Yet another legislative FAIL on the budget

For those of you counting at home, taxes are bad and we shouldn’t even have a chance to vote on them.  Now, there is a new wrinkle, apparently now cuts are bad too.  At least, any policy changes that come along with the cuts are bad.  One Republican Senator decided not to show up today, thus grinding the latest special session to a halt.

Even less surprising, the Democrats also voted against the deal, proving once and for all that they really aren’t FOR anything.  Sure, we get that the wingjobs in the GOP wing will stop at nothing to gring their majority to a halt, but the Democrats are the most perplexing – not voting for a tax, but not voting for a cut either.  They are literally standing on the sidelines and no one is calling them out on it.  Meanwhile, nationally, they are forcing a TERRIBLE healthcare bill down our throats and smiling while they do it.  How can anyone in their right mind look at the Democrats right now and not think they are only looking out for themselves?

This is yet another debacle where we have to wait all weekend to see what happens.  In the meantime, probabaly even more shenanigans will ensue making the budget fix even more difficult to fix.  Seriously, is there anyone in the legislature who really cares to fix Arizona?

Arizona tied with Rhode Island

We are tied with Rhode Island for the second worse budget situation, trailing only California, who has resorted to what appears to be the world’s biggest yard sale and using the taxes from their citizens like a cash advance.

Once again, the focus is placed on the blame, and not on the solution.  Waaaa, it’s Napolitano’s fault, waaaaa it’s Bush’s fault, waaaa it’s Obama’s fault, waaaa it’s Brewer’s fault, waaaa it’s the GOP’s fault.

Who cares!  Let’s just get this thing fixed.  The story says that Arizona’s budget deficit is $2 Billion this year and as high as $3.3 Billion for next year.  For those who want to cut their way out of this problem, I am all ears on how this would be done.  Explain to me what you are going to cut to save $5.3 Billion over the next 18 or so months.

I am hearing a lot about the “Nevada” model or the “Texas” model and a bunch of other ideas, but until Arizona magically has gambling or oil, those don’t seem to be all that realistic of solutions.  Plus, in all of these scenarios, the idea is that we are going to grow Arizona out of this recession and out of this budget hole. 

So, when it comes down to it, for all of this “living within our means” tough talk, these guys aren’t really all that ready to make the deep cuts.  Apparently businesses just grow on trees, and if we do all of their magical suggestions, it’ll start raining money to fix our problems.  One commenter put it rather succinctly:

Ok, according to this presentation http://www.ospb.state.az.us… from Jan Brewer in April, here is where we spend our money:

K-12 Education 42%
AHCCS 16%
Corrections 10%
Universities & Regents 10%
Economic Security 8%
All Other 7%
Health Services 6%
Community Colleges 1%
School Facilities Board 1%

The total amount required is ~$10B and we instead have $6.3B. So we have to take this 100% amount and reduce it to 63%

We’ve got to cut about 37 percentage points out of this…

So, let’s hear the solutions!

This is why this is not easy…

Gee, it sure looks like a big piece of that turkey is held up in K-12 education.  Good luck carving that bird!

No good deed goes unpunished, but bad deeds do.

We live in a world with rules, and I understand that, but somehow it seems that the rules don’t apply equally for everyone.  Take two stories from today’s paper:

First, local churches in Phoenix with underlying residential zoning are banned from feeding the homeless.  Despite their desire to do the right thing and help those in need, especially in these tough times, they have to be respectful of the rules and follow city requirements.  It’s an unfortunate situation, and something that really should be addressed.  However, rules are rules and they should be lived by.

Now, juxtapose that with the story the fact that child-care liscencing fees are about to shoot through the roof and everyone is pointing the finger elsewhere.  Legislators are aghast at the increase in fees, but what did they think was going to happen with these massive budget cuts?  Rules are rules, these centers need to be regulated and the safety of the children preserved.  Did they think things were going to stay the same? 

