Published in the Post Register

Is it sine die yet?

That’s the question many of us ask ourselves as we approach the end of the legislative sessions. And, really, there’s a good reason for it.

During the last several years, as each legislative session showcases our so-called “leaders” as they pass increasingly extreme bills, we wait anxiously for them to just, please, stop.

At this point, one must ask the question:

Do these legislators actually want to govern? Do they have a plan for actually helping Idahoans? Or are they just hanging out in Boise for their own aggrandizement and enjoying the healthcare benefits they refuse to countenance for their constituents?

I wonder about this regularly.

Many of the folks who rejected federal money for early childhood education had no qualms about taking government handouts for their own interests, in the form of PPP loans. Some of the same people who voted year after year against federal help with Medicaid expansion have no problem enjoying agricultural subsidies — as long as it props up their businesses.

Right now, these legislators pay lip service to education, making token gestures, hoping that we the people won’t force them into doing something substantial with the Quality Education Act ballot initiative.

The legislature created a property tax mess in 2016 and still hasn’t addressed it six years later. Idahoans have been begging for real, honest-to-goodness affordable housing help and our legislatures are grandstanding about a culture war that does nothing but prove how extremist they are willing to be in the hopes that they can motivate their base by fear — and hold onto their seats.

Indeed, when I look at how some of our legislators vote and compare it to their stated ideals, I wonder how they can bear their hypocrisy. They make laws restricting what counties and cities can do, and then blame all sorts of woes on local governments. They create problems that they have no intention of fixing, and then point off into the distance and say “Look at that scary Other over there!”

Here in District 33, we have a legislator that heads up a nonprofit that claims to be a safe place for teenagers. He claims to care about mental health, but then he co-sponsored a bill that would be harmful to some of those his organization is supposed to be helping. 

If you’re in the legislature, claiming certain ideals and priorities, but going along with extremism, I’m not sure why you’re there. If you’re not there to actually solve problems and govern responsibly, why are you there?

Some days, it looks like sabotage. These extremists say that government is useless and then actively pass extreme and harmful legislation to prove their point. And sometimes they stick around even longer, draining taxpayer dollars, to further make that point.

When, really, we just want them to sine die already, so we can start figuring out how to work around the harm they’ve just perpetrated on us.

Miranda Marquit, Master of Business Administration, is a nationally recognized financial expert, writer and speaker. She is the state committeewoman for the Bonneville County Democratic Central Committee.