ARIZONA FEDERATION OF TAXPAYERS

Expanding economic growth and prosperity for all Arizonans

 

 

 

February 28th

Maricopa County homeowners are in for a big shock tomorrow when county valuation notices reach their mailboxes. The County Assessor’s office has hired a San Antonio public relations firm, Gurra Debrry Coody, to engage in an “informational campaign” to calm taxpayer fears. “The County can try to spin this,” said AFT executive director Tom Jenney, “but the bottom line is the same—unless property tax rates are cut, homeowners are going to see huge tax hikes.”

 

According a Sunday news piece by Republic reporter Matthew Benson, the median home value in Maricopa County is more than 50 percent higher than it was in the last assessment two years ago…  

 

AFT recommends that state, county, city and other officials support property tax rate cuts. However, several March 14 ballot measures, if passed, would have the effect of crowding out future tax rate reductions. Those ballot measures include the seven bond proposals from the City of Phoenix, two bond proposals from the City of Gilbert, and school district override votes for Arlington #47 (Arlington, AZ), Washington #6 (Phoenix), and Peoria Unified.

 

March 2nd AFT Meeting on Property and Income Taxes

 

Property taxes will be a key topic at AFT’s quarterly dinner meeting this Thursday evening in Tempe. The meeting’s discussion panel includes State Senator Dean Martin (LD6--Phoenix), sponsor of a legislative property tax reduction measure, Jeff Greenspan, chairman of Stop Taxing Our Property (STOP), and Marc Goldstone, chairman of Arizona Tax Revolt, a Prop-13-style ballot initiative.  

 

The AFT dinner will take place at 7:00 p.m. at Macayo’s restaurant in Tempe, 300 South Ash, 85218. Admission is free.  Dinner is optional for $10 per person.

 

January 19th

Governor’s $10 Billion Budget is “Outrageous”

The Governor’s proposed budget would be an increase of 19 percent over last year’s spending, or 15 percent, if Prop. 301 education spending is included in the baseline. 

 

By comparison, the JLBC predicts that personal income growth in the state will be between seven and eight percent next year.  Also, the combined growth of population and inflation in Arizona is forecast to be five percent next year, which would allow the Arizona General Fund to grow from $8.8 billion to $9.2 billion, including Prop. 301 spending.

 

The Governor begins the year with a veto.  It was last year's reneg on a School Choice Tax Credit Bill.

  

January 13th

Income Tax Cuts Achieve Majority Support in Both AZ Chambers

Thanks to all of our taxpayer activists who sent emails to their legislators or showed up at the Capitol for the tax-cut rally on Wednesday. The Taxpayer Appreciation and Investment Act (TAIA) of 2006 now has majority support in both chambers. The TAIA is a good bill, cutting roughly ten percent off each of the state’s personal and corporate income tax rates, but it’s very moderate—the $440 million is easily within reach this year. There is no excuse for our legislators to settle for anything less than the full package.

 

January 11th

State Rep. Laura Knaperek (R-Tempe) will hold a press conference at the state capitol in support of a major tax-cut package.  The Taxpayer Appreciation and Investment Act of 2006 would reduce each of Arizona’s personal income tax rates by ten percent, providing much-needed tax relief for the working people and retirees of Arizona.

What: Rally for Tax Cuts

 

When: Wednesday, Jan 11th at 11:00 a.m.

 

Where: State Capitol, Ice Cream Parlor in the Old Capitol Bldg.

 

November 15th

What a great Awards event.  Over 130 people showed up to learn about the best, worst, silliest and strangest legislation of 2005.  U.S. Senator Jon Kyl spoke eloquently on the benefits of limited government and the need for budget reform. 

View our event.

And the winners are... 

Champions of the taxpayer have abundant vision

The Arizona Capitol Times prints our article on Arizona's free market heros:

The Arizona Legislature’s tax-cutters and spending hawks are accused of many things. They are called crackpots and extremists. They are labeled as mean-spirited or uncaring. And when those harsher labels don’t stick, critics fall back on an old standard, accusing them of having a lack of “vision.”

Vision is an indispensable component of leadership, so that last accusation often hurts. But if we look carefully, we will see that it is the champions of the taxpayer who truly have vision...

October 15th

Capitalism saves lives.  The disaster of Hurricane Katrina and 11,000 French people dead from a heat wave in 2004 can be blamed on inefficient and incompetent government bureaucrats.  Economist Don Boudreaux makes the convincing case that fewer people died in Hurricane Katrina because of the free market system.

