Napolitano fans stump for Goddard

Boy, oh, boy.  You call Terry Goddard wishy-washy and people start popping up out of nowhere to defend him.  I guess that ol’ Terry got some computers down at his headquarters. 

From the look of it, the folks working for him are holdovers from Janet Napolitano’s campaign.  One person defended Napolitano saying that she was handed a billion dollar deficit to start…  so I guess that means its okay that she abandoned the state with one as well.  As her legacy completely unravels here at “home,” will Napolitano return to Arizona to stump for her old pal, Terry?  If so, I hope she dances.

Wishy-washy Goddard still can’t make up his mind

Current AG and presumptive Democratic candidate for Governor Terry Goddard has done nothing to help the state with the current budget crisis.  So, imagine my surprise when I was looking for his position on the sales tax proposal passed last week only to find that he is “unsure” on how he’ll vote.  Looks like he is going to ride the “Do nothing – Be Popular” train as far as it will go.

“Make a decision?! Yikes!”

“Dudley Do-nothing” can’t even figure out his position for legislation that had bipartisan support.  At least the people who are against it are out front and vocal about it.

 How on this earth is he ever going to make up his mind on anything?  We already saw what happens when you govern by which way the wind blows and the result is a government that grows out of control and no one willing to pay the bill when it comes due.  Is Terry Goddard really Janet Napolitano 2.0?

This guy reminds me of the men who were depicted in the Super Bowl commercials last weekend.

Voters finally get a choice

I could hardly believe my eyes this morning when I read the front page of the paper.  Apparently, the legislature is finally going to let the voters decide on the tax issue.  After months and months of back and forth, we’re finally where we should have been months ago. 

In the end, it was a bipartisan effort that got this thing done, with Republicans and Democrats both voting in support.  On both sides of the aisle, people are still fairly unhappy, which just may mean that its the right thing to do.  Perhaps Democrats also finally realized that they were going to have some trouble if they didn’t finally figure out that they needed to be FOR something. 

Sure, its only a part of the overall budget fix, but it is the part that has been debated the hardest.  The good news is that we will finally be given a chance to have a say.  Its our turn to decide what kind of services we want the government to provide.  We have already seen some of the major cuts that are on the horizon.  The question will be, should the Government make even more cuts, or should we look to temorary revenue to keep basic services while the economy recovers.

The next few months should be very interesting.

Plan Watch Update

If you recall, back in September, I said, that if you are running for Governor, you need a plan for the budget and you need it ASAP.  So far, the results of the plan offerings have been mixed.  I thought I would take a moment to look around and get updates on what the different candidates are thinking.

Governor Jan Brewer offered her budget which has some deep cuts and still holds out hope for revenues to protect education.  The cuts are hailed by some and hated by others, same goes for the idea of any sort of tax proposal.

John Munger also offered up his own plan (warning – pdf) this week.  Guess what?  It doesn’t raise taxes… I guess…  I mean, it does borrow a bunch of money from something that doesn’t even exist yet, and it also tries to steal money from the Federal Government which may or may not be legal (or feasible).  So is it a plan with two such big fails off the bat?  Probably not, but he is a lot further than the rest of the candidates.

Vernon Parker had touted his “no” plan all the way until he bailed on the race altogether to try for greener pastures in a race he might have a slight better chance of winning.  Sure, he still cares about Arizona, but he’d rather do it from Washington.

Last week, I suggested that “Buz” Mills could perhaps loan the state some money since he was throwing a big wad of cash in.  No word back on that, or his website, which someone said was supposed to be up 10 days ago.  I still have no idea what this guy looks like.

Dean Martin will tell you that he has known about this problem for a year now.  He’ll say he told us so.  What he won’t say is how to fix it.  You can bet when he finally does, it will be chock full of the same tax avoiding gimmicks that we have seen from some of these other folks.

Last but certainly not least is Terry Goddard.  He thinks that the state is in trouble.  What he continues to fail to point out is that his buddy Janet got us into this mess and his Democratic buddies down at the legislature fail to do anything about it.  But hey, if he gets elected, he’ll fix everything.  Perhaps, he’ll go back to budgeting the same way that Napolitano did.

So, as you can see, except for a few people who have taken the time to put their ideas on paper, we are still mired in a race of candidates who will be happy to offer platitudes and empty rhetoric on the budget so they don’t have to be nailed down to any specific program or admit how deep the financial hole really is.  Sometimes the thought of leadership is a lot more glamorous than actually leading.

Democrats’ house of cards begins to collapse

Well, it finally looks like some other people are beginning to notice that Terry Goddard and the Democrats have done nothing to help address Arizona’s fiscal crisis.  Instead, they have sat on the sidelines and let the Republicans attack each other.  Now, it looks like people are starting to take notice:

I also said that the Dems were out of touch on this healthcare bill, and from the looks of Brown’s victory in Mass., I was right.  All 5 Democratic members of Congress should be scared, especially Mitchell and Giffords.  If Kennedy’s seat isn’t safe, no seat is safe. 

How much longer can the Democrats sit by and push their unpopular agenda here in Arizona and in Washington D.C. and expect away with it?

Tax cut plan good, but what about the budget plan?

Needless to say, I was very excited earlier this week when I heard that the Arizona House Republicans had a plan.  “Finally!” I said to myself, “Maybe someone is going to get something done about this budget debacle and start moving on to fix the state.”

