“Personal finance isn’t political.”
In my work, I hear that all the time. However, for nearly two decades, I’ve worked hard to dispel that illusion.
While you might think your personal finances are apolitical, the reality is that policy decisions made at the local, state and federal levels all influence your personal finances. This is especially true for most of us not in the top economic quintile.
For example:
Households in in the middle three income tiers pay between 19.8% and 23.3% of their income toward healthcare, according to a policy analysis by the nonpartisan think tank RAND. Policies put in place under the Biden Administration to cap insulin prices and take steps to negotiate medication prices could potentially save money in a household budget, while the reversal of those policies lead to budget crunches.
Let’s look at the efforts to derail Medicaid in Idaho and cut Medicaid benefits more widely. According to KFF, a health policy think tank, 92% of those on Medicaid are working, disabled, above age 65, attending school full-time or fall into the caregiver role. Making it harder to obtain Medicaid by adding more red tape, as our state legislature did earlier this year, could impact the household and personal finances of thousands of Idahoans who already work, but will no longer have access to affordable healthcare.
In the past, the state legislature tied the homestead exemption on property taxes, to some degree, to home value inflation. In 2016, they decided to cap that exemption. The result has been many Idahoans—especially seniors on fixed incomes—are struggling to budget for higher property taxes. The legislature occasionally tries to use a Band-aid fix to this problem and touts “savings” for homeowners. But they don’t fix the underlying problem, and that impacts your personal budget if you’re paying property taxes.
Don’t forget about the recent “tax cuts” enacted by the state legislature. In 2024, HB 521 allowed for an income tax reduction. The Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy found that most of the benefits went to the top 20% of earners. The average tax cut for the median earner was $63. Not even enough for a family to pay for a week’s worth of groceries.
This year, HB 40 was enacted, and the state is expected to lose up to $324 million in revenue. The top income earners benefit with tax savings of about $5,358. I’m projected to save $456. Most Idahoans, though? Between $26 and $127 annually.
At a time of continued inflation and economic uncertainty, these policies weigh heavily on household budgets that are already strained. That’s a pretty big impact on personal finances due to political choices.
Indeed, Governor Little recently warned us that we needed to tighten our belts because between the $50 million going to the private school voucher boondoggle, the loss of tax revenue due to cuts for the wealthy and President Trump’s economic policies, services in Idaho, already scant, would be cut further.
And that has big implications for your personal finances.
Miranda Marquit, Master of Business Administration, is a nationally recognized financial expert, speaker, writer, editor and podcaster. She is the vice chair of the Bonneville County Democratic Central Committee.