Six of these 10 most powerful storms have struck during the past half-century, yet only one of them (Katrina) is among America's 10 deadliest hurricanes. Even given Katrina's awful devastation, the long-term trend is for hurricanes to kill fewer people than in the past.

Many factors explain this pattern, including the precise locations of landfall. But surely the most important reason why hurricanes today are less deadly than in the past is that we are much wealthier.

[sophisticated weather-forecasting, building materials, automobiles, health-care, household appliances and ordinary grocery items]

...And what makes all these modern marvels possible? Markets -- commerce -- entrepreneurs' passion for profitable success at pleasing consumers and consumers' insistence on getting the best deals that they can.

Although typically criticized by intellectual elites as being grimy and unpleasant, markets in fact are an unsung hero at saving lives.

You go that right.

 

Its your money.  Don't let them take it without a fight. From Joseph Blast:

Governments in the United States take approximately 40 percent of the country's total income in taxes. In other words, nearly half of all the income generated each year is sent to governments to spend...

It's easy to complain about taxes and then do nothing to lower them, but how free are you when governments take half or more of your income? Even serfs in the 16th and 17th centuries typically owed their feudal lords only a quarter of their crops and livestock, and often much less.

Our forefathers fought a war for independence over taxes that were far lower than those we now pay without complaint. It's time we got up off our sofas and demanded real tax relief.

The Tax Foundation has recently published is highly popular summary of Federal Income Tax Data.  An interesting observation: The average tax rate for the bottom 50% of taxpayers rose during the Clinton Administration, but has fallen during the Bush Presidency.  No comment from the Urban Institute.

Year

Total

Top 1%

Top 2-5%

Top 5%

Top 6-10%

Top 10%

Top 11-25%

Top 25%

Top 26-50%

Top 50%

Bottom 50%

1990

12.9%

23.2%

17.6%

20.4%

13.6%

18.5%

12.0%

16.0% 

9.7%

14.3%

5.0%

1991

12.7%

24.3%

17.1%

20.6%

13.9%

18.6%

11.5%

15.9%

9.5%

14.2%

4.6%

1992

12.9%

25.0%

17.2%

21.1%

13.9%

19.1%

11.3%

16.2%

9.4%

14.4%

4.3%

1993

13.3%

28.0%

17.4%

22.7%

14.0%

20.2%

11.4%

16.9%

9.3%

14.9%

4.2%

1994

13.5%

28.2%

17.9%

23.0%

14.2%

20.4%

11.5%

17.1%

9.4%

15.1%

4.3%

1995

13.8%

28.7%

18.1%

23.5%

14.4%

20.9%

11.7%

17.5%

9.4%

15.4%

4.3%

1996

14.3%

28.8%

18.6%

24.0%

14.7%

21.5%

11.8%

18.1%

9.5%

15.9%

4.4%

1997

14.4%

27.6%

18.7%

23.6%

14.8%

21.3%

12.0%

18.1%

9.6%

16.0%

4.4%

1998

14.4%

27.1%

19.1%

23.6%

14.7%

21.4%

11.6%

18.1%

9.1%

16.0%

4.4%

1999

14.8%

27.5%

19.6%

24.1%

15.0%

21.9%

11.7%

18.6%

9.1%

16.4%

4.4%

2000

15.2%

27.4%

20.0%

24.4%

15.4%

22.3%

12.0%

19.0%

9.2%

16.8%

4.6%

2001

14.2%

27.5%

19.1%

23.6%

14.8%

21.4%

11.5%

18.0%

8.9%

15.8%

4.0%

2002

13.0%

27.2%

18.1%

22.9%

13.8%

20.5%

10.4%

16.9%

7.6%

14.6%

3.2%

2003

11.90%

24.10%

16.50%

20.70%

12.20%

18.50%

9.5% 

15.30%

7.10%

13.50%

2.90%

Don't miss the Tax Foundation's Ten Principles of Sound Tax Policy.

 

October 8th

Reason #1to come to the awards luncheon: national recognition.  From the corner at the National Review Online:

YOU GOTTA LOVE . . . [Mark Krikorian]
. . . the Vladimir I. Lenin Award for "the most pro-big government legislator".
Posted at 02:31 PM

Don't tell Jonathan Talton.  Bob Robb points out despite pumping hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money to the Biotech industry, its job growth rate is the same as the rest of the Arizona economy, or at least those industries who cannot afford lobbyists.

