StateImpact Idaho recently had it’s six-month anniversary in the Gem State. Since we’ve launched we’ve covered taxes, unemployment, the housing market and the bits and pieces in between.
So, what have we missed? What are your burning questions about Idaho’s economy and state government policy?
The Legislature’s main duty is to create a budget that spends less than it takes in. Lawmakers did.
They also agreed to a more than $35 million tax cut for Idaho’s top earners. They’re setting aside about $35 million for the state’s general fund reserves, and they agreed to an almost $35 million pay increase for teachers.
But a handful of other spending/tax measures didn’t pass: Continue Reading →
An unemployed financial engineer peddled for a job on the street in New York City.
Joblessness has long-lasting effects. It’s a troubling fact, and one that has received particular attention in this downturn, during which the average length of unemployment has surpassed all earlier records.
The Idaho Dairymen's Association says there are 569 dairies operating in the Gem State.
For the first time in almost two years, Idaho dairymen are eligible for a federal subsidy that compensates them when milk prices fall substantially below the costs of production.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week it has reinstated payments to dairymen under the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program. It’s the first time the USDA has approved such payments since April 2010.
Farm Service Agency Administrator Bruce Nelson said producers are eligible for almost $0.39 per hundredweight (cwt) of milk. “Dairy producers are affected by the market price for milk and the price of feed to sustain their herds,” said Nelson, in a press release this week. Continue Reading →
The tax cut goes into effect as soon as the bill is signed.
Idaho corporations and top individual taxpayers will pay less to the state next year.
A plan to lower the top tax rates passed the Senate this afternoon. It’s final stop will be a signature by Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter.
As soon as Otter signs the bill, which he is expected to, the new tax rates take effect. The rates are also retroactive, which means the lower rates will be effective as of Jan. 1, 2012.
The individual rate will be lowered from 7.8 percent to 7.4 percent, the corporate tax rate from 7.6 percent to 7.4 percent.
The Associated Press has reported a family of four in the top tax bracket, with a gross income of $100,000 will see their annual tax bill go down by $71. The Division of Financial Management says that will affect about 17 percent of Idaho taxpayers.
House Bill 563 passed the Senate along party lines, 28-7.
Lucky Friday Mine workers in Mullan, Idaho are valued for their skill at "jackleg" mining, using hand-held equipment seen here.
Work hasn’t been hard to find for laid-off miners in the Coeur d’Alene area. The Northwest News Network reports about 250 miners and contractors were laid-off at the end of 2011 when the Lucky Friday Mine was shut down over safety concerns.
Since November 2011 Kootenai County’s jobless rate has declined more than two percentage points. February 2012 estimates show the county’s rate is just above the state average at 8.1 percent.
“The price of gold and silver right now makes experienced miners a hot commodity. Idaho labor officials say some Lucky Friday Mine workers have been temporarily recruited to California, Nevada, Montana, Alaska — and even the sunnier climes of Guatemala. In many cases, their families remain in Idaho to wait out the year-long closure of the Lucky Friday.” – Northwest News Network
Click on the image above to see the full Brookings Institution report.
Boise is among the U.S. cities showing the strongest signs of economic recovery, as we reported yesterday.
But that assessment comes with a big qualification: in the short-term, the Boise economy looks strong. Its gross metropolitan product — that is, the market value of goods and services produced in the city — grew at a faster rate than the national average in the final quarter of last year.
Boise’s housing prices were up 3.1 percent in the same period, a rate of improvement that only Phoenix surpassed. Continue Reading →
A Brookings Instituion report calls Boise one of the "strongest 20 metros" in terms of its economic recovery.
Boise’s economy got a vote of confidence today, in the form of a report from the Brookings Institution. It puts Boise among the top 20 metro areas in the country, in terms of recession and recovery, considering measures such as job growth and housing market improvement.
Brookings researcher Kenan Fikri says growth in the city’s manufacturing and high tech sectors late last year boosted Boise’s economy. That, in turn, bolstered the local housing market. While that is definitely good news, it does come with a caveat.
“The Boise economy looks very good over the short-term, looking back about one year, but it doesn’t look so good over the long term,” Fikri says. “To understand Boise’s recovery you really need to look over the cycle, from peak before the recession to the present.” Continue Reading →
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