Idaho Lt. Gov. Brad Little says he’s hearing a lot of anger from Idahoans across the state. “For the last five or six months, I’ve been all over Idaho, I’ve been to nearly every county, and I’ll tell you, they’re mad – they’re mad about the federal government,” he told the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho conference today. “Particularly in the rural areas, there’s quite a bit of hostility out there.” Issues making Idahoans mad include the federal debt, gridlock and partisan bickering, he said.

Of the new budget deal in Congress, he said, “It’s a little bit of a relief to hear that we’re not going to go off one more fiscal cliff. … At least they got something done, right, wrong or indifferent.”

Idahoans are a little more amenable to their state and local governments, Little said, but, “We have to work a little bit harder because of that animosity that exists out there.”

Little was the luncheon keynote speaker at the conference today. He praised the governor’s education stakeholders task force recommendations as “a laudable road map,” and said it speaks well “that there is bipartisan support for it, and it is very broad-based.” Little said in his view, if Idaho focuses on a strong workforce, robust infrastructure, a regulatory environment conducive to growth and a “fair and competitive tax system with a strong balance sheet,” the state will succeed. “We’ll be the preferred place for prosperity for this generation and generations to come.”