The Blog at MSPC

The Fast Track Permits Act is a great start to making housing more affordable and attainable in Wyoming. And in coming years, legislators should continue to find ways to allow more people across the income spectrum to enjoy home ownership and build generational wealth.

Idaho’s regulatory stewardship is impressive, but there is always room for improvement. HB 539 offers these favorable reforms that protect the role of the legislature and limit the ability of the executive branch to go overboard with the definition of an ‘emergency.’

Now Washington state legislators want to take this experiment statewide, arguing that a new 3-cent sugar-sweetened beverage tax will improve health outcomes and fight hunger. It sounds noble. It sounds decisive. And it’s deeply disconnected from reality.

Wyoming just took an important step toward modernizing how work and benefits fit together. Lawmakers have introduced Senate File 41, a bill that would authorize the creation and use of portable benefit accounts for independent contractors—accounts that can pay for benefits like health insurance and retirement, without affecting a worker’s classification.

The appeal is obvious: if prices are too high, force them down. Unfortunately, economics doesn’t work that way — and decades of evidence show that interest-rate caps, however well-intentioned, end up hurting the very people they’re meant to help.

We have dozens of policy recommendations for lawmakers to consider. These reforms can be acted on even with the challenging budget situations across the states. Here are a couple of our top recommendations for Idaho, Washington and Wyoming lawmakers

History is rarely kind to policies that treat property rights as expendable. Housing affordability will not be achieved by suffocating peaceful uses of private property, but by expanding supply and allowing markets to respond to demand.

Good headlines don’t make good policy — especially when the real effects rip through the labor market and everyday life.

Did you know that Wyoming is only one of four states in the U.S. with a completely government-run workers’ compensation insurance system? Wa

Across the country, raising the minimum wage continues to be a topic of conversation. Some claim that raising the minimum wage to $20 would

During his recent speech at the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho (ATI) conference, Governor Little noted how “C.O.W.s” are one of the state’s current challenges, but also an opportunity.  

The Tax Foundation's State Competitiveness Index reveals which states are taxpayer-friendly for both individuals and businesses. States are ranked based on income, sales, excise, property, capital gains, corporate, payroll, estate, and VAT consumption taxes.

Across Idaho, more than 160,000 people earn income—whether as a primary or supplemental source—through self-employment, contract work, or small business ownership. They include truckers, delivery drivers, freelance creatives, childcare providers, and self-employed farmers and tradespeople who remain central to Idaho’s economy.

Licensure raises the price of entry into the trades’ labor market, artificially limiting the number of people who can enter it. Given the ever-important need for skilled laborers in the trades, this is a big concern. The research shows that Idaho has the ability to lower its licensure requirements without significant harm, and therefore should do so.

When politicians start promising cheaper milk and lettuce, it’s time to check your wallet—and your common sense.

Washington state’s ban on thin plastic grocery bags is increasing the amount of plastic used by shoppers and overall environmental harm, contrary to the intent of the law.

In Teton County’s twisted logic, forcing residents to pay higher building fees to support “workforce housing” is the solution to its chronic housing shortage for lower-income residents. The fees apply even if those building include plans for rental units that would ease the problem.

For criminals utilizing the banking system, this is a great tool to cut off financial access and aid law enforcement. But for law-abiding citizens debanking can victimize them for their political beliefs.

Grocery competition doesn’t just come from the store down the street anymore—it comes from Amazon dropping food on your doorstep, Walmart offering rock-bottom prices, and Costco selling everything in bulk. Albertsons and Kroger needed each other to stand a chance.

Changes are coming to Idaho’s current budget with Governor Little acting swiftly to focus on government efficiencies in response to changing revenue projections.