January 5, 2026
Freedom Is Never Free – Neither Is Federal Money
Reflections as we prepare for another legislative session
Friends,
As we prepare for the upcoming legislative session, I find myself reflecting on the years I have served. The world feels profoundly different from how it was in 2017, when I served my first session.
Many of the core issues remain unchanged: property taxes, the food tax, public lands, and ensuring the best possible education options for our children.
But between then and now, something happened that dramatically altered not only our nation but the entire world.
When we were first told about a strange virus spreading across the globe, “two weeks to flatten the curve” slowly turned into years. With that came an instinctive and lasting shift. Our children were taught that the next person who breathed near them could kill them. They were isolated. Their lives began to revolve around screens more than ever before.
We watched as our state became one of the first in the nation to shut down churches, small businesses, social gatherings, and more. Medications that had been safely used for decades were suddenly restricted.
I received calls from young adults who had lost hope. They spoke of loved ones who chose to end their lives—believing their futures were over, that they would never again be able to provide for their families.
Our parents and grandparents died alone. As one care facility owner told me, many were not dying from illness alone, but from the absence of human contact—dying from loneliness.
Then came the FEMA agreements and the flood of federal dollars into our state. Every dollar came with strings attached—requirements imposed from outside Idaho. When I read those agreements, what struck me most was how much state sovereignty we surrendered in exchange for “the money.”
I remember clearly when those funds began rolling in. I knew the money was temporary, but the loss of freedom was not. The cost was far greater than the dollars offered.
During floor debate, I repeatedly warned that accepting the money was a mistake. The response was often, “If we don’t take it, someone else will spend it.”
That logic is no different than a child telling a parent they might as well get drugs from the dealer on the corner—because if they don’t, someone else will.
Federal money is addictive. Many see it as free. Others believe it is simply their taxes coming back to the state.
On the federal level, we are tens of trillions of dollars in debt.
This year, I hope that your elected servants—those entrusted with overseeing the constitutional use of your hard-earned money—will choose wisely. That they will vote to protect not only your financial well-being, but especially that of future generations of Idahoans.
I promise to continue my commitment to you to reduce our dependence on federal money and protect Idaho from the control that comes with it. Allowing Idaho to be free and independent now and for the future.
Senator Christy Zito,
District 8 (Zito4idaho@protonmail.com)
