Goldwater Institute

Advocates of limited government in Congress face a dilemma. For two decades, conservatives have sought to devolve federal power over education back to state and local governments. In 1981, Ronald Reagan entered office pledging to abolish the fledgling Department of Education. Since then hundreds of billions of federal taxpayer dollars have been spent in an effort to improve local educational services, but there has been no corresponding improvement in student performance on major national exams.

From 1990 to 2000 Arizona's population increased by 1.5 million residents, making it the second fastest-growing state in the nation. Of the state's 5 million inhabitants, 3.3 million, or 65 percent, came from another state or from outside the United States. Despite this overwhelming evidence that Arizona is a desirable place to live and work, the state's growth has generated a great deal of worry.

The free movement of information throughout the economy and in government benefits Arizonans as citizens and consumers. At the same time, the right to privacy is also an important aspect of public and commercial life. Developments in information technology increasingly bring the free movement of information into conflict with the right to privacy.

The primary cause of this year's fiscal deficit is excessive government spending. State spending has grown far more than needed to keep pace with Arizona's growing population. Whereas population has grown by only 36 percent, government spending has grown by 63 percent. Contrary to some reports in the media and the legislature, the mild recession has not left the state withering on the vine. The current state budget is the largest in Arizona's history.

In 1998, Arizona voters passed the Citizens Clean Elections Act. Its purpose was to eliminate the alleged deleterious effect of private money on state politics: the influence of private contributions on elected officials and the advantages enjoyed by candidates with large campaign chests. The Citizens Clean Elections Act established an optional system of public campaign finance for those people seeking state offices.