Grand Canyon Institute

Cut back on Fossil Fuels — and BS Propaganda — with “Yes” Vote for Prop 127

by

Voters in Arizona can confidently vote “yes” for Proposition 127, knowing that it will cut the use by state utilities of polluting fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas, and knowing that it will not cause an increase in electric rates.

There has been persistent false propaganda against the measure, asserting that Prop. 127 will cause electric rates to go up from $200 to $1,000 per year or that it bankrupt public schools or that it would somehow hurt air quality. None of this is true.

An example of these baseless arguments was the recent op-ed by Arizona Board of Regents member Karrin Taylor Robson who argued without evidence that Prop. 127 would costs schools millions. The article cited estimates by unnamed “public utilities.” If the article referred to a study from Arizona Public Service — the chief opponent of Prop. 127 — that study has been widely debunked.

Read more

Voter Approval of Prop. 126 will Cut Education and Road Funding

by

If voters approve Prop. 126 on Nov. 6, the state will lose $250 million annually in current funding for education and counties will have a dramatic shortfall in money for road improvements. The Grand Canyon Institute estimates that the education sales tax renewal will lose one-third of revenues if Prop. 126 passes, which would currently … Read more

George Cunningham, chairman of the Grand Canyon Institute

State pays $10,700 subsidy for private school students — 75 percent more than their public school peers

by
George Cunningham, chairman of the Grand Canyon Institute
“Arizona can’t afford fiscally irresponsible private school subsidies that siphon money away from its public education system,” says George Cunningham, chairman of the Grand Canyon Institute

According to a new policy paper, Arizona’s two private school subsidy programs cost the state $10,700 on average per regular education student who would not otherwise have enrolled in private school. This imposes an additional $62 million cost to the state’s General Fund.

Published by the non-partisan think tank the Grand Canyon Institute (GCI), the policy paper $10,700 Per Student: The Estimated Cost of Arizona’s Private School Subsidy Programs looks at how the state’s two private school subsidy programs — private school tuition tax credit scholarships and Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) vouchers — have affected private school enrollment and then estimated a per student cost to taxpayers. 

Read more

If it sounds too good to be true…

by

Cross-posted from RestoreReason.com.

Okay, so maybe Governor Ducey and the Legislature really are trying to solve the problem. You know, the one they, and those before them, created by pushing tax cuts, corporate welfare, and school privatization. But, it is REALLY hard to have the faith, when they throw out words like “advance-appropriated.” As in, “we can’t give you all 20 percent right now teachers, so we are going to advance-appropriate it in the next two budgets.”

I googled “advance-appropriate” and got nothing on the first page of search results. On the second page, there was a report from the New America Foundation titled, “Advance Appropriations: A Needless and Confusing Education Budget Technique.”

The New America Foundation appears to be fairly non-partisan with a vision that includes, “Equitable, accessible high-quality education and training over a lifetime”, “A society that promotes economic opportunity for all”, and “Equal representation in politics and participation in accountable governance.” Its Board of Directors includes New York Times Op-Ed Columnist David Brooks, ASU President Michael Crow, and many others from business, higher-education, and journalism.

Their report on advance appropriations referenced above, discusses the practice of this funding mechanism in Congress, and calls such a, “rarely understood budgeting approach that shifts funding into the fiscal year following the year covered by the appropriations process.”

Read more