by Michael Strickland
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” -- Margaret Mead
Idaho is always at the top. That is, if you simply reverse the list. We are #1 for lack of access to pre-k education. The Gem State is #2, if you rank which states spend the least per pupil. Our wages are at the top of the list, if you begin by ranking states where workers make the least. And a recent report displayed the true story behind Idaho’s “housing boom economic recovery.”
The report finds cracks in Boise’s economic recovery, including rising poverty rates, shrinking workforce at Micron Technology Inc. and HP and a reliance on service jobs in health care, government and hospitality. But the report also took an unflinching and unflattering look at Idaho education.
“The education system in Idaho hasn’t kept up with the human capital demands of local industry, forcing companies to expand elsewhere,” the report says.
That is why I am so happy about the recent success and promising future of Reclaim Idaho, whose website states:
We will make 2020 a year when we hold our elected representatives accountable for their failure to represent their constituents.
Reclaim Idaho collected tens of thousands of signatures that put Idaho Proposition 2, the Medicaid Expansion Initiative, on the ballot. After decades of inaction by legislators, Medicaid Expansion was initiated as a state statute on November 6, 2018. Proposition 2 won majority support in 35 of 44 Idaho counties and 29 of 35 Idaho legislative districts. Through those efforts, Reclaim Idaho built a grassroots network with over 2,000 volunteers in over 25 Idaho counties.
MAKE A SECURE DONATION: Reclaim Idaho is made possible by the hard work of volunteer organizers and neighborhood team leaders. Your financial contribution will help us cover the costs of of touring the state, reserving space for public events, and distributing materials to statewide teams.
The Reclaim Idaho movement began in the summer of 2017 when they painted a 1977 Dodge camper bright green and labeled both sides with “Medicaid for Idaho,” according to their website. “Ordinary Idahoans, from every part of the state, came together to accomplish what the Idaho legislature failed to do. We became citizen lawmakers.”
Despite that overwhelming victory, the majority of Idaho’s legislators retaliated by drafting bills that would make future initiative efforts virtually impossible. Reclaim Idaho joined with a coalition of partners to defeat those efforts, which continued through the final days of the legislative session. Thousands of Idahoans from every county joined the fight, pressuring Governor Little to veto the bills and protect our initiative rights.
“I am 70 years old. I graduated in 1967. We were 49th then, which means in all that time Idaho has advanced one place on the National Education scale,” wrote Lacey Morris on the Reclaim Idaho Facebook page. “Aren’t we proud.”
The organization is currently scheduling Town Hall meetings all over Idaho and they are planning another potential initiative. Follow Reclaim Idaho on Facebook.
Change starts with you.