In three Idaho counties, government benefits accounted for more than 30 percent of county income in 2009. That’s according to a data application from The New York Times that tracks government benefit payments to individuals over the last 40 years.
The Idaho counties that receive the most are Lewis, Clearwater and Shoshone, but the data show more than half of Idaho’s 44 counties receive at least 20 percent of their income through government benefit payments. Levels of benefit recipiency appear to roughly track with counties’ unemployment rates. On average, government benefits including Medicare, Medicaid, veterans benefits, and other categories of support accounted for 17.6 percent of U.S. personal income in 2009.
Think about the categories of government benefits you or family members receive. What percentage of your income does it total?
The Joint Finance Appropriations Committee has agreed to budget from a figure that’s about $33 million less than Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter’s recommendation.
JFAC agreed with its colleagues in the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee to set its revenue estimate below the Governor’s number. Now, lawmakers will set the state spending plan for fiscal year 2013 with the assumption it has $2.66 billion to allocate. Governor Otter’s budget plan assumed the state could spend $2.7 billion, a difference of about $33 million.
The committee voted along party lines, 16 Republicans for and four Democrats against, to adopt the lower revenue estimate.
JFAC will now start crafting it’s budget for 2013. It hopes to be finished by early March.
Congress is expected to pass a $150 billion economic deal today that would extend a payroll tax cut for 10 months and extend unemployment benefits through the end of the year.
But as The Washington Postreports the deal would reduce those unemployment benefits by the end of the year from the current maximum of 99 weeks to 63 weeks in states that have been moderately affected by the recession and 73 weeks in states that have the highest jobless rates. Continue Reading →
Idaho lawmakers are considering a bill to cap how much interest payday lenders can charge borrowers.
Many payday loan stores charge interest rates of up to 400 percent. House Bill 470 would cap interest rates at 36 percent. Bill co-sponsor Sen. Lee Heider (R-Twin Falls) told the Idaho Press-Tribune, “our society isn’t as well-off right now as it has been, so people are being taken advantage of.” Continue Reading →
The top employer in more than half of Idaho’s 44 counties is a local, state or federal government entity. Sixteen counties have a private company as the largest employer. We’re looking at who some of those private companies are, and in some cases, they’re a bit unexpected.
Click on the image above to use RealtyTrac's interactive map.
Idaho’s foreclosure rate ticked up slightly in January, by about 6 percent. That’s according to new numbers from RealtyTrac, which analyzes housing and foreclosure data.
That said, the current rate represents a dramatic 68 percent decrease from January of 2011. Moreover, Idaho’s foreclosure rate has now fallen to 16th in the nation, after remaining in the top ten for much of last year.
Nationally, the foreclosure rate ticked up by 3 percent from December to January, leading RealtyTrac CEO Brandon Moore to say there are signs “the frozen-up foreclosure process is beginning to thaw.” That’s in the wake of last week’s $26 billion mortgage settlement between government officials and five of the nation’s largest banks.
Click on the map to see Shoshone County's top five employers
Shoshone County is known as the Silver Valley because of its long history of metal mining, but mines aren’t the top employer anymore. A car dealership is.
Dave Smith Motors employs about 400 people, according to data from the state. Hecla Mining, the operator of the Lucky Friday Mine comes in a close second, with about 300 employees, although that mine is shut down for the next year.
Local economic development specialist Vern Hanson says it might be unusual for a county’s top employer to be a car dealership, but it’s been a boon for the local economy. Continue Reading →
EMSI says there are currently more than 11,000 nurse jobs in Idaho
A Moscow, Idaho based economic modeling company has released its predictions for the Gem State’s top jobs in 2012.
Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. or EMSI says registered nurses, nuclear engineers and electrical power-line installers and repairers are the three best jobs to seek this year. EMSI says those three professions have seen some of the best pay and growth over the last five years. Continue Reading →
Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum pauses during a rally February 13, 2012 in Tacoma, Washington
As Rick Santorum makes campaign stops in Idaho, two of the Gem State’s top Republican lawmakers stump for Mitt Romney.
Sen. Jim Risch and Governor Butch Otter say the presidential race comes down to straightening out the economy.
“He knows and he understands job creation,” Risch says. “What the government’s role is in that, what the government can and can’t do, and I’m very, very comfortable with that.” Continue Reading →
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