Phoenix was named the #1 City for Entrepreneurs.  How is this possible without a "hip" downtown?  Low taxes and minimal regulations encourages peoples natural desire for self-improvement.

Speaking of Arizona's worst "business" writer, Espressopundit deconstructs the AZ Republic's one-trick pony.

      

September 25th

The Peoria Unified School District is asking for $120.5 million.  Vote NO.  According to the PUSD Community Committee, very few dollars actually end up in the classroom:

The PUSD Community Committee OPPOSES the $120.5 Million Bond that Peoria Unified School District is asking voters to approve on Nov. 8, 2005.  Like everyone, we want quality education in quality schools.  After all, we are very involved in the schools and community. Many of us have or had children that attend district schools.   However, WE DO NOT WANT TO WRITE A BLANK CHECK.

 

The Question remains:  IS $120.5 MILLION NEEDED AND WHERE WILL IT BE SPENT?

With very few details and little public input there is no way to determine the answer to this question.  We do know several things: Only 31.8% of the 2002 bond money has been used as of May 31, 2005 and yet they are asking for more money now; only 1 out of the 3 elementary schools that were supposed to be built from the 2002 bond money have been built and they don’t know when or where they will be built; $7 million from the 2002 bond was supposed to go toward a transportation facility that was never built; if this bond passes, renovations to Peoria High School will total approx. $20 million more than building a brand new school; $78.7 million has no designation to any specific schools.  Where will that money be spent?  Too many questions, too little details.  VOTE NO- tell the school district to prove the need and tell us where the money will be spent.  Make sure the money is going to where it is needed most-the children and the classrooms.

 

September 17th

Hold on to your wallet, here they come.  The Arizona Republic reports spending by lobbyists was up 30% in 2004.  Its a safe bet that lobbyists are not asking our elected officials to spend less money.

The Center for Public Integrity, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C., reported that lobbyist spending in Arizona rose to $3.1 million in 2004 - the highest level since the data for Arizona became available in 1999...

The growing amount spent by lobbyists is considered important because most Arizonans don't have money available to try to influence the Legislature.

Actually you can influence the legislature and defend everyday Arizona families by joining the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers.

The poor are getting richer.  The New York Times reports:

The profound flaws in our officially calculated poverty rate are revealed by its very intimation that the poverty situation in America was "better" in 1974 than it is today...

The soundings from the poverty rate are further belied by information on actual living standards for low-income Americans. In 1972-73, for example, just 42 percent of the bottom fifth of American households owned a car; in 2003, almost three-quarters of "poverty households" had one. By 2001, only 6 percent of "poverty households" lived in "crowded" homes (more than one person per room) - down from 26 percent in 1970. By 2003, the fraction of poverty households with central air-conditioning (45 percent) was much higher than the 1980 level for the non-poor (29 percent).

The poverty rate is out of step with all these other readings about deprivation in modern America because it was designed to measure the wrong thing. The poverty rate has always been derived from reported household income. (Exigency played a role here: at the start of the war on poverty 40 years ago, those income numbers were already available from the Census Bureau.) But a better gauge of a household's material deprivation is not what it earns, but what it spends. When we look at spending patterns, we immediately see a huge discrepancy between reported incomes and reported expenditures for low-income Americans.

Simply put, capitalism works.  We continue to hear stories of starvation in foreign countries with government run economies.  In the U.S., the major health concern for the poor is obesity.  Only in a capitalist society can poverty be defined as people who eat too much. 

Hat tip to Espresso Pundit.

     

Pro-free-market, not rabid anti-American pol set to win Germany's election. With no economic growth and record high unemployment, the current Prime Minister, Gerhard Schroeder, has kept himself in power for the last few years only through America bashing.  Now comes a Margaret Thatcher like leader who champions cutting payroll taxes, reducing burdensome employment laws, and reforming the government pension system.  And she supported the liberation of Iraq.

To save his political skin, Schroeder has resurrected the strategy employed by German politicians in 1930's: blaming Germany's problems on a foreign group of people.  Let's hope the majority of Germans finally reject politics the politics of fear.

Support families, reduce the gas tax.  The Goldwater Institute points out the problems with the gas tax:

37.5 cents of every gallon of gas you buy goes to pay federal, state, and local taxes. That amounts to an annual gas tax burden of $271 for every American.

