Government Spending
No government has ever spent its way to prosperity. Our proposals help governments be fiscally responsible so citizens can be prosperous.
Taxpayers couldn't help but be impressed by Democratic criticism of the Republican fiscal foolishness during the last election campaign. The Democrats solemnly promised to restore budgetary discipline. But it looks like they were just kidding.
Phoenix--How do Arizona governors stack up against each other when it comes to spending your money? In A Comparison of State Spending Growth under Arizona Governors, Robert Robb, a founding director of the Goldwater Institute, compares state general fund spending during Governor Janet Napolitano's first term to that of the previous five Arizona governors.
Since 2000, the Arizona state budget has grown 94 percent. Over the same time, the state's population has increased just 24 percent. At the current annual growth rate of 9.9 percent, Arizona state government will be spending an estimated $50.5 billion dollars a year by 2014. This study examines the causes of Arizona's budget growth and the potential impact on the state economy.
Private sector can help with traffic woes
Anyone who says talk is cheap hasn't hired a lobbyist lately.
Arizona governmental bodies know this well. They've been using millions of taxpayer dollars to pay lobbyists for years. Whether its fighting against tax cuts or for more government spending, government lobbyists are a powerful bunch.
Taxpayer-funded lobbying that is, government bodies lobbying other government bodies leads to fundamental problems in a free society. Government lobbyists crowd out the voice of regular Arizonans, and the practice itself grows government at a dizzying pace.
Not to be high of hand, but people living in the more . . . well, benighted regions of the country outside Arizona often fail to grasp life's more complex issues.
Like the efficacy of charter schools. People who dwell in these places just don't seem to get charters.
Charter schools proliferate in Arizona as nowhere else. Over 86,000 Arizona students attend some 500 charters here. Some of the state's most academically demanding schools, like Tempe Preparatory Academy, are charters.
State spending increases $92 per second over last year
Mayors using scare tactics to pressure legislators
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has written President Bush and wants a face-to-face meeting to talk about the city's share of homeland security and anti-terrorism funding.
Gordon is upset with Bush administration security outlays to states and major metropolitan areas that were announced Wednesday. The mayor feels the Phoenix metro area is being shortchanged.
The Phoenix metro area received $3.9 million in that allotment, less than smaller markets including Omaha, Neb.; Memphis, Tenn.; Louisville, Ky.; and Columbus, Ohio.