Our lawless Republican legislators love loan sharks and predatory lenders. Remember the consumer rights fight we had over Jonathan “Payday” Paton and the payday loan industry in 2008? (From the archives, The Sun Sets on Payday Loans in Arizona). Neil Young wrote the song “rust never sleeps,” and neither does evil. It is omnipresent and … Read more
In the chaos theory of governance of the Trump administration, so much craziness happens every day that it is easy to overlook important events in the din of noise. Which is really the whole point of chaos theory. Trump wants to overwhelm the senses with the vast volume of his craziness every day so that … Read more
Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley (D-Tucson) recently wrote for the blog, #AZ House Republicans Pass $7.25/hour Minimum Wage for Students (video): The worst vote of the 54th session has to be the Republican passage of the sub-minimum wage on Thursday. Rep. Travis Grantham’s HB2523 would allow employers to pay full time students, who work part time … Read more
Forget worrying for now about whether the Democrats are going too far to the left in advancing their agenda. At least the people in this country, even in the Red States, largely support progressive goals like universal health care, cleaning the environment, and making sure everyone has a living wage. What people should worry about … Read more
The Arizona House has been moving slowly this session. The Republican leadership has been cautious and strategic regarding when the House votes. With the 29D-31R split in the chamber, Speaker Rusty Bowers needs all 31 of his members sitting in their chairs during the final “Third Read” votes on ideological bills such as lowering the … Read more