Why does Idaho need a DOGE? So it too can waste time and money? | Opinion

From our readers

Idaho DOGE a bad idea

We’ve seen this movie. It doesn’t end well.

Vague reports. Politically driven investigations. No meaningful results. No fraud uncovered. No efficiencies found. Just more bureaucracy and public distrust. It was a political sideshow that accomplished nothing — unless you count fearmongering and government overreach as wins.

At the federal level, DOGE has already cost taxpayers $135 billion — from lost productivity due to mass firings and paid leave, rehiring and turnover costs and legal expenses from lawsuits.

Now the Idaho Legislature wants to copy it with another bloated DOGE committee. Another round of taxpayer-funded theater. No clear goals. No measurable outcomes. Just more interference, more posturing, and more money down the drain.

Idaho doesn’t need another grandstanding task force making decisions in the middle of the night. And we can’t waste resources we don’t have on a copycat committee.

What we need is real reform. If the goal is efficiency, the governor should detail how his own office will cut 3–5% or more from its budget. Legislative leaders should do the same for the House and Senate. If there must be a committee, have each state agency report how they’ll meet targets without harming essential services.

Give us results — not headlines.

Georgia Smith, Boise

Another day, another school shooting

Two darling children gone from this planet today after being killed in church in Minneapolis. They join the countless others of all ages who have been gunned down without a chance of survival.Thoughts and prayers are not enough at a time like this. There has to be decisive action from those who have the power to stop this madness.

Mary Feeny, Boise

Preserve pickleball access

America has a well-documented loneliness problem. That includes Boise.

For many of us, pickleball has been the answer to our social and physical well-being. This is not a sport just for old people but is enjoyed by young people and families alike. The abrupt closure of Manitou Park and Willow Lane courts has left many of us despairing.

We have two drop-in courts in all of Boise except for courts a half mile from Meridian (where they have courts and parks for families in abundance). Boise, you are definitely ignoring the needs of an untold number of citizens when it comes to providing outdoor spaces. I root for the mayor and her administration, but am deeply disappointed in their meeting the needs of entirely too many. Please have some compassion and provide a solution for us.

I still believe in government and its ability to do that. I would like to keep believing. The pickleball community has been sidelined far too long. If this sounds like a small problem to a reader, then maybe you haven’t tried pickleball. I guess you better head to Meridian!

Donna Carlson, Boise

Term limits needed

The United States has three branches of federal government: legislative, executive and judicial.

Under President Donald Trump, our legislative branch has gone into hibernation. They realize that the usual difference in voting percentages of Democrats vs. Republicans is usually 3-5% in almost all national elections, and since getting re-elected in all elections is a politician’s primary goal, they clam up and say nothing, pass nothing and reject nothing.

For years, I have maintained that the most important thing we could do for the U.S. is pass term limits, perhaps increasing the terms by two to four years, but ending them after two terms. Then maybe the legislative branch would work together, pass reasonable laws, that the president would gladly sign, and the Supreme Court would not have to agonize over accepting or rejecting that law.

But I am no dreamer, and realize that most politicians claim their jobs are tough, yet work hard to get re-elected term after term after term. The only productive legislator in Idaho is Congressman Mike Simpson who has made all kinds of improvements for Idaho’s forests and land. Our other three Idaho legislators say nothing, do nothing, but get re-elected.

Chas Bonner, Eagle

Democracy losing ground

In The Hidden History of American Oligarchy, historian Thom Hartmann outlines fourteen steps oligarchs take to gain control of a government and further enrich themselves. Oligarchs? Think members of the billionaire class who use their vast wealth to control government actions, including elections. Among the fourteen steps are attacks on the press, the politicization of law enforcement agencies, and the assertion of extraordinary power in the executive branch. Step 6, called “judicial capture,” occurs when judges whose decisions don’t support the regime are criticized, harassed, intimidated and, if necessary, purged. Step 8 is described as ‘the militarization of domestic law enforcement.” Number 11 includes the loss of civil liberties like freedom of speech, assembly and movement, often justified by the declaration of a so-called “emergency.” Finally, a “strongman cult of personality replaces institutional legitimacy as Dear Leader is elevated as the embodiment of the nation or will of the people.”

All fourteen events are now unfolding across the United States. To squelch resistance, Homeland Security is hiring 10,000 new ICE agents, and President Trump has ordered the creation of specialized national guard units for deployment in American cities.

American democracy is not slip-sliding away. It is fast approaching free fall.

Linwood Laughy, Moscow

Don’t sell public land

Public opinion in Idaho strongly opposes the sale of public lands, with a recent poll showing 96% of registered voters believe public lands should remain public.

Idaho Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo have made statements opposing the sale of more than three million acres of public land as part of the federal budget reconciliation bill. The land-sale provision was stripped from the House version of the spending bill thanks to opposition from legislators including U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho.

U.S. Representative Mike Simpson cosponsored the Public Lands in Public Hands Act to ban the sale or transfer of most public lands and is a vice-chairman of the Bipartisan Public Lands Caucus.

In July 2025, Fulcher voted against the Public Lands in Public Hands Act and a related amendment to block the sale of federal lands in Nevada and Utah.

We, the Idaho public, need to initiate a process to elect a new First District Representative who will wholeheartedly keep Idaho public lands and maintain access as a cornerstone of Idaho’s identity. Furthermore, elect a First District Representative who opposes the sale of Idaho lands and keep Idaho’s amazing spaces in public hands.

Donald Vernon, Middleton

This story was originally published August 31, 2025 at 4:00 AM.