Eye On Boise

Allred faults Otter for ‘irrational pessimism’

Feb. 5, 2010 2:08 p.m. • 6 comments

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keith Allred slammed GOP Gov. Butch Otter today for what he called his “irrational pessimism and recklessness,” saying that in two weeks of travel around the state, he’s heard concerns from people across the political spectrum over Otter’s proposed budget cuts to schools, Idaho Public Television and state parks. You can read Allred’s full release here; I’m awaiting a response from the Otter campaign, but as of 7:30 p.m. Boise time, still haven’t heard back.

Six comments on this post so far. Add yours!

IdahoDemocrat on February 05 at 3:49 p.m.
Sounds like a fringe, longshot candidate in Allred just trying to make noise and get attention. Highly doubt Governor Otter and the Idaho GOP will dignify the baseless comments with a response….As a side note, what is the status of the IRS investigation into Keith Allred we heard about in December?
Sisyphus on February 05 at 4:20 p.m.
Well well well, this will be fun. Otter has minions in the tubes. And they’re using duplicitous pseudonyms instead of dignity for a response, perhaps to cover their lack of a substantive one. Instead they’re already starting a smear campaign. That’s pretty desperate. And we’ve only just begun.

Hey IdahoDemocrat, if that’s your real name, ;-), here’s some questions pertinent to the race. How many budget proposals has Otter sponsored that’ve already been shot down? How does he justify cutting the Human Rights Commission in a state with a reputation as a home for white supremacists? Did his decision to cut the Parks Department have anything to do with his proposal to sell of Idaho land when he was a congressman?
Hereford on February 05 at 9:36 p.m.
Professor Allred’s candidacy is quickly turning into a pathetic joke. IRRATIONAL PESSIMISM? We’re in the worst economic slowdown since the Great Depression. IRRATIONAL PESSIMISM? We haven’t seen unemployment this bad in Idaho for 30 years. IRRATIONAL PESSIMISM? The bottom has been falling out of the state budget and this year we lack the significant reserves and federal stimulus money to protect education and vital state services.

Eventually, Professor Allred is going to have to answer the question “You don’t want these cuts, so where do we get the money to save these services? What taxes do we raise?”

We all pray the economy improves. But if we budget on sunshine and rainbows and get clouds and showers, then we’re all stuck in the mud trying to dig ourselves out of a deeper hole in the middle of the fiscal year.
homedog on February 06 at 8:43 a.m.
People hate this type of negative campaigning. We don’t care what Allred thinks of or what he’s supposedly hearing about Otter. Any candidate can blather on about how bad the other guy is; true leaders offer alternatives that resonate. We care about what Allred is supposed to do for Idaho and right now, he is pretty light on the subject.
duckster1 on February 06 at 2:42 p.m.
Hereford and Homedog. Here’s a solution that is anethma for some unknown reason. Look at raising the sales tax a penny or two. Provide a sunset provision. This is the fairest way to spread the pain. Consumption is a choice and those that can afford it are not going to forego a purchase for an extra few dollars tacked on in the form of extra sales tax.

While I’m at it—here’s a couple of pet peeves of mine.

1) Jim Risch’s property tax relief passed a few years ago during a special session did nothing but benefit property owners (himself and others in government and me too) at the expense of renters and the public schools. That was one self serving boondoggle. Word out there is that the schools would be okay now, but for this slight of hand. I for one would be happy to go back to the old taxing scheme to support the needs of public education.

2) Public school employees should participate in the pain felt by other government employees. I work for a state agency that has mandated 70 hours of non paid furlough time through this fiscal year with more in the offing for fiscal 2011. How about the teachers take some of those “in service” days (which one former teacher decribed as fix the bulletin board days) and take them as unpaid furlough days. After all, it’s only fair.

3) Explain to me why Gov. Otter and Sen. McGee needed to spend $70K of as they like to say “the people’s money” on ribbon cutting ceremonies for highway projects and hire an outside consultant to orchestrate the “bread and circuses” to boot.
Makes Pam Lowe’s lawsuit look meritorious to me. Incidently, why has the State hired outside counsel at two to three times the price instead of using the attorneys in the Attorney General’s Office who command far less compensation than partners in large firms.

4) Finally, a couple of blasts from the past. Former Rev. and Tax chairman Dolores Crow pushing to return a surplus “to the people”. I got $30 and boy the State sure could have used all the $30’s sent out then if they would have put it in a rainey day fund. In case no one’s noticed, it’s raining. I will say that my wife and I sure did enjoy that dinner at Applebee’s back then.

The other is back in the late ‘90’s. The legislature voted a one per cent increase for state personnel. Gov. Batt held the money in anticipation of a flood on the Weiser river. Guess what—neither the flood nor the pay raise ever materialized. Go figure.
BobEly on February 08 at 9:05 a.m.
I am basically an independent, as I am fiscally conservative and socially conservative. I find myself in a quandary about what to cut/tax. There are, however, a few things that it seems to me we could do.

We could decrease the size of the underground economy by legalizing marijuana, gambling and prostitution and taxing them (I fail to see the difference between these victimless “crimes” and smoking and alcohol consumption). Decriminalization would lead to less jail time, which would free up prison/jail space for real criminals; thus, we wouldn’t need to pay for more jails/prisons and would need fewer people to staff them.

Go to year-round schools. No business leaves their buildings essentially empty for a quarter of the year, nor do they have employees working for only 190 days a year. We are no longer an agrarian economy, which was the rationale back in the 1700’s.

Lastly, let’s forbid anyone feeding at the public trough from unionizing. Pay public employees at levels approximating the private sector, taking into account fringe benefits. Lower, significantly, public sector managers’ salaries. These have gotten way out of hand and need to be reined in.