But beneath the sheen of the Gem State are statistics that no one is bragging about. Some social historians say Idaho is in danger of becoming a Rocky Mountain version of Mississippi, which consistently ranks near the bottom of states in spending for children, education and the poor. Over the last three and a half years, Idaho has reduced its welfare rolls by 77 percent, the most the steepest cut in the nation. Only one other state, South Dakota, spends less per capita on child welfare. But by a huge margin, Idaho's proportion of abused or neglected children leads the nation.
Crime is low, but prisons are filling faster than ever.
Idaho locks up people for crimes that most states do not even consider felonies. Among the states, its rate of incarceration is growing faster than all but two. Its prisons are filling so quickly that Idaho has to fly people out of state to find cells for them. Experts caution against making too direct connections between low public investment in children and in the poor and high rates of abuse, neglect and incarceration. But they say the trends in Idaho bear close watching by other states that have reduced spending on basic welfare and education needs of poor children while pouring tax dollars into new prisons.