Even worse, “First Things First” who hasn’t had to make a single cut refuses to help out.  See, the rules are on their side, because they are protected from the budget cuts.  Their little board gets to make their own decisions, and despite being sold as a way to help early childhood development, they are refusing to help ease the cost increases to the childcare centers.  Now, if these centers are forced to close, how does that help the kids?

So, a church is doing the right thing, and is being prevented from doing so, but no one is to blame for this giant negative impact on childcare.  How is this right?

Dems prove to be out of touch

Sure, some in the Arizona legislature are out of touch - they still have yet to fix the budget problem, and very few seem to be willing to admit the catastrophic effects of even more cuts to the state.

However, when it comes down to it, our congressional Democrats really take the cake.   All five Arizona Democrats voted for the controversial healthcare reform bill, which passed on a 220-215 vote.  So, in essense, it was the Arizona delagation who put the bill over the top.  However, the problem is, this healthcare bill is going to be wildly unpopular in Arizona.

By making all of Arizona’s Democratic congressional members close ranks and vote for the bill, the Pelosi gang has just placed a huge target on their Arizona friends, especially Harry Mitchell.  Giffords and Kirkpatrick better start making their fundraising phone calls right now.

When the burden of this bill is realized by the taxpayers of Arizona, especially in the context of this current budget crisis, they are going to freak out.  You think the tea-parties were bad?  Just wait until people who don’t own an article of clothing made to look like an American flag start showing up and complaining as well.

Seriously guys?  This is the best time to wreck healthcare even further?  What about the deficit?  What about the wars in Iraq or Afghantistan?  What about the forclosures?  Is it me or does a Democratic controlled Congress and White House feel like a drunk kid with their dad’s credit card?

Even Burns sees the problem

Looks like even Senate President Robert Burns has seen that the problem may be to big to handle with cuts alone.  From the Arizona Republic:

 

Conservative calls for sales-tax hike
by: Bob Burns

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 health-care 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 roughly $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 fiscal 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 stems from a number of projections that are considered highly likely: that our tax revenue will continue to fall ($700 million) and that demand for health care for the poor will grow and other provisions of the fiscal 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 revenue, 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 past 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 1-cent-per-dollar 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.

Bob Burns is president of the Arizona State Senate.

Election Day presents a mixed bag

The elections yesterday provided a big ol’ mixed bag of results which is going to send everyone back to their respective corners trying to prove how these elections fell somehow in their favor.

Republicans had two big wins last night in hotly contested races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey.  However, Republican infighting allowed a Democrat to win the hotly contested New York Congressional seat that conservatives were hoping to capture.

It was perfectly set up to be a big time referendum on Obama,  which is still the big conservative spin today, but there seems to be more to it.  Exurban League has a noble thought, apparently, competency matters.

When it comes down to it, things remain broken, and the voters are continuing to punish those who refuse to fix it.  People were mad at Republicans for not getting the job done in 2006 and 2008 – now, it 2009 and perhaps 2010, it’s the Democrats’ turn to take the heat.

This is more about competence than rhetoric.  Will Arizona be more like Virginia and New Jersey or will it end up more like New York?  Could Arizona end up ushering Democrats in, while the rest of the country throws them out?

Another “Fix it” list

It’s been awhile since I have put together a list of things that need to be fixed.  Since the budget is going to continue to crawl along, I thought I would point out a few more things that need fixing:

AzCentral
I understand that the newspaper industry is huring, but netflix pop-unders and defaulting the Republic tab to a subscription page for the paper is lame.  They are very inconvenient and neither make me want to spend more money.  Seriously, guys, pop-unders?  What is this, 1994?

Sweat Lodge Guy
Now the sweat lodge guru is saying that he is going to cancel the rest of his upcoming seminars.  He says it is so he can focus on the deaths.  How much do you want to be that it has more to do with people asking for their money back from the guru who kills people.  Just a thought.  If we’re going to charge this guy, let’s get it done.

