The Idaho Legislature is at a standoff. House members cite the struggling economy and refuse to raise taxes. They believe that the economy may still sink lower, and are concerned that tax hikes will limit the ability of the private sector to bounce back. "We have not hit bottom, as evidenced by these preliminary April numbers," said Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, R-Oakley. "It's not a good time to raise taxes."

The sense of frustration is thick in the halls of the Annex, where the Legislature is meeting until the capitol renovations are complete. Representatives and Senators alike are concerned about families and businesses left at home, but both feel that there are important things at stake. Representatives report that they are recieving a flood of supportive emails and phone calls from Idahoans, encouraging them to hold the line against tax increases. It is a strange situation in which we find conservative House members in agreement with the Democratic Caucus- both believe that increasing taxes on Idahoans is the wrong move. On the flip side, Senators argue that transportation is an important priority.

The Governor was cited in the Idaho Statesman asking the House to be more optimistic. On Friday, Otter suggested that preliminary tax revenue numbers from April were "better than expected." He said the economic downturn has slowed."I hope they receive this news on the economy with the same appreciation and same hope that I have," Otter said.

House Leadership appears to be willing to hold it's ground. In a published opinion, they stated: "With all our bills off the calendar, it's doubtful that we will do much more than convene and adjourn sine die again," House Republican leaders wrote in a guest opinion published at IdahoStatesman.com. "We fully agree that this is a poor way of spending $30,000 (a day) of taxpayer money. But until the Senate concurs, House members have no choice but to return every three days."

Here is my question for Idahoans- if we want better roads, and we don't want to raise taxes- what are we willing to give up? Common sense says that if people are not willing to pay more, then we have to make cuts somewhere else in order to prioritize increased spending on any project, whether it be roads, services or education.

What do you think?