In a month, Pima County voters will be asked to vote on a $816 million, seven-part bond issue that includes construction of multiple buildings and roads to benefit existing corporations or attract new businesses to Southern Arizona. Sprinkled amongst the corporate-giveaways are improvements or construction of libraries, community centers, parks, neighborhoods, and other perks that benefit the rest of us.
With 99 separate projects over a 27-year period, this bond issue is far-reaching in its scope and cost. The big question is: Is taking on this amount of debt sustainable and affordable?
If you have heard a public banking presentation by Arizonans for a New Economy, you know that co-directors Jim Hannley and myself strongly advise against borrowing from Wall Street. Wall Street banks have one goal: To make money for their shareholders; they couldn’t care less about local economic development or investing for the public good. Arizonans for a New Economy and the Public Banking Insitute support bringing taxpayer dollars back home from Wall Street and using that money on Main Street to self-finance infrastructure projects, education, low-cost loans for local small business, and much more through establishment of a public bank whose charter specifies “banking in the public interest” (not in the interest of Wall Street shareholders).
Risky Wall Street deals have entrapped many local governments in a web of debt and have caused disastrous consequences for cities like Detroit and Chicago. There is evidence that Wall Street actually targets economically depressed areas like ours…
