BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Governor Brad Little has ushered in billions of dollars in tax cuts during his time in office, and now he’s facing a huge shortfall.
Idaho News 6 Senior Reporter Roland Beres spoke to State Representative Ilana Rubel (D) of District 18, who considers her party to be a modern-day Cassandra from Greek mythology.
Cassandra was a Trojan priestess who foretold the fall of Troy. However, despite her ability to accurately predict the future, Cassandra was cursed, and nobody believed her prophecies.
Now, Idaho faces a $555 million budget deficit this upcoming fiscal year that lawmakers call predictable and preventable. The shortfall could force legislators to enact deep cuts to essential services.
The non-partisan deficit projection was prepared by state legislative staff in a recent report to the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee.
"We have been predicting that this would happen and saying 'Stop— don't do it. We can't afford all these cuts.' And they didn't listen to us, and here we are in a real pickle," explained Rep. Rubel.
The deficit leaves Idaho struggling to fund even basic government operations, according to Rubel, who pointed to Kansas as a cautionary tale of similar fiscal policies.
"We are now about $555 million short of even being able to fund the most bare bones budget to keep our agencies operating," Rubel said.
Kansas experienced a similar budget crisis in 2017 after implementing aggressive tax cuts. The state was forced to make severe reductions to education and infrastructure spending, ultimately damaging its economy.
"Their schools were ruled by the Supreme Court to be unconstitutional because the cuts were so deep, and they ended up repealing those tax cuts and electing a Democrat governor in Kansas, one of the reddest states in the nation," Rubel added.
Even Idaho's $1.4 billion rainy day fund cannot resolve the current fiscal crisis, according to Rubel.
Democrats are pushing to eliminate the state's school voucher program, which they argue benefits wealthy families rather than those in need.
RELATED | House Speaker Mike Moyle claims he's not worried about the 2026 budget despite shortfall
"I would love to see us repeal vouchers. That is not a program that is helping anybody that needs it. Frankly, the money is going to millionaires," Rubel said.
The party is also working to preserve Medicaid expansion, which some Republicans are attempting to overturn despite strong voter support.
"That is not what voters want. We know it passed with 61% of the vote, and I think support is now more in the 80% range. That would do serious damage to the state and its residents if they repeal that," Rubel said.
Additional funding shortfalls are expected this year, with impacts likely to affect Idaho residents soon.
"For many folks in Idaho, the chickens have already come home to roost," Rubel said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