From the look of their plan, it looks like they are going to skip over A completely and move right to B.  The plan that was proposed is a sweeping set of tax cuts, aimed at creating jobs and attracting new industries to Arizona.  A noble idea to be sure, but it does leave one question, what about the mess we’re in right now?  I understand that attracting business is going to be the key for our long term growth, but they aren’t moving here tomorrow.  And even if they were, they aren’t generating $1.5 billion in the next six months and over $3 billion in taxes next year.

If their plan sounds familiar, it is.  From the sound of it, its virtually the same package of tax cuts that we’re proposed last year along with the temporary increase in the sales tax.  Now, they are presenting only half the package, which is like presenting all of the frosting, but forgetting to bake a cake.

Don’t get me wrong, I think their plan to reduce taxes and make Arizona business friendly is an important part of our path to prosperity.  I have nothing against the plan and think it should be a major part of our long-term goals now.  However, I do have to say that it is a convenient distraction to draw the true focus away from the daunting budget picture that kicks off this election year.

So what’s the plan to fix the budget right now?  More cuts?  I’m sure the “close the deal” fund will work well when the employees pass by all of the closed rest areas when they move their families into the state.  I’m sure CEOs will be lining up to move their executives here when Arizona is struggling to provide public safety and education to our children.

Say, brother, can you spare a million?

There is a new name in the Governor’s race, and he’s got big money.  ”Buz” Mills made a big splash announcing that he pumped over $2 million in personal cash into the race, and he wants to make sure everyone knows it.  While he may be big on money, right now, he appears short on specifics.  Don’t go looking to his website for answers, either.  Right now, its just his name, seven words, and an Arizona flag that appears to be made from silk sheets.  Fancy.

Just like all of the other candidates, he needs to come to the table with a plan.  This is especially true since he is trying to play the entrepreneur card to counteract any accusations that he is trying to “buy” this election.  Don’t get me wrong, money is not a bad thing.  Now that he has money, he can focus his time on putting together some policy plans. 

Perhaps, his financial recovery plan can be to offer the state a personal loan!  Heck, if he donated the $2 million to the state, the current budget hole would only be $1.498 billion for this year.

And the beat goes on

There is a special session called for today, but it doesn’t look like there is going to be anything special about it.  This session, like the one a month ago will not address any sort of tax election or any attempts to reduce voter mandated spending.  So, what are we left with?

More Budget Cuts.

As I have said before, it is abundantly clear that more cuts need to be made.  The question is, where?  And how do we continue to move down this path not knowing if there will ever be enough cuts to put this budget back on track?  For those who think that we can cut our way out of this problem, how come it hasn’t happened already?  How come that is not on the table for this special session?  If it is so easy to do, and everyone is on board, why hasn’t it happened?

Everyone seems to be still standing around not willing to work together to get this thing done.  Until the state runs out of money, there is going to be no motivation for them.  So, as it is, the beat will continue to go on, and this mess will continue unsolved.

Vernon Parker has the “No” Plan

So, apparently saying no to everything is now a valid policy position.  At least, wannabe candidate Paradise Valley resident Vernon Parker thinks so. 

He has started a committee to oppose any sort of initiative to increase revenue for the current budget deficit.  Does that mean that he thinks the voters should have a voice?  Does he advocate that something should go to the ballot?  I seriously doubt it.  This smacks of a political ploy to get his name in the paper once again.

Basically, he is forming a committee to say “No.”  That’s it.  He doesn’t have a plan of his own, he just knows that anyone else’s plan is bad.  WHAT VISION!  WHAT CHARISMA!

Seriously, this is not what I had in mind when I said that whomever wants to run for Governor needs an actual plan.  In fact, this is about as far away from a plan as one could get.  This latest rhetoric is no better than the “reduce spending – cut taxes” schtick that he started with earlier this year.

Well, Mr. Paradise Valley, why don’t you let the rest of us proles know how you would actually fix the problem.  Apparently, the budget doesn’t look as bad when its in shadows of the sunset of Camelback Mountain.

ICEBERG!!!

The current state budget hole sits at $1.6 billion for this year, and more than $3 billion for next year.  More major cuts are coming, but that still may not be enough.  The iceberg is upon us and we are still quibbling on what should be done to fix the state.

First, it’s abundantly clear that more significant cuts will have to be made.  $300 million was a good start, but more will have to be done.  Let’s face it, with so much of the state budget wrapped up in education, there are going to have to be more cuts made in that area.  It’s almost like some people just woke up to this fact.  “Holy crap, they are cutting education?!?  Why isn’t anyone doing anything about this?”  Well, fixes were offered up, and they failed to get enough votes.  So now, we are left with cuts.  Thank the Democrats and a handful of Republicans for not fixing the problem.

Now, how much to cut?  Some people say cut all the way to balancing the budget.  Well, where should the state cut?  I’m all ears.  Apparently, cutting education is bad.  So is closing the rest stops.  Everyone wants the state to make big cuts just like a regular person does, but they complain with each loss of service.  We are still stuck with the notion that there is magical money out there that should found and cut.  Anti-tax rhetoric grows, but it is not buoyed with any connection to reality – no definitive cuts offered, no real solutions found.  But hey, it sounds nice.

In fact, others think that if we cut even more taxes, the money will start rolling in.  Ah yes, I bet people are going to run to Arizona because the taxes are even lower.  Who cares about the fact that there is no good schools for their kids and public safety is at a bare minimum.  Who needs a quality of life anyway?

The reality is, either stop complaining about the cuts that the state is making, or get on board with letting the voters decide.  Standing on the sidelines doing nothing is not a solution.