Last fiscal year, all 50 states reported an increase in tax collections, a dramatic change from fiscal year 2010 when just 11 states reported increases.
North Dakota and Alaska experienced the largest increases with 44.5 percent and 22.4 percent growth in tax revenue respectively. Idaho ranked 7th, coming in at 10.5 percent above collections for FY2010. Continue Reading →
Nine homes are under construction at a Coleman Homes development outside of Boise.
Idaho was hit hard in the housing crash. For the better part of three years, the state’s foreclosure rate was one of the highest in the nation. The Boise area saw the worst of it. That means it’s been a while since this scene played out with any kind of regularity.
Fairfield, Id. hopes to receive federal grant funds to improve the town water system.
Twin Falls needs to upgrade its water system to meet the demands of the new Chobani Yogurt plant. Fairfield needs a new pump, because its water pressure is so low that bacteria builds up in its pipes. They’re just two of the communities applying for a decreasing pool of federal grant funding.
For Idaho cities and counties, one effect of the recession is this: funding for the Idaho Community Development Block Grant Program has fallen by a quarter over the last two years. That’s according to Dennis Porter, a Community Development Manager with the Idaho Department of Commerce.
Porter says the program has about $10 million available this year. The Idaho Economic Advisory Council will consider $8.8 million in funding requests at its meeting tomorrow. Because this is only the first of four rounds of applications the council will consider this year, Porter says, it’s clear demand for funds will outstrip availability. “We run into more demand than dollars,” he says. Continue Reading →
Rocky Barker is a reporter for the Idaho Statesman
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and Idaho commerce and business officials are preparing for their week-long trip to China. The trade mission takes off this Saturday.
This year’s trip to China comes two years after Gov. Otter lead a similar mission there, with the aim of creating direct investment opportunities for wealthy Chinese in Idaho. The 2010 trip ended up being steeped in controversy after right-wing bloggers asserted these direct investments threatened Idaho’s sovereignty.
The governor rejected such claims. But this trip, the message has changed. Gov. Otter is going to China to sell Idaho goods and services, not solicit direct investments.
Idaho Statesman reporter Rocky Barker attended the 2010 trade mission and has written extensively about the trip and Idaho-China relations over the last couple of years. Barker isn’t going along this time, but says regardless of political rancor, the trip is a worthy mission for Idaho’s economy. Continue Reading →
Another day, another study that places Idaho among the worst states in terms of the gender pay gap.
This time, it’s the American Association of University Women that’s tracking the disparities in men’s and women’s earnings by state. The AAUW study places Idaho 43rd, based on federal data from 2010.
What does placing 43rd mean? Well, median pay for a full-time worker in Idaho is $41,128, if that worker is a man. If the worker is a woman, it’s $30,403. Put in other terms, women in Idaho earn about 74 percent as much as men.
As the study points out, these differences cannot be explained away by differences in men’s and women’s educational and occupational choices. However, the “segregation of occupations” does contribute to the pay gap.
It’s not the first time we’ve noted Idaho’s gender wage disparity. Last month, the financial news and commentary site 24/7 Wall Street ranked Boise the eight worst city, based on this measure.
Gov. Otter and Idaho business leaders leave for China on April 14.
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter is heading to China this weekend to lead an eight-day trade mission.
The governor will travel to Shanghai, Chengdu and Beijing. His itinerary so far is vague, including only brief descriptions of daily activities. For example:
“Daily itinerary filled with company and government meetings in Chengdu – schedule to be confirmed”
Before the 2012 session began, Speaker of the House Lawerence Denney expressed "mixed feelings" about establishing a state-run health insurance exchange.
It was expected to be one of the biggest debates of the 2012 legislative session: would Idaho create its own health insurance exchange? The Associated Pressheld a special discussion of the issue during its January legislative preview. In a series of interviews that StateImpact conducted in December, legislator after legislator predicted it would be a defining issue of the months ahead.
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