NEWS UPDATES
Hypocrisy Charge (updated)
Linda Valdez, the editorial board member of the Arizona Republic, was kind enough to respond to my question about her Quick Hit on Tuesday, click here for original post. Ms. Valdez explained that her aim was directed at Brewer and the GOP who rail against the federal...
Hypocrisy Charge Needs Context
Hypocrisy is defined as "the practice of professing beliefs, feelings or virtues that one does not hold or possess." I needed to double-check the definition after reading a Quick Hit from Arizona Republic editorial board member Linda Valdez who wrote that Arizona's...
Liberal Policy Group Diminishes State Corporate Tax Cuts
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) released a paper today saying that corporate income tax cuts don't matter much to a state's economy. We hear the same thing all the time: that taxes don't really matter except when they do. For example, industrial...
An Idle $50 Billion
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has a September 7 blog post arguing why additional government spending is arguably better than tax cuts to stimulate economic growth. I have actually never seen Krugman argue a case where tax cuts are preferred, but that's not...
A Recent History of K-12 Funding in AZ
Education Funding K-12 M&O only All funding sources (state, local, federal) Source: JLBC 2001 $3,899,678,400 2002 $4,437,848,500 +12.8% 2003 $4,749,655,600 +8% 2004 $5,076,776,500 +6.2% 2005 $5,397,481,900 +5.8% 2006 $5,825,724,000 +7.4% 2007 $6,416,123,000 +10.3%...
The Impending Tax Increase
The Goldwater Institute published a smart piece this morning highlighting the importance of two November ballot initiatives that need to pass in order to prevent an even bigger budget hole. You can read it here. Propositions 301 and 302 would take approximately $450...
Low (flow) Standards
The AZ Corporation Commission is meddling in the marketplace again and the Arizona Republic gives them a pat on the back. In a recent editorial, "High Standards Will Save Us Millions," the Republic argues that if consumers demand less energy, then our energy bills...
Not providing public money to candidates does not harm democracy
Clean Elections Commission Executive Director Todd Lang said that the SCOTUS ruling that blocks the issuance of matching funds for this election cycle hurts both participating candidates (those taking the public money) and voters because now we won't be able to hear...
This Bill is a Big Deal
From Greg Patterson at Espresso Pundit. He's right about this. 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. from Arizona's Own Espresso Pundit by Greg Patterson You don't have to read Luke 18:11 to know...
Reprinted from the Wall Street Journal’s Political Diary (4-9-10)
April 9, 2010 Leaving Arizona . . . Poorer Relative to the size of its budget, the red ink in Phoenix is even higher than in Sacramento or Albany. Arizona has one of the largest deficits of any state. Its mortgage foreclosure rate is also one of the highest. No wonder...
Amazing U.S. Debt Clock
You won't believe your eyes. Well, you might. http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Pro-Subsidy Republicans
And just when I thought something good was going to come out of the legislature. On Monday, the Senate seemed to kill a bill designed to reauthorize the motion picture (movie/film) tax credit package. These are tax credits that have done nothing for the state other...