The latest federal budget bill in the House of Representatives includes a new amendment that should be concerning all Idahoans. To fund outrageous and unnecessary tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, there is a plot to sell public lands in the West to the highest bidder.
Currently, this amendment is limited to hundreds of thousands of acres in Nevada and Utah; however, we should all be concerned about the precedent it sets for our public lands here in Idaho.
Time and again, polls and surveys consistently indicate that Idahoans strongly favor keeping public lands in public ownership. Hunting, fishing, camping, and numerous other outdoor recreational activities are integral to our way of life in this beautiful state we call home.
We have all heard the stories of private owners blocking easements and other access to public lands. Public lands should be accessible to all, regardless of one’s tax bracket.
The Republican Party wants to make the sale of public lands seem like a winning proposition. They claim it is the only viable solution to a funding problem that many rural counties face. Many rural counties are indeed struggling to meet rising expenses, as a significant portion of their land is exempt from taxation. However, this is a case of the Republican Party offering a solution to a problem of their own making.
The government has long recognized its financial responsibility for public lands. Two programs come to mind that have been established to meet this obligation. The first is the Payment In Lieu of Taxes program, or PILT as it is often called. The PILT program provides funding to counties based on a formula that considers the amount of federal land and the population of the area. Over the years, the PILT formula has been adjusted, but there is still work to be done.
The second program is called Secure Rural Schools. This program provides funding not only for schools but also for road maintenance and other county needs. This program requires periodic reauthorization. This last authorization cycle, the program was not reauthorized, meaning that the funding that our rural counties depend on is not currently on the table. This will have devastating effects on many Idaho counties.
Republicans know that they cannot afford a tax break for the wealthy while at the same time meeting all of their obligations to the general population. For them, the tax break is a necessity, and just about everything else is discretionary. In short, we are all paying the price to keep taxes low for billionaires.
Idaho needs our representatives to do better. Idaho needs our representatives to stand strong on their protection of not only Idaho’s public lands but the public lands we collectively enjoy as a nation. Instead of selling land to fund tax cuts, they should put their focus on refining solutions such as PILT and Secure Rural Schools to ensure that obligations to the public are met.
David Roth is a local educational consultant. He is Idaho’s national committeeman serving on the Democratic National Committee.