 

Since road construction is a state and local obligation, state or local gas taxes may make some sense. After all, people who use the highways and byways should share in paying for their construction and upkeep.


But the federal gas tax, 18.4 cents per gallon, is a different matter entirely. Originally levied in the 1950s to pay for the construction of the interstate highway system, the tax survives even though the highway system has long since been completed.


Today the federal gas tax funds pork, and lots of it. August's federal highway bill, funded by the federal gas tax, is a $286 billion collection of pet projects and politically motivated giveaways, including $233 million for "Don Young's Way," an Anchorage, Alaska bridge named after the House transportation committee chairman.

        

September 11th.  Never forget.

September 10th

Gas Crisis.  Blame big government, not big oil.  In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, gas prices have increased approximately 30%.  Anti-business conspiracy theorists blame it on "Big Oil."  The real culprit is government regulations and environmental extremists.  

The government severely limits the supply of crude oil.  Because of this, the U.S. is dependent on foreign countries for over half its crude oil.  The fight over the Artic National Wildlife Refuge illustrates the difficulties in expanding our own domestic reserves.  This remote, uninhabited, frozen tundra could hold the largest supply of crude in the U.S., yet it has taken years of political fighting just to let energy companies explore the area.

However, simply increasing the supply of crude oil will not solve the problem.  A larger problem is a lack of gasoline refineries.  A new refinery has not been built in the U.S. since 1976, yet demand for gasoline has increased 25%.  Existing refineries are operating at 100% capacity, so even a minor disruption has an immediate impact at the pump.  

A handful of new refineries across the U.S. would have a huge impact on lowering gas prices and providing price stability.  But building one is next to impossible.  The government permit process, impact "studies" and lawsuits by environment zealots can cost an energy company millions of dollars and drag on for dozens of years.  

Arizona Clean Fuels is one example.  The company has spent more than 10 years trying to build a refinery in Arizona.  It spent 5 years on air quality permits, a few more years filing for other permits and conducting impact studies, one year fighting a ridiculous environmental "racism" lawsuit, and another year finding a new location to build.  Now the ACF hopes to have its Yuma facility supplying Arizona residents with gasoline 15 years after they started the project.

Liberal activists shout alternative fuels as our energy salvation.  If they were effective, then energy companies would already be developing them.  The fact is, one little peaker plant the size of a Circle K store can provide more power than 2,000 acres of pristine desert spoiled by solar panels.  Supporting inefficient, ineffective and money-losing ventures is what government is known for.  

Modern technology has made crude oil extraction and gasoline refining safe and effective.  Arizona consumers will benefit if the government removes the barriers to energy independence and lets the free market provide low cost, high-quality energy solutions. 

    

Ireland, a capitalist success story Part II.  Retired school teacher Johanna Haver instructs Gov. Napolitano and AZ Republic "business" columnist Jon Talton on the roots of Irish economic success:

Professor Dermot McAleese, former dean of the faculty of Business, Economics and Social Studies at Trinity-College, University of Dublin, [explained] "It began with a cross-party consensus on government spending cutbacks, which gave notice of the political will to restore order to the nation’s finances. That determination paved the way for interest rates to ease and for moderate pay deals and tax cuts. Higher business consumption and business investment followed,"

Via East Valley Tribune, link not available.

      

Look out Ireland, here comes Iceland?  "The Nordic Tiger, largely unseen and unnoticed, stalks the world’s companies," writes the Adam Smith Institutes' Dr Eamonn Butler.  15 years ago, Iceland was a poor fishing village.  Today, the country boasts 1,000 millionaires in a country of 297,000 people, and owns 3 of the top 15 Nordic banks.  How did the country do it:

Big falls in company taxation were another key step. Capital gains tax is now 10%. Corporate taxes went from 30% to 18%, and asset taxes were filleted. Suddenly, businesses looked profitable again. Income tax is still high, but the 4% supertax looks to be on the way out, as does inheritance tax. The rate cut in corporate taxes actually resulted in larger revenues.

       

2005 Index of Economic Freedom released.  The rankings are:

 

Rank 

Country 

Score 

 

1. 

Hong Kong 

8.7 

 

2. 

Singapore 

8.5 

 

3. 

New Zealand 

8.2 

 

3. 

Switzerland 

8.2 

 

3. 

United States 

8.2 

 

6. 

