The Time to Cut the Fat is Now 
By: Senator Carl Crabtree and Senator Jeff Agenbroad
Idaho is flourishing; let’s keep it that way by keeping state government small and cutting the fat from our budget. The Gem State is leading the nation in employment and wage growth, but just because we have the money, doesn’t mean we need to spend it. Let’s rein in spending just like we’re already reining in onerous government regulations. We need to govern with a steady hand and hold the line on spending in these good times, so we have a funding cushion when the economy dips. The best way to do that is by changing the way state agencies budget, so we can cut ineffective and inefficient programs.
Idaho has made headlines across the nation recently for its massive cuts to burdensome regulations. We applaud Governor Brad Little’s drastic cuts to these needless rules, as he leads Idaho into an era of common sense state government. But, we can do better. Regulations are only part of the story. 
Let’s extend our regulation cutting philosophy to our state’s finances. Just like we have done with our rules, we need to review the programs we fund to eliminate those that are outdated and ineffective. That’s just smart money management. We understand we can’t run our government exactly like a business, but we can and should run parts of it like a business. One of those parts is our state’s financial management. It’s called fiscal accountability.
Fiscal accountability in state government starts with the budgeting process. Here’s how it works… In Idaho, the 187 state agencies submit their budgets to the Governor’s office in the fall of each year. He reviews them and makes his own budget recommendations. In January of each year, the agencies’ requests and the Governor’s recommendations are presented to the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC) for the committee’s consideration. After reviewing the agencies’ requests, JFAC often makes changes before it passes a budget bill for each agency to receive further consideration by both bodies of the legislature and ultimately the Governor. 
We serve on the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) in the Idaho Legislature. The members of JFAC work very hard to address the State’s funding needs in a thoughtful and disciplined manner. One of our main goals is to eliminate spending that doesn’t give Idahoans the results you deserve. The best way to accomplish that is by state agencies budgeting like businesses. After reviewing hundreds of agency budgets over the last three years, we can tell you most agencies do not budget like businesses. That has to change. They must make an honest assessment of their programs. If the programs aren’t getting results for Idaho’s taxpayers, their funding has to be reallocated to programs that are. If we need to find funding for a new program, we should first look for ineffective programs we can eliminate to pay for it. It’s a big change that can mean big savings for Idaho. 
Let’s be more disciplined in how we spend your money. Let’s lower the cost of government, without sacrificing the quality of services you deserve.  There is no better time than now to cut the fat and thoughtfully fund our state’s growth. 

Thankful for the Ways of the Self-Reliant 
Difficult sickness affected our family this spring.  I am thankful to family, friends and neighbors and anonymous neighbors who have chosen self-reliance in their lives, despite obstacles, that allowed them the freedom to help if or when called.  After 42 days in the hospital and several medical visits for the ensuing 4+ months, their assistance allowed me to work at times, maintain some independence, and give nursing care.  I hardly slept for the first 50 days.  Then, with help of friends I felt strongly I was losing my health and I made adjustments.    This past month I’ve experienced some refreshing sleep again, due to improvements in recovery, but essentially due to friends and neighbors who have shared time and resources since life flight. Without their self-reliant ways and skills, which allowed them to participate at different times and in different ways, I would not have been able to do recovery at home from surgery for such a procedure has required 24/7 care for the past 5 months.  It also helped me to avoid application for ‘government’ philanthropy which could have become a 1 million dollar tax burden on neighbors.   Prior to life flight, Tina and I agreed that we wanted to avoid that situation….it is better that men and women are not in bondage to each other.  To freely give or assist versus to be made to participate due to confiscatory collections is the difference between freedom and slavery.   I would say that self-reliant people are a liberated people, and when doing good, a Godly people.  
Scott Perrin
Cottonwood

Redneck Review!
No. 235 - 10/28/2019
Time to move on!  The "Pied Piper" claims made recently seem to be fading out, as TV and local papers last week failed to provided us with any significant new reasons to believe that our planet is heading to disaster because of warming, nor is it looking like another ice age is on the horizon as a reader might believe after reading John Casey's book DARK WINTER! (O yeah, an "oops" here! RNR #233 incorrectly called his book COLD WINTER, instead of the correct title, DARK WINTER!)    So maybe it would be wise to just wait and see!
But I for one, do not worry about "global warming"  for several reasons!  My big reason is that older  Red Necks like myself are convinced a loving Creator God is in charge, and would not give us ample fossil fuels if their use was destructive!  Especially after being told before that they would be exhausted by 2000 if we somehow would not reduce or eliminate their use! My how their claim has changed! And as has been claimed here several times in the past,  if a resource is available to eat, to provide warmth, or to power equipment,  why not use it?
And what about the "Noggin Nugget" quoted at length in review 39 back on Jan 15 in 2015? Just a couple of quick quotes here from that disastrous sounding long paragraph!  "The Artic Ocean is warming up...icebergs are growing scarcer...seals are finding the water too hot...scarcely any ice as far north as 81 degrees...great masses of ice have been replaced by earth and stones... well known glaciers have entirely disappeared...in a few years... the ice melt will cause a sea rise that make most coast cities uninhabitable."   Then a "whoops!" was added, with an apology!  An exact quote follows: "I neglected to mention that this report dated Nov 2, 1922, was reported by the AP and published in the Washington Post - 93 years ago!"
So does it not make common sense to avoid drastic new political directions which would very seriously change our enviable life styles , and at the same time give huge new grants of power to a growing national government which is constantly nibbling away at our basic freedoms?
And maybe it would make more sense to ask:  Is there anything an ordinary person can do to help provide a solution to this potential problem and others which we hear about all the time? Exploding debt?  Hate and intolerance?  Crime and immorality?  Economic recession or even collapse? National power outage?  EMT disaster?  Terrorist attacks?  Global wars?
Well, October is a good time to ask this question, and suggests a proven answer! One hundred and two years ago on October 17, a claimed "Miracle of the Sun" was reported near Fatima, a small village in Portugal.  Some 70,000 or so individuals attended an event which had been predicted in advance, as small shepherd children reported seeing a heavenly mother coming  to see them over a period of six months, and told them a miracle would happen on that day. The day came, with a drenching rain, and the event predicted occurred. The sun was spinning and threatening to fall from the sky.  Books have been written including testimonies of hundreds of witnesses, all claiming their rain soaked clothes and the area around suddenly dried completely. Newspapers as far away as 50 miles recorded the event.  Since that time predictions of coming events have come true, and dozens and dozens of miraculous healings have been verified!
Space dictates  the "rest of the story" has to be researched by you,  from books, or a computer search!   But the recent "Rosary walk" by some 70  members of  St. Mary's in Cottonwood last week, or the preliminary rosary said before each day's Catholic Mass fits the request made by that  Lady of Fatima.  Related prayer services by other Christian churches in your area can be an effective response also to the requests made at Fatima,  or for any problem... anytime!
Jake Wren

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