Little: ‘Let us wrest control from the federal government and return it to the people’
Idaho Lt. Gov. Brad Little told hundreds of legislators, lobbyists, state and local government officials and others are gathered at the annual conference of the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho today that he believes the nation is at a turning point. “The American public has spoken. The federal government is broke, overgrown and too cumbersome,” Little declared. “We must take this opportunity to demand more federalism.” Little said it’s time to shift more power from the federal government to the states and the people.
A new administration in Washington, D.C. will bring big changes, Little said. “These changes will provide Idaho with perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said. “I would expect the federal agencies to have, shall we say, better hearing and understanding of the issues facing Idaho, whether they be lands issues, Department of Justice, Department of Interior, USDA, timber supply, and of course education, the Department of Labor and the IRS. There’s going to be changes in all those agencies and it’s going to affect taxpayers and citizens all over Idaho.”
With the new Trump Administration promising “significant tax reform and spending adjustments,” Little said, impacts will ripple across Idaho’s state and local government, its businesses, its revenues and its taxpayers.
Little, the lead-off speaker at today’s ATI conference, which traditionally serves as a run-up to the Idaho legislative session, noted that today’s session is the 70th annual conference the group has held. “We’re at a turning point in America,” he said. “All three branches in the federal government now can change direction and delegate more power to the states and to the people, and less to the federal government. With this great opportunity comes great responsibility.”
“I ask you, the taxpayers of Idaho, let us wrest control from the federal government and return it to the state and the people,” Little said. “We must be bold in seizing control so our children and our grandchildren can stay and prosper on these great lands in Idaho for decades to come, and be here for the 140th celebration of the Associated Taxpayers.”
Little already has announced that he’s running for governor in 2018. So has former state Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian.