United Kingdom 

8.1 

 

7. 

Canada 

8.0 

 

8. 

Ireland 

7.9 

 

9. 

Australia 

7.8 

 

9. 

Estonia 

7.8 

 

9. 

Luxembourg 

7.8 

 

9. 

United Arab Emirates 

7.8 

A couple of highlights:

  • Nations in the top quintile in economic freedom have an average per-capita GDP of US$25,062,compared to US$2,409 for those nations in the bottom quintile.
  • The top quintile has an average per-capita economic growth rate of 2.5%,compared to 0.6%for the bottom quintile.
  • Unemployment in the top quintile averages 5.2%,compared to 13.0% in the bottom quintile.

This may surprise the central planners on the left, but the report notes that countries that are economically free tend to grow faster and be more prosperous than government run economies.

    

Napolitano is for school choice?  The Alliance for School Choice informs us of a National Governors Association report identifying school choice as a best practice in education:  

These recommendations, which, according to the report's authors, should be considered as part of a coherent and comprehensive public education system, include offering tuition assistance for choice participation. The report states, “By providing state tax or financial assistance for students to attend private or parochial K-12 schools…. more students can access these options.”

The report states that greater school choice can help meet the goals of:
• higher graduation rates,
• meet No Child Left Behind Act requirements to offer choice options,
• encourage innovation and improvement across the education system,
• satisfy parental demands for options, and
• reduce segregation by race and income.

Gov. Napolitano is one of six governors involved in the project.  

Of course, two weeks ago the Governor proposed ending local control of schools, ending school choice and raising taxes to pay for a national education plan.  Talk about taking both sides of an issue.  Napolitano learned a lot from Bill Clinton.

   

September 6th

2005 Legislative Scorecard.  Taxpayers or Big Government: Which Does Your Legislator Support?  This year's Arizona Federation of Taxpayers scorecard groups Arizona state legislators as those who favor taxpayers and those who favor “Big Government.” Among the new features of this year’s scorecard, AFT includes Gov. Janet Napolitano in its rankings.  

Follow this link to read the full report.  

       

September 1st

American Can-Do Spirit.  Great charities for the hurricane relief.

Catholic Charities

United Jewish Charities

LDS Humanitarian Services

Salvation Army

Soldiers' Angels

Episcopal Relief and Development.

Humane Society.

Mennonite Disaster Services.

The Mercy Corps

Methodist Relief.

Operation Blessing.

Samaritan's Purse

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.

Strengthen The Good 

Here's FEMA's list

Compliments of Instapundit.

The economics of natural disasters.  There are always a handful of "experts" who claim natural and man-made disasters are good for the economy.   AFT Vice Chairman Tom Jenney debunks this non-sense, both in human and economic terms.

The Goldwater Institute has released its 2005 Legislative Scorecard.

Deutsche Bank Predicts Continuing American Dominance.  This recent report notes the wealth gap between Old Europe and the U.S. is growing.

In 2020, the United States will remain the world superpower, with a total GNP of approximately $17 trillion to $18 trillion. Thanks to its dynamic demographics ..., a productivity and a competitiveness amongst the best in the world ..., and thanks also to its constant drive to create and innovate, and with flexibility due to the mobility of its labor force...With average per capita salaries of approximately $55,000, the income of the average American in 2020 will be 1.5 to 2 times greater than that of a European; five times higher than that of a Chinese and nine times more than that of an Indian..

While European countries will remain rich in terms of per capita income (about $32,500), their relative weight will decline with their demographics and weaker growth (on average, almost half as much as the United States). Countries like Spain or Ireland will experience a higher level of development than the European average, thanks to a wider opening of their economies to the outside, the dynamism of their investments, good population growth forecasts and effective immigration policies.

There are still many liberals whose goal is to reshape America's economy to make it look more like Western Europe's. As the United States pulls farther and farther ahead of Europe economically, this idea appears more and more perverse. With socialism defunct and the "Third Way" being left in the economic rear, it is hard to see what remains, ideologically speaking, for the American Left.  Via Powerline.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus enlightens his fellow Europeans on their failures:

President Klaus spoke last Monday, warning for the new “substitute ideologies of socialism”...

