Say it ain’t so, Joe – Arizona taxes are low!

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The "First Commandment" of the modern-day Republican Party is to oppose taxes — all taxes, in any form, in any amount, for any purpose, at all times. It is a knee-jerk rejection of taxes. Modern-day Republicans are all about the individual accumulation of personal wealth. "I've got mine, buddy, screw you!"

Modern-day Republicans have withdrawn from the Social contract theorized by John Locke and Jean Jaques Rosseau and favored by the Founding Fathers in establishing the principles of our democratic republic. The Social Contract was used in the Declaration of Independence as a sign of enforcing Democracy: the contract itself is the means towards an end — the benefit of all — and (according to some philosophers such as Locke or Rousseau), is only legitimate to the extent that it meets the general interest ("general will" in Rousseau) for the common good.

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our fortunes and our sacred Honor."

The modern-day Republican Party's knee-jerk rejection of taxes for the common good is antithetical to the principles and values upon which this country was founded. This ideological rejection of taxes leads to ridiculous knee-jerk claims that Arizonans are excessively taxed. This assertion is demonstrably and provably false.

The Arizona Republic today reports that Arizona's overall state and local tax burden ranked 41st in the nation in 2008, with 8.5 percent of per capita income going to taxes, according to the nonpartisan, Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation. The national average is 9.7 percent. Even with a sales-tax hike, Arizona taxes would stay among lowest:

If the 1-cent-per-dollar tax increase is approved this month, it will take the sales tax to 6.6 percent and raise nearly $1 billion a year for three years before expiring. Spread across the state's population, the tax is unlikely to push Arizona much higher on the tax-burden ladder. Many of Arizona's other taxes remain relatively low, and most other states have increased at least some of their taxes since 2008.

Homeowners in Arizona have state and local property-tax bills that are lower than the national average. The state's income-tax rate is one of the lowest among the 43 states that collect such taxes, according to the Tax Foundation.

Twenty-six states have a higher state sales-tax rate than Arizona's, although if the sales-tax hike passed, only eight states would have a higher rate. [The tax increase is designed to expire after three years.]

Say it ain't so, Joe – Arizona taxes are low!

Despite this, we are constantly barraged by the "excessively taxed" meme from Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, Tom Jenney of the Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the Goldwater Institute, and a host of other billionaire-funded think tanks opposed to taxes.

The Arizona media in the interest of being "fair and balanced" always goes to these sources for a ready quote as the Republic did in its report above. But when someone makes a demonstrably and provably false claim (a lie) it is not "fair" to counter a factual argument with that demonstrably provable lie, nor is it "balanced" to include a ridiculous statement to counter the truth. For example, when I say the Earth is round, the media today would include a statement from someone who says the Earth is flat in the interest of being "fair and balanced."

This ridiculous media policy does nothing to educate the public and actually perpetuates ignorance, it reduces facts to matters of mere opinion, and it inhibits the public from making a reasoned, rational and informed decision. The Republic article is well done, with the exception of the obligatory paragraph quoting Tom Jenney. Stop suffering these fools and tools of ignorance in the interest of a ridiculous media policy of being "fair and balanced."