COVID-19 & Healthcare

Corrupt Kavanagh’s disdain for democracy, abuse of power

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Rep. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) is a corrupt politician who uses his position to advance his own personal, often bizarre agenda, rather than to represent the best interests of his constitutuents and Arizonans.

There was this tidbit in the Arizona Republic this morning, Brewer wants Legislature to take up her priorities:

TPT is the state transaction privilege tax. A bill to streamline the tax, which effectively is the sales tax, is set for a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee this afternoon.

The bill had stalled in the House, where Speaker Andy Tobin, R-Paulden, had worried that the bill’s overhaul of the construction sales tax could hurt local governments and where Appropriations Chairman John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, had not scheduled it for a hearing. Kavanagh’s wife, Linda, is Fountain Hills’ mayor.

The House Approriations Committee is not his personal fiefdom to keep his wifey happy. This tax reform bill is important to the state of Arizona and for future economic development. This is an abuse of power.

Ryan GOP budget attacked by far-right radical Republican Study Committee

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

It appears that the crazy train has left the station. The GOP's alleged boy genius, Ayn Rand fanboy Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), has offered his dystopian Randian vision for America's future.

But Ryan's radical vision is not the most radical. There are crazy people in the House GOP who are even more radical, who don't think that the Flimflam Man does enough damage.

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) has jumped into the fray with their own budget proposal. Think Progress reports, The Most Radical Proposals In The House Conservative Budget:

The Republican Study Committee (RSC), helmed by Chairman Rep. Steve
Scalise (R-LA) released an even more radical plan than the official
House Republican budget, which disproportionately guts programs for low-income Americans while giving even bigger tax cuts
to the wealthiest Americans. The RSC budget purports to eliminate the
deficit in just 4 years and limit total discretionary spending to $950 billion,
the lowest level since 2008. In order to achieve this goal, the RSC
cuts non-defense spending by $6 billion over four years, while the GOP
budget slows spending growth over the same period.

Arizona legislature: Medicaid restoration/expansion hearing on Wednesday

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By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings   Thanks to Brahm Resnick of Channel 12 for spotting this and pointing it out… A few years ago, the Republicans in the Arizona legislature "balanced" the state's budget on the backs of Arizona's most vulnerable residents by radically cutting access to health care for Arizona's poor.  The "balance the … Read more

Gov. Jan Brewer: Medicaid Restoration Plan makes sense once people ‘do the math’

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

"We don't need a new idea. There is an idea. The idea is called America, and it still works." – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) at CPAC 2013.

This is the kind of bumper-sticker jingoism that passes for policy in the Tea-Publican Party. "Don't bother me with facts and figures, I don't do math. It makes my head hurt!"

Which brings me to Governor Jan Brewer's Medicaid (AHCCCS) Restoration Plan. Jan Brewer says her plan makes sense once people “do the math.” But Tea-Publicans don't do math, Jan!

BrewerMath

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) has a lengthy report today on Jan Brewer's Medicaid Restoration Plan (h/t above photo). AZ Gov. Jan Brewer's Medicaid, AHCCCS plan by the numbers:

Do the math.

Those three words essentially sum up Gov. Jan Brewer’s core argument in favor of expanding the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s Medicaid program. She repeats them at every press event, every interview and every plea for support.

What if the deficit is not a problem?

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Posted by AzblueMeanie:

The Tea-Publican Party and its echo chamber in the "lamestream" media are very good at confusing people who are uninformed in economics by interchangeably using "deficit" (a shortfall in an annual budget) with "debt" (accumulated debt over time).

If Jay Leno were to do his Jay Walking segment and ask the average American what the "deficit" is this year, if he got any answer at all it would likely be something they vaguely recall having heard in the "news," from $11 trillion to $17 trillion (that would be the "debt," which is approaching $17 trillion). The federal budget "deficit" in 2013 is projected to be $845 billion.

The federal budget deficit has been declining and is on a downward slope. As Paul Krugman recently explained, Gone Deficit Gone:

So says the CBO, although not directly.