Name Calling
From “teabagger” to RINO, namecalling doesn’t have a real place in political discourse.  In this ultra-partisan world we live in, it’s so much easier to categorize a person you disagree with and ignore them instead of taking the time to listen to what they have to say.  This is especially true in the Republican on Republican attacks where two people can agree on 95% of issues, but go for the jugular over a single disagreement.

The Phoenix Coyotes (STILL)
Now the team is off to a great start and they finally have a coach who seems to care, but the question remains:  are they staying or going?  Will the judge approve the NHL purchase of the team, and is there a buyer out there willing to keep them in Phoenix?  Winning is a good way to bring back fans, but everyone will remail leery if the ownership issue isn’t resolved.

Fore – Obama’s apparent love of ASU and golf

So did anyone catch the ASU game over the weekend?  The game wasn’t all that great, especially since Stanford smacked down the Devils, but I do have to say that there was one thing that caught my eye. 

Have you seen the ASU commercial with Obama’s commencement speech in it?  It contains a bunch of images of ASU and the great things they are doing interspersed with clips from Obama’s commencement speech. 

It is downright ridiculous.  First, it makes it sound like ASU is Obama’s school of choice, which is ironic since they refused to give him an honorary degree.  Second, it might as well have been a campaign commercial with the sappy music and the emotional undertones.  Finally, now we know that Obama only keeps coming out to Arizona, because he likes to golf… a lot.

It looks like ASU has fallen into the same trap as many others have – slap the President’s face on your product, and hope it sells.  Newsweek and the other news magazines seem to be following that mantra, along with the talk shows and gossip mags.  Heck, even the commermorative plates at Walgreens have gotten in on the act.  ASU’s has been the boldest so far, turning a usually benign obligatory college commercial that comes as part of the deal in a football broadcast and turning it into a pseudo-campaign commercial.

The blame game continues

Last week, Espresso Pundit wrote a very interesting piece on the budget and how the Democrats are now warming to some sort of tax on the ballot.  Where were they months ago?  The comments that ensued reminded me of the Democrat call for “bipartisanship” which was accompanied by 16 releases critical of the Governor and 7 releases critical of the GOP.

Republicans, Democrats, everyone is to blame for this mess, but it appears that the Democratic interests are trying harder than ever to win the blame game.  The Arizona Republic has taken to teeing off on the legislature the past couple of days, taking shots at the defunding of the SCF, and now taking aim at the legislature trying to place the university tuition hikes at their feet.

In both cases, the Republic is arguing that the legislature is not acting in the best long term interests of the state.  The budget mess still reigns supreme and as long as it does, it is going to be easier and easier for people to place the blame at the feet of the legislature.  And in case you live under a rock, the Republicans are in control of both the House and Senate. 

So, basically, as long as nothing gets fixed, the Democrats will continue to hold up their hands and say “we tried” and the Republicans will continue to take the heat.  Any chance to say otherwise will be met with the continued denial by Democrats that they had anything to do with causing the problem or standing on the sidelines refusing to fix it.

Danger, Arizona, Danger

The budget hole has deepened again.  This time it’s down another $500 million, so we are now faced with a $2 billion shortfall.

Danger, Arizona, Danger!

So what do we do?  From the sounds of it, all of the same old plans are going to be dragged out and placed on the table yet again.  What has changed?  If there hasn’t been the will to do them before now, how’s this budget hole any different than the last one?  Is it that they are finally out of gimmicks?  Is the credit card finally maxed and equity exhausted?

We know that something needs to be done.  Are there enough people who agree on what should be done to actually make something happen?  Our hole continues to get deeper while we all stand around and wait.  Is it taxes?  Is it cuts?  Just tell us what you are going to do and how it is going to impact us so we can make our decisions on your job at the ballot box. 

Do your job and we’ll do the job performance review accordingly.