“Put your money where your mouth is.”
“Show me what you spend money on and I’ll tell you what you value.”
We talk a big game about what matters to us in society. Talking about how we value teachers. How important mental health is. Thanking veterans for their service when we see them at the grocery store.
But when you look at our priorities, it often becomes clear that words, especially the platitudes we hear from our elected officials, are merely lip service.
The whole state of Idaho is practically a mental health desert.
We don’t allocate resources to support our veterans, who make up a significant portion of our homeless population.
Our legislators recently passed — over the objections of most of Idaho’s citizens — a massive education boondoggle designed to siphon money from our public schools.
And don’t even get me started on how School District 91 is treating our teachers. I’ve talked to teachers, and at all levels of government, from the state legislature to the school board, they feel disrespected.
We talk about family values, but do very little to support parents as they work to provide necessities for their children, often working two jobs because wages in Idaho are some of the lowest in the country, unable to even keep up with our relatively low cost of living.
We definitely have a disconnect between what we claim as priorities and the policies we enact with our tax dollars.
Unfortunately, our leaders would rather give another tax break to benefit the wealthiest Idahoans than equitably fund our schools as directed in our state constitution or offer mental health resources to our homeless veterans.
If we’re truly ready to build a state and community that reflects the things we say we value, it starts with involvement. Pay attention to who’s running for school board, city council and state legislature. Consider looking beyond party to the person and their policies.
Until we become engaged, our so-called representatives will continue to say pretty sounding words while walking a different walk.
Miranda Marquit, Master of Business Administration, is a nationally recognized financial wellness expert, writer, speaker and podcaster. She is the vice chair of the Bonneville County Democratic Central Committee.