Idaho’s “C.O.W.” problem is great for economic growth

Idaho Governor Brad Little is known for being a rancher. He was raised on his family’s sheep and cattle ranching operation and worked in the ranching industry for his professional life. Realizing this background, it should come as no surprise that he’s happy to wrangle up fleeing taxpayers from high-tax states.

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.  

Little told ATI, “Our tax climate is a significant draw for people across the nation. In fact, Idaho’s real challenge today is the number of ‘C.O.W.s’ — newcomers from California, Oregon, and Washington. We joke about it, but it reflects something real --- Idaho has become a victim of our own success.”

The Governor continued, “Our focus on common sense policies continues to make Idaho a desirable place to relocate. And our state is evolving, almost a third of our population is new to the state in the past 10 years. It is now up to all of us to ensure we preserve the enduring values that make this state so special — including a government that lives within the people’s means.”

So what exactly are the fiscal policies leading to this continued economic opportunity for the Gem State?

As noted by Governor Little, the state is allowing “Idahoans to keep more of what they earn. No state in the nation has delivered more tax relief per capita than Idaho: $6.1 billion since 2019 . . . Tax cuts undeniably contribute to economic growth --- that is a proven principle of conservative budgeting.”

In contrast, Little told ATI, “It is worth noting every state is dealing with fluctuations in revenue --- how you deal with those fluctuations depends on the values of the elected leaders. Washington State just enacted its largest tax increase in history to address a budget shortfall. Not in Idaho.”

Based on the current talk coming out of neighboring Washington, policymakers there aren’t content to graze on the largest tax increase in state history imposed this year and instead are looking to further fatten Idaho’s C.O.W. problem with even more tax increases.

Responding to the latest proposal in the Evergreen State for a new $3 billion tax increase (on top of the $9 billion imposed earlier this year), the Seattle Chamber’s Interim President Gabriella Buono wrote, “For years, Washington has repeated a damaging cycle: rising costs push employers to pull back or leave, shrinking the tax base, shrinking jobs, and the state responds by raising taxes again instead of improving outcomes. Despite record-high revenues and a decade of unprecedented spending growth, results have not improved – not in education, not in housing, and not in homelessness.”

Perhaps one day, Washington lawmakers will realize their poor tax and regulatory policies are putting the state’s businesses and taxpayers on the menu for relocation. One can almost imagine Washington officials recreating the old Wendy’s commercial and asking about its shrinking tax base, “Where’s the beef?”

Those taxpayers and businesses are continuing to move to greener pastures in Idaho.

With a promise like this from Governor Little, it isn’t hard to see why, “In Idaho, we right-size government to match the people’s means. We always have.”