As substitutes of socialism, Václav Klaus cited “environmentalism (with its Earth First, not Freedom First principle), radical humanrightism (based – as de Jasay precisely argues – on not distinguishing rights and rightism), the ideology of ‘civic society’ (or communitarism), which is nothing less than one version of post-Marxist collectivism which wants privileges for organized groups, and in consequence, a refeudalization of society […], multiculturalism, feminism, apolitical technocratism (based on the resentment against politics and politicians), internationalism (and especially its European variant called Europeanism) and a rapidly growing phenomenon I call NGOism.”. . .

He also opposed “excessive government regulation” and “huge subsidies to privileged or protected industries and firms...Instead, Europe has to “be based on freedom, personal responsibility, individualism, natural caring for others and genuine moral conduct of life.”

     

Phoenix City Finances.  Phoenix activist Bob McKnight emails Phoenix City Council Candidate Andre Campos.

First, the city is broke.  As in has no money.  Al Laurie Roberts pointed out in her column.  Phil Gordon is buying property that the voters have not approved the financing of.  The 411 building has been purchased with the City of Phoenix and ASU sharing the interest costs until the
voters approve a bond to pay for it next year.  Where all the money for remodeling the old Phoenix Union High School campus is coming from??   Bob Wingenroth, the temporary CFO  (Chief Financial Officer) might know and might tell. I suspect that it being borrowed from Dept. Budgets.  I suspect that about the time the Bond comes for a vote,  Phil Gordon will explain that if the citizens don't vote for the bond, that the
Depts. will be out the money...

On the subject of Tax Rolls.  When I checked the Assesor's records (public) it looked like 62% of the property between 7thst and 7th ave and Van Buren and Jackson was off the  tax rolls.  I suspect if you went west to 19th ave which is the government mall area, you would find an even higher percentage of property off the tax rolls...I have been looking into the area around the airport and notice that the airport is buying lots of land which will be taken off the tax rolls.  Also, the businesses and residences which might have provided passengers for the Trolley are being bulldozed so there will be no passenger  base for the trolley on the south side of Washington between roughly 20th st and 48th st...

AFT Chairman Chad Kirkpatrick and Secretary Mark Zemel have been named to the Economic Development Subcommittee and the Neighborhood Revitalization and Housing Subcommittee.  The bond committee earns our respect since the AFT publicly opposes this initiative.  We view it as wasteful spending that only benefits a privileged few.  However, that may be giving  bond proponents too much credit.  Judging from the appointment letter, it appears they just want your tax dollars and do not know what to spend the bond money on:

Your role as a member of the Economic Development Subcommittee will be to evaluate, prioritize, and recommend worthy projects to the Executive Bond Committee, which will review recommendations from all 14 subcommittees and ultimately craft an overall bond program for consideration by the City Council...

Peoria School Bond -- Blank Check.  The PUSD Community Committee has the same concerns on the PUSD school bond as the AFT has on Phoenix's bond.

        

August 27th

Napolitano’s $325 BILLION tax increase.  If Arizona’s big government Governor gets her way, local communities will have no say in how their schools are run, while parents will be forced to pay more in taxes.  This is how Napolitano’s idea works.  First you send your tax dollars to Washington.  After Washington takes its cut, estimated around 40%, Washington then sends it back to your community.  Since Washington sets all policies, your local school board and PTA are no longer needed.

 

The Club for Growth rightly calls this a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea.

 

Dr. Vickie Murray of the Goldwater Institute says: 

 

the governor’s education agenda is little more than an echo of a bygone era that would expand the very 19th century government-run system that created many of the problems the her task force seeks to solve. 

 

…some sectors of America’s school system, there have been successful reforms. Research shows that students and schools in areas where parents do the choosing perform better across every outcome, including higher student test scores, graduation rates, and greater parental satisfaction.

 

If Napolitano gets her way, forget the innovative principal or teacher trying to make a difference in a bureaucratic system.  Forget pulling your child out of a bad school and sending him/her to a good one, because there is no school choice.  The Governor, who has no children, believes she knows how to best educate your child.

Metro Phoenix Housing Market: Low risk of a bubble, continued growth ahead.  Despite the surge in home prices, the PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. ranks Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale as one of the lowest risk housing price markets.

Phoenix, AZ has enjoyed an 18% gain in home prices since the first quarter 2004, while its Risk Index value has declined from 97 to 92.  The economy is expanding, with an increased labor force and strong job growth that reached 3.9% over the past 12 months, and 7.1% over the last 24 months.

