Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on how eight North Idaho lawmakers helped lead an unsuccessful move in the House today to boot 17,000 unemployed Idaho workers off their federal extended unemployment benefits - a  move that would have cost those workers $65 million in benefits in the next nine months. "If we continue this, all we are going to do is enable," said Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens. "We're out of money. ... At some point we have to stand up and say, 'That's enough.'" Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, said, "I think we would be better off to get people back to work, try to get the economy flowing. If we keep giving 'em money, that isn't going to happen." He added, "We need to back away from the federal government's money."

Rep. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, told the House, "We're incentivizing people to do the wrong thing. We have an opportunity to stop that incentive." He said, "In my opinion, it's time to lead the horse away from the trough and make 'em go to work."