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How SB 1041 Hurts Arizona Taxpayers
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SB1041 – Getting Hosed By Republicans
Let's say you run a business in Arizona making stuff. You've owned it for five years. You've invested millions - say $6 million - and created dozens of jobs - say 65. The last few years have been tough, however, so although you may have wanted to expand, you've...
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear First Amendment Challenge to Arizona Campaign Finance Law ‘Matching Funds’ Provision
“Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett” SEIU, Obama Administration, Public Citizen and Rep. Alan Grayson (Ret.) filed briefs opposing AZ Free Enterprise Club’s free speech position in case. Phoenix, AZ – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday...
40.5 Days Off…City of Phoenix Waste Part II
City of Phoenix Wasteful Spending Part I
Filming in the Red
Arizona has a $2 billion budget deficit. Needless to say, tax dollars are at a premium. So why did the Senate just vote to subsidize movie producers? No idea. How many jobs did the old film tax credit produce in 2008 - 2009? Forty-one (41). And according to the...
Democrats and Republicans Join Forces for Corporate Welfare
"The Legislature has passed a bill giving an unelected individual the right to give away $25 million of your tax dollars to corporations." This was Senate Minority Leader David Schapira on the Deal Closing Fund he voted against. I suppose because he's elected, he has...
This Doesn’t Fix the Jobs Bill
Not all proponents of economic development are satisfied the new tools in Arizona's tool box, courtesy of the the Jobs bill. Senate Bill 1041 would expand the new tax subsidies for certain activities only a couple weeks since the Jobs bill's passage (and since bills...
Intel
The legislature passed the "Jobs" bill on Wednesday, 2/16/2011 and Intel announced plans to build a new fab in Chandler on 2/17/2011. Economic development supporters are confounded and conflicted.
Respecting Jon Kyl
The editorial from today's Wall Street Journal is excellent. Kyl's Consequences How to be an effective Senator. The U.S. Senate has 13 freshmen this year, and we hope more than a few of them have signed up for Jon Kyl's seminar on how to make a difference in what can...
Cleaner Elections
Last night the Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee heard a bill that, if passed, would refer to voters in November 2012 a proposal to prohibit taxpayer-funded elections. It's a straightforward amendment to the Arizona constitution that effectively bans the current...
The Reagan years were, indeed, awesome
MSNBC liberal talk show host Rachel Maddow likes the word "awesome." On HBO's Real Time with Bill Mahr, Maddow teamed up with Pres. Reagan's former budget director David Stockman and poured a bucket-full of bunk about Reagan's economic record. Wall Street Journal...