Tell that to AZ Republic “business” columnist Jonathan Talton, ASU President Michael Crow and all the nattering nabobs constantly complaining about our lack of a diversified economy and no “urban” core.  In fact, the riskiest markets are metro areas the central planners want Phoenix to emulate.

 

Rank

MSA

Risk Index

 

1

Boston-Quincy, MA

553

 

2

Nassau-Suffolk, NY

540

 

3

San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA

528

 

4

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

513

 

5

Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA

512

 

6

Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA

509

 

7

Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA

469

 

8

San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood, CA

459

 

9

Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA

432

 

10

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

422

 

 

US Average

213

 

34

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

92

 

Economist and Reagan Advisor Larry Kudlow says lumber prices are in a free fall, suggesting a cooling off of new home construction and housing prices.

 

Mesa’s eminent domain abuse…again.  Mesa City Councilwoman Janie Thom updates us on the City’s latest ploy to grab private property:

The Process goes something like this:  When properties in a desired area are for sale, the city buys those they want.  The remaining property owners begin to have un-announced visits from the Code Compliance officers, who enter the property without the knowledge or consent of the owner and begin taking pictures.  After many visits, criminal charges are then leveled against the hapless property owner, who may not be able to afford changes to satisfy the city's demands.  Then the city offers to buy the property, presumably in exchange for dropping the charges.  The property owner's option to sell to someone else is then countered by city staff with the promise they will not be able to drop criminal charges if someone else buys the property.


That is the process that has evolved in regard to the 221 W. Vine property.

On Monday, August 29, 2006, the Mesa City Council will consider item number 8N, the purchase of property located at 221 W. Vine, Mesa, Arizona, from Mr. and Mrs. Luz Martinez.  Purchase price:  $88,000.  Mr. Martinez's appraisal; $100,000.

The meeting will be held in the Upper Level Council Chambers, 57 E. First Street, beginning at 5:45 PM.  You may register your support or opposition to this measure by filling out a blue card and/or speaking at the meeting.

If you cannot attend, you can contact the council members by E-mail at: council@cityofmesa.org, or by telephone:  480.644.3000

 

Rising property values are good, but they are also a backdoor tax increase.  The Conservative Press updates us on a great initiative by the Arizona Senior Coalition (ASC).  The ASC will be working to help in the passage of a bill which will tie increases in property taxes to the increase in inflation. The inflation rate has been around 2% to 3% the past few years while property tax increases have been 6% or more (Property taxes are based on property values and in some areas of the state property values have increased as much as 45% in one year). In Mesa, ASC will be working to prevent the passage of the proposed Mesa City Property Tax.  

Show your support and email them at cepowell@theconservativepress.org. 

This measure is supported by the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers.

 

Support President Bush on social security reform and War against Terror.  Monday, August 29th President Bush will be visit Phoenix.  The lunatic left will be in force opposing the free world’s War against Terror, the spreading of democracy and saving social security.  The President needs your support!  Contact Megan B. Rose at 602-690-0801 to help out.  Volunteers are needed at times, from morning to late in the evening.

  

August 14th

Website.  We have suffered a variety web problems over the last few weeks.  Thankfully, they have been resolved.  We thank our readers and look forward to updating the site on a frequent basis.

Luck of the Irish.  The AZ Republic dedicated its entire August 7th Viewpoints section to Ireland.  That country is the wealthiest and fastest growing in Europe.  To no ones surprise, Republic "business" columnist Jonathan Talton, Gov. Janet Napolitano, ASU President Micheal Crow and other left of center writers attribute Ireland's success to big government programs, not the hard work of Irish citizens.  There was only one alternative voice in the whole section, syndicated columnist Bob Robb.  Robb correctly points out that Irelands success is due to limited government and low taxes. 

The quasi-industrial policy programs touted by Talton and the others have long been in place in the Old European countries of France, Germany and others.  Yet these countries barely achieve an economic growth rate of 2.0% per year and have an unemployment rate close to 10%.  Ireland, by contrast, has grown more than twice as fast with almost half the unemployment rate.

The difference between Ireland and Old Europe is due to the free-market reforms of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.  Following in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, Ireland slashed corporate taxes to less than half the European Union average, freed its labor market from the tight grip of unions and removed many of the regulatory barriers to business.  This is why Dell, Intel and other corporations have chosen Ireland over Old Europe.

