Week in Review: New taxes to pay for pickleball?

No, the Goldwater Institute doesn’t hate pickleball—we just don’t like illegal taxes.

Government officials in Gilbert, Ariz., are trying to hike taxes on hotel stays, online sales, and more to fund “critically needed infrastructure”—i.e. pickleball courts and splash pads. But the burden of the tax increases will fall hardest on Gilbert residents who, along with area businesses and visitors, must actually pay them. Moreover, raising taxes in this manner violates the Arizona Constitution, so the Goldwater Institute sent the town council a letter urging councilmembers not to adopt the new taxes.

Numerous local governments around Arizona have found out the hard way that Goldwater means business when it comes to holding local leaders accountable. After all, they’re public servants who ought to represent the interests of the community—not violate their rights.

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Secret ‘Safe Zone’ Trainings in Rhode Island?

Somewhere behind closed doors at the University of Rhode Island, “Safe Zone” trainings are spreading the toxic falsehoods of identity politics at taxpayers’ expense, all while officials claim the trainings are “trade secrets” that can’t be made public.

“I’m a mom and I pay taxes, and I want to know how my tax dollars are being spent,” concerned citizen Nicole Solas says. Now the Goldwater Institute and our American Freedom Network of pro bono attorneys are helping Nicole find out what this public university is hiding—because citizens have a right to know what their government is up to, no matter what creative excuses their leaders come up with.

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The Constitution Rejects Rule by Decree

The EPA issues new regulations that will essentially force Americans to purchase electric vehicles. The CDC declares a nationwide mortarium on evictions. The Biden Administration tries to unilaterally “cancel” student loan debt.

“All represent an unconstitutional encroachment by the executive branch on the powers of Congress,” Goldwater’s Timothy K. Minella wrote this week for Constitution Day. “The president is not a king.”

That’s why Goldwater is laser-focused on tearing down the Administrative State, whose unelected bureaucrats write rules with the force of law that affect nearly every aspect of our daily lives. “Reducing the concentration of power in the executive and restoring Congress to its proper role will help to rebuild the ingenious structure of our constitutional system,” Minella concludes.

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