Essential StateImpact: Top Five Stories of the Week
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Now that Black Friday is almost over and you’re letting all that turkey and stuffing digest, take a look back at the stories that got the most clicks and comments this week.
- Ten Idaho Lawmakers Sign Norquist’s Anti-Tax Pledge: One of the people being blamed for the supercommittee’s failure (often by Democrats, and on occasion by Republicans), is Grover Norquist. He’s a longtime lobbyist who runs the group Americans for Tax Reform. Norquist is known for getting hundreds of lawmakers from around the country to sign a pledge promising never to raise taxes. Ten of Idaho’s lawmakers have signed on.
- The Future of Idaho’s Unemployment Benefits Uncertain: 25,000 Idahoans are currently receiving unemployment insurance benefits, that number could be cut in half unless federal emergency unemployment benefits are extended at the end of the year.
- Idaho in Top Ten for Cuts in Mental Health Spending: As advocates for people with mental illness will point out, Idaho hasn’t had a great track record of funding services for the state’s mentally ill. “I think the shocking part is we spend $44 per capita on mental health, and the national average is $122. So we’re about a third of the national average,” said Doug McKnight, president of the Idaho chapter of NAMI. Moreover, Idaho remains the only state without a local suicide prevention hotline.
- Understanding Federal Unemployment Insurance Benefits: More than 12,000 Idahoans currently receive federal emergency unemployment benefits. This post explains how those benefits work and who pays for them.
- Idaho’s Unemployment Rate Moves in a Positive Direction: Idaho’s unemployment rate ticked down to its lowest level in nearly two years last month. But many counties across the state face rates in the double-digits. We created an interactive map to better visualize the state’s unemployment picture.
