Goddard Pushes Major Tax Increase

by | Oct 6, 2010 | News and Updates, Uncategorized

During the 1980’s, Arizona suffered through tax increases under Gov. Bruce Babbitt.  Arizona’s economy also underperformed compared to the national average.  In the 90’s, things changed.  Arizonans elected Fife Symington to be their governor, and between 1993 and 1997 when Symington left office, Arizona’s personal income tax rates dropped about 27 percent.

Arizona’s economy also outperformed the national average during that time period.

Who did Symington defeat in the 1991 runoff election?  Terry Goddard.

Goddard is back, however, as the Democrat nominee for governor, but he doesn’t seemed to have learned his lesson.  Trailing badly in the polls, Goddard is seeking to the be the candidate to be trusted to balance the budget.  How?  For one thing, he wants to rescind the Symington tax cuts.  Yes, the last of which passed 13 years ago.

Not only is it a bit peculiar to rescind tax cuts that happened so long ago, but it’s more than a bit political that Goddard simply ignores the largest tax cut since the 1990’s . . . the one signed by Democrat Gov. Janet Napolitano (and pushed by the AZFEC).  Although fighting tooth and nail, in 2006, Napolitano signed a 10 percent across-the-board personal income tax cut.

So, it’s unclear if Goddard wants to reverse only Symington’s tax cuts or all of the tax cuts since the days of Symington.  Either way, it would be disastrous for Arizona.

That’s the Plan

by | Oct 1, 2010 | News and Updates, Uncategorized

Charlie Crist, who switched from Republican to Independent when Marco Rubio was trouncing him in the polls, said at an editorial board meeting that being down 20 points to Rubio had nothing to do with his change of Party (or long-held positions, apparently).

Next we’ll hear that GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski always wanted to run as a write-in anyway and former GOP Senator Arlen Specter was really always a Democrat who was going to switch parties anyway in order to face — and ultimately lose — a Democratic primary.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPmvMxMIV1w&wpisrc=nl_pmfix

Not Bored, Tired

by | Sep 27, 2010 | News and Updates, Uncategorized

Phonically, it’s probably not the headline they intended: “Board trying to bring jobs to Arizona.”  But there is something to it.

In the article that followed the headline, it was reported that Arizona’s new Commerce Authority will make recommendations to the legislature next year to help the state economy “specifically in the areas of aerospace and defense, science and technology, solar and renewable energy, and small business and entrepreneurship.”

Without legislative changes, Gov. Brewer’s budget director said that a large number of jobs Arizona expects to gain over the next eight years will be low paying positions, such as food preparers and cashiers.   It ‘s unclear how he knows this.

To help the economy, the legislative “change” with the most impact would be one of direction; away from higher taxes.  Since 2009, in the face of massive budget deficits, Arizona businesses and families have been asked to contribute substantially more in both property ($250 million annually) and sales ($1 billion annually) taxes.

A better course of action would have been drastic reductions in government spending.  Not only would that have signaled to the market that Arizona is serious about maintaining a pristine credit rating, it would have also signaled that Arizona values its $250 billion economy as much as its $10 billion budget.

There has only been one meeting, but it causes us great concern that the new Commerce Authority intends to recommend policy changes to enhance only certain sectors of the economy.  Subsidizing certain activities will lead to more of that activity, but less of other activities.  Tax credits for the bioscience industry come from non-bioscience industry taxpayers.  Take advantage of them long enough, and there will be fewer subsidies to go around.  People will relocate to where they are treated fairly.

Gov. Brewer offered a nugget of hope that if the Authority (of which she is chairman) pushes policies that favor some at the expense of others, she’d be resistant.

“I will never take for granted the companies that are here, those that stuck with us through the bad times and the good times.”