A recent survey of Idaho residents found that many are uncomfortable with the influx of people from California, Oregon, Washington state and elsewhere.

In many ways, those states have done their level best to make life harder for residents. For one, they are over taxed and over regulated, instituting new fees on almost everything imaginable.

For example, California and Washington residents have the “honor” of paying the highest gasoline and diesel prices in the nation due to state policies and laws.

The housing inventories in Washington, Oregon and California are woefully inadequate because of short-sighted laws and policies, causing rents and home prices to skyrocket.

And don’t get us started on the politics. Suffice it to say that some Oregonians are so fed up and alienated by Portland-centric politics that they don’t want to move to Idaho; they want to redraw the border so much of Eastern Oregon becomes part of Idaho.

Idahoans might wonder: How did this happen?

It’s Idaho’s fault. With its can-do attitude and pro-business climate, what did it expect? Add in the gorgeous countryside in much of the state and Idaho can only blame itself for being a magnet for West Coast refugees.

Idaho creates jobs that fuel the economy. The lower minimum wage allows kids and others just entering the job market to gain valuable experience that will put them on a path to bigger and better jobs. Idaho even has a program to help high school seniors get training and education for jobs that are in high demand.

Idahoans work together to solve problems, while West Coast states seem unable to get past the talking stage before just spraying a lot of money at a problem and then wondering why it didn’t go away.

Politicians in West Coast states seem hung up on looking for ways to blame the “other guy” for their problems. They also tend to bad mouth whoever they disagree with politically and then wonder why they have no friends.

West Coast states also allow problems to spiral out of control before anyone acts. In Oregon, taking drugs in public is OK — until it isn’t. In Oregon and elsewhere, homelessness is no big deal — until it is.

In the meantime, West Coast refugees see Idaho as an island of sanity.

Idaho’s population continues to grow. It jumped 21% between 2012 and 2022 to 1.9 million. These new arrivals are buying houses and renting apartments, and Idahoans worry that farmland and open spaces will be turned into suburbs.

In August the NumbersUSA organization and Rasmussen Reports asked 1,017 Idaho voters whether this growth is good or bad. About two-thirds gave it the thumbs-down.

Idahoans need to keep an eye on these newcomers. Many will eventually want to turn Idaho into another California, Oregon or Washington.

That would be a worst-case scenario.