AFT Vice Chair Tom Jenney tutors Talton on some basic facts:

In his latest paean to government economic planning, Republic business columnist Jon Talton argues that Ireland's "famous low taxes" are not the cause of Irish prosperity in recent years ("Ireland could teach us quite a lot," Viewpoints, Sunday).

His proof? "The Irish corporate tax rate of 12.5 percent is well above Arizona's rate of 6.969 percent."

What Talton failed to understand is that corporations in Arizona face an average combined national and state tax rate of 42 percent. That's more than three times as high as Ireland's rate of 12.5 percent.

Arizona, High on liberty.  Arizona has just been ranked fourth among the 50 states, D.C. and the Canadian provinces in overall economic freedom.  Not surprisingly, the states with a large degree of freedom tended to vote for George Bush in the 2004 election.

Teach a man to fish.  You can live the free-market philosophy with this very worthy cause.  Instead of giving a handout to the poor, you can donate to build a well, buy an ox, plant a fruit tree and many other gifts that will help people help themselves. 

 

July 23rd, 2005

Phoenix, a model city for the rest of the country.   Phoenix is the fastest growing city in the United States, according to just released census department numbers.  Gaining more than 29,000 new residents from July 2003 to July 2004, Phoenix is the 6th largest city.  It is expected to overtake the 5th largest city, Philadelphia, which has been in a perpetual state of decline, while Phoenix has done nothing but grow since the 1990s.  

But don't let the facts get in the way of the government planning crowd.  Last year, Arizona Republic editor Richard de Uriarte wrote The Philadelphia Story: East Coast city can teach Phoenix.  Most people ignored him, but not AZ Republic "business" writer, "cool city" cheerleader and local chairman of the Flat-Earth society Jonathan Talton.  On Friday, he made the bizarre argument on KTAR radio and in the AZ Republic that Phoenix is growing only because its growing.  According to Talton, people move to Phoenix for no reason or for the wrong reason.  His proof: Phoenix does not have an "urban core," great museums, a hip nightlife and hundreds of government researchers.  

In other words, the economic facts of Phoenix's greatness are true, but they are inaccurate.  

Here's some research for Talton and the big government crowd.  According to the Governor's Commission on Workforce Policy, the fastest growing employment category is professional and business services.  It is ranked third in overall number of workers, behind "trade, transportation, and utilities", and (drum-roll please) government. 

Still, Talton and the big government crowd whine Phoenix is dependent on construction and leisure.  But those jobs only comprise 8% and 7% of the workforce, respectively.  Tied with these leisure jobs are financial activity jobs at 7%.  Meanwhile, our incomes have grown 47% since 1990, which is roughly the same as California, but without the high state and local taxes that eat into our take home pay.

Facts are tough on liberals.

Phoenix is a great city.  I could continue to brag about how our low taxes and lack of government-industrial policy has made us so, but Bob Robb put it best: Phoenix is thriving--but you wouldn't know it from listening to our civic leaders.

Bob Robb is half right.  With tax collections pouring into state coffers at a growth rate of 17%, he correctly argues for tax cuts.  But he also argues against pursuing limitations on the growth of government. 

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club and the AZ Federation of Taxpayers responded in the AZ Republic:

We couldn't agree more with Bob Robb's assertion that Arizona taxpayers have earned and deserve a substantial tax cut ("Fiscal conservatives in Arizona should focus on tax cuts," July 17). In fact, both of our organizations are on record in support of income tax cuts. Efforts to cut taxes and enact tougher spending limits should not be viewed as mutually exclusive, however. We believe state policymakers should push for both.

Over the past ten years, state spending has grown 81 percent, while population plus inflation have only grown 53 percent. Since 1990, Arizona government grew 168 percent, while the state's workforce, the people paying the taxes, grew 58 percent. Arizona doesn't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. Excessive spending eventually leads to higher taxes and large deficits. 

The time is right for lawmakers to pass both comprehensive tax relief and a meaningful spending limit. The two policies fit nicely together and will strengthen the Arizona economy.

In the Wall Street Journal, a rising star in the Republican Party and a nationally renown economist make the case that you will grow more if government spends less.   

Victory for Mesa Taxpayers.  The Financing the Future committee scuttled its recommendations to implement a secondary property tax.  More than half of the citizens attending the committee meeting spoke out against the proposed tax increase.  To Mesa taxpayers the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers salutes you.  You got results. 

The East Valley Tribune details the Mesa City Council races, including  Friend of Mesa Taxpayers Janie Thom's race.