Sunday, February 01, 2009
Like most of the rest of the country, the economic downturn is hitting Arizona hard. The main economic force in the Grand Canyon State was the construction industry, and no one is building or buying houses anymore. Home prices are dropping dramatically. Tax revenue has been dramatically reduced and since the Republicans cut taxes during the good years, we are facing something like a 20 percent shortfall. We are supposed to have a Rainy Day Fund, but since it wasn't adequately funded, there isn't much money to fall back on.
The result, to the glee of the Republicans, are massive cuts for education, healthcare, cultural attractions, and environmental clean-up. Arizona already was ranked 49th in terms of education funding. I guess when you are 50th the only place you can go is up.
Since the Republicans from the Phoenix area run the state, and because southern Arizona is largely Democratic, we get a greater share of the cutbacks. This includes closing most of the state parks in southern Arizona. The University of Arizona is requiring employees to take 10 unpaid days leave this semester. And so on. They expect that next year will be much worse.
The Republican response? "We will not raise taxes." Currently, Arizona residents pay less than 4 percent of our income in state income taxes. I guess I am one of those horrible liberals who thinks having the government take care of roads, schools, universities, and parks is a good thing, since I lack the expertise to do so.
Cutting education funding when thousands of unemployed people are going back to school is stupid. Cutting funding for state parks when people need a local attraction to visit, since they can't afford vacations, is also stupid. Republican legislators, and the people who vote for them, are the most stupid.
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The result, to the glee of the Republicans, are massive cuts for education, healthcare, cultural attractions, and environmental clean-up. Arizona already was ranked 49th in terms of education funding. I guess when you are 50th the only place you can go is up.
Since the Republicans from the Phoenix area run the state, and because southern Arizona is largely Democratic, we get a greater share of the cutbacks. This includes closing most of the state parks in southern Arizona. The University of Arizona is requiring employees to take 10 unpaid days leave this semester. And so on. They expect that next year will be much worse.
The Republican response? "We will not raise taxes." Currently, Arizona residents pay less than 4 percent of our income in state income taxes. I guess I am one of those horrible liberals who thinks having the government take care of roads, schools, universities, and parks is a good thing, since I lack the expertise to do so.
Cutting education funding when thousands of unemployed people are going back to school is stupid. Cutting funding for state parks when people need a local attraction to visit, since they can't afford vacations, is also stupid. Republican legislators, and the people who vote for them, are the most stupid.
