A MESSAGE FROM OUR GOVERNOR

Last March I proposed to the Arizona Legislature a comprehensive, multi-year solution to address our massive state budget deficit. But many of the important components of that plan have yet to be adopted by the Legislature. This year I have implemented the largest state budget reductions ever in our state’s history. Further budget reductions will certainly be necessary, but much more work remains to rescue the finances of our state. Reality about the depth of this deficit and fiscal crisis must set in.

We, who have taken an oath to steer this Arizona ship, cannot now refuse to take the helm. Arizonans expect us to do our duty. That’s what they deserve. They are entitled to our very best – our courage to confront difficulties in the pursuit of solutions, not political points or partisan gamesmanship. The time has come to put aside temptations to run from what this moment in Arizona history demands of us. The time has come to place our hands on the wheel and do what we all know is right.

As Governor, I ask that we confront our financial plight with the strength of a united purpose. That is our commitment to Arizona. Let us fulfill it.

It's Official, Brewer is Running

November 5, 2009,
Phoenix, AZ
By Bob Haran

Early today Arizona Governor Jan Brewer submitted the initial paperwork with the Secretary of State to run for election in her own right as Governor.

Brewer inherited the Governor's office in January when former Governor Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, resigned in order to become U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security in the Obama administration.

The duties and responsibilities of the office of Governor were not the only things Brewer inherited from Napolitano. Brewer said that she inherited a budget deficit created from years of overspending and living beyond our means.

To reduce spending and manage the budget Brewer and the Republican controlled Legislature made the largest spending cuts in Arizona history, around $1 billion.

Brewer admitted that some of those cuts were not easy to make but also said that, "tough times call for a tough leader."

In August Governor Brewer and the Republican leadership of the Arizona Legislature reached an agreement which was praised by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) as an alternative to tax, spend, and tax again. Designed to entice more employers and high-income taxpayers to Arizona and to stimulate the economy by putting more money in the hands of consumers, instead of trying to tax their way out of a huge budget deficit, Arizona would grow its way out by repealing the hated business property tax, reducing the state corporate income tax rate from 6.97% to 4.86%, and in addition, cutting all personal income tax rates by 6.6%. In exchange for the tax cuts the legislature would allow the voters to decide if they were willing to temporarily pay an extra one cent on the dollar in sales tax for two years and a half cent for a third year.

The WSJ article pointed out that economic studies have shown that states have more jobs and higher income growth when they tax consumption rather than savings, investment and business profits.

The tax and spend Democrats called the agreement a tax giveaway to big business and voted as a block against it. The package past however in the Republican controlled House but ran into trouble in the Republican controlled Senate when two extremist, anti-government senators, Pam Gorman of LD 6 and Ron Gould of LD 3, broke ranks with the Republican party and voted with the Democrats against the sales tax referral to the voters, defeating it by one vote, thereby killing the agreement and forcing the governor to veto the tax cuts. Later Gorman resigned as Senate Majority Whip, citing philosophical differences with the Republican Caucus and went on a mid-west vacation.

Jan Brewer is a conservative Republican from Glendale who was first elected to the Arizona House in 1982 and to the Arizona Senate in 1986 were she also served as Majority Whip for two terms. In 1996 she was elected to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and went on to become Chairman of the Board.

First elected to statewide office in 2002 as Arizona Secretary of State and re-elected in 2006. Brewer has been a Republican Precinct Committeemen since 1970 and has always been a stalwart, hard working Republican who has never lost an election.

After taking office as governor, Brewer told the Arizona Daily Star; "First I was worried, then I was concerned, and now I'm just angry to see what has happened and the irresponsible management that has led us to the brink of bankruptcy."

It seems that Napolitano knew when to abandon a ship in trouble, thankfully Brewer is made of sterner stuff and will not abandon ship because Brewer has the Right Stuff.

Bob Haran,
American Conservative Republican

Bob Burns, "Let the Voters Decide"

Burns on budget: We’re out of gimmicks and time
November 3, 2009 by azsenaterepublicans

In today’s Arizona Republic, Senate President Bob Burns says let voters decide what they’re willing to do to help our state recover:

Your state government is in trouble. The money we collect in taxes and fees from you, your neighbors and your employers has declined sharply during this economic crisis. The money the state spends to educate our children, provide healthcare and welfare benefits and public safety services, is far outpacing the money we’re taking in.

The latest estimate of our current budget deficit is $2 billion. There are really four major components to that number. The first is that plummeting revenue that caused last year’s budget to fall short by $500 million. That’s money we already spent. Whether we like it or not, we will have to find the revenue for it in FY 2010.

Another factor affecting the deficit is the aftermath of the governor vetoing significant parts of the budget package the Legislature sent her last summer – the Department of Economic Security (welfare) and K-12 education budgets, and the bill containing budget provisions relating to taxation and revenue. That added another $500 million to the deficit.

The remaining $1 billion of the $2 billion deficit stems from a number of projections that are considered highly likely: that our tax revenues will continue to fall ($700 million) and that demand for healthcare for the poor will grow and other provisions of the FY 2010 budget will not generate the savings we had hoped for ($300 million).

Meanwhile, the overall public message to the Legislature has continued to be “Don’t raise taxes and don’t cut spending.” The previous governor, despite clear signs of economic stress and dropping revenues, insisted on significant increases in spending. While I think we should have been much more aggressive in our effort to control or decrease spending, the fact of the matter is that we are essentially budgeting the same spending level as when the recession began.

To maintain a general fund budget of about $10 billion over the last few years of this recession, your state government – Republicans and Democrats alike – have depleted our savings, delayed payments, swept funds from other accounts, used one-time federal stimulus dollars, and gone deeper into debt. Our projected ongoing revenues are only $6.4 billion, meaning the budget has a structural deficit of $3.6 billion that will plague us in the future until we enact permanent solutions.

Now we’ve hit the wall on short-term budget maneuvers and gimmicks. Those options are no longer available. We will have to cut spending or increase taxes, or both. There is very little else of substance we can do at this point.

Many of you know that I have a reputation as a fiscal conservative from my many years as chair of the appropriations committees in both the House and Senate. When it comes to making decisions on how to spend taxpayer dollars, I have always seen my role as that of a gatekeeper, not a gift-giver.

Over the years I have come to the opinion that many people tend to exaggerate the restrictions on the Legislature’s legal authority to reduce spending. Nevertheless, there are real limits that come in various forms: federal, constitutional, judicial, and electoral.

We need to act decisively, and time is not on our side. It won’t be long before state employees won’t be able to cash their paychecks. This insolvency of state government will affect more of you than you might think.

I surprised many people when I announced earlier this year my support for putting a one-cent sales tax increase on the ballot. Do not misunderstand me. The revenue generated from such a tax increase (less than $900 million in current economic conditions) will not entirely solve the problem. I also recognize the distinct possibility that voters may reject any such proposal. In either case, I will continue to advocate for more reductions in state spending to balance the budget.

I will support putting the referral to a vote in the Legislature whenever and as many times as we need to in order to get the question to the voters. But I will not be supportive of higher state spending as a price to get those votes.

We have lost enough precious time already. The question needs to be asked: Are you willing to pay, in addition to your current tax burdens, another penny on the dollar in sales tax in order to provide more revenue for your government? There may not be an official declaration that Arizona is in a state of emergency, but in my view, we’re in one.