Board of Education appointments), when introducing controversial legislation affecting teacher contracts and pay, recognized that the proposal isn't ideal or pleasant. 

"This is not fun stuff … but we’re in a crisis," Nonini told the committee. "The other thing we are accomplishing in this legislation is not to have teachers lose their jobs."

And when later relaying to the committee Idaho's estimated share of the education stimulus money, Nonini called it "good news."  [Find info on the estimated state by state funding distribution from the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee and a discussion of what the numbers mean here and here.]

That Fischer would prefer to see Idaho teachers taking pay cuts or, apparently, out of work rather than accept federal stimulus money under the pretext that "bureaucrats in D.C." would be telling us how to run our schools is a ludicrous failure of both compassion and logic.

Not only would teacher pay cuts and layoffs add to the growing number of Idaho families who find themselves struggling to make ends meet (meanwhile telling Idaho kids who find themselves in overcrowded, crumbling classrooms to just suck it up); regardless whether or not Idaho actually takes a dime of stimulus money, you can bet that come April 15th, every single Idaho taxpayer will still be paying the same tax rates that every other taxpayer in every other state in the union will undoubtedly be paying.

Idahoans won't be getting the special "you-didn't-take-the-stimulus" rates.  And with statistics like these:

• food stamp participation up 24.2 percent,
• home foreclosure rate the 10th-highest in the country,
• December's unemployment rate up nearly 4 percent from December 2007,

Idahoans can little afford to pay for the stimulus other states will be enjoying while politely saying, "Thanks, but no thanks."

What does the IVA, an entity that doesn't pay any taxes, have against Idaho taxpayers anyway?  Idaho family values indeed.

Comments

[ThomG]

"I mean, it's not free, obviously; our kids and grand-kids are gonna have to pay for it."

Where was Bryan with this complaint when the Bush Administration was spending Hundreds of Billions of Dollars prosecuting an Optional War in Iraq? Billions for War but not a Dime for Education, what kind of family value is that?

[legion]

Yeah, 'cause when Bush's people handed out hundreds of billions of dollars with no strings attached - to their buddies in the banking industry - that worked out _so_ well... so well that we need a f*ck-ton more bailout, apparently...

And on that note, what exactly does Bryan think happens with the money the fed feeds states _every year_ via gov't programs? Since when does _that_ not come with strings? Oh, that's right - it's money from Obama now, rather than Bush, so it must be tainted somehow. If Bryan thinks it's so great to go without federal money & worry about the possibility of a broken state budget and massive state layoffs, he can just look at what a colossal failure California is today.

[Sisyphus]

Taking it to the infidel is the Christian way Thommy. God will provide for education if that is his will.

[Tom von Alten]

Yes, we should just tell those blasted Feds to keep all their money. Up until this stimulus package, Idaho was proud and free, utterly independent of the federal government.

What a comedy!