Proposition 123 (2016)

I warned you that this was coming years ago in The First Rule of Holes Revisited:

[O]ur Tea-Publican legislature passed in a Special Session what was laughingly labeled a “jobs bill” — it was, in fact a corporate welfare tax-giveaway plan. The GOP’s double dose of poison to kill Arizona:

Senate Bill 1001 is filled with tax breaks and incentives for businesses large and small. The legislative budget office estimated its cost at $538 million by 2018 [worsening Arizona’s structural revenue deficit], when all the tax cuts are phased in.

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Brewer’s advisors acknowledged that there is no guarantee the changes would yield enough new investment and jobs to offset the anticipated revenue loss.

La Bruja‘s corporate welfare tax-giveaway plan is being phased in since 2014. Additional tax cuts enacted by our lawless Tea-Publican legislature since 2011 are also being phased in. Their blind faith in supply-side “trickle down” GOP economics is now coming home to roost as these corporate welfare tax-giveaways are digging the structural revenue deficit hole deeper as designed.

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Despite Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan having been dilatory with a public notice about submitting comments on Prop. 123 for the Special Election pamphlet that will go out to voters, and  most of the GOP-friendly media that has lined up behind Prop, 123 having failed to report that information, More than four dozen file statements opposing Prop. 123:

More than four dozen statements in opposition to Proposition 123 were submitted to Secretary of State Michele Reagan. They will be included in a pamphlet that will be mailed to the homes of all registered voters ahead of the May 17 special election.

The list of foes is not quite like the veritable Who’s Who in business, politics and education, all of whom submitted their own statements in support. That includes Gov. Doug Ducey, House Speaker David Gowan, Arizona Education Association President Andrew Morrill and an assortment of business leaders.

All cite the same theme of getting more money into classrooms without raising taxes. [The First Commandment of the GOP.]

Opponents, however, point up what they see as flaws in the measure. But the question remains whether they can mount any organized opposition to what promises to be a well-financed campaign.

At this point the de facto leader appears to be state Treasurer Jeff DeWit.

He waged an unsuccessful effort during the special session to derail the plan, arguing it is not financially sound. DeWit also submitted his own statement of opposition, as did wife Marina and mother Jana.

But he has so far made no efforts to actually organize an opposition campaign — or even raise any money.

“I want to do something,” he told Capitol Media Services. “But I really don’t know what that entails yet.”

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Last Thursday a new report from the Children’s Action Alliance, Arizona 3rd Worst in Cuts to K-12 Education, said state funding of public schools will still be $863 million below pre-recession levels, even if voters approve taking more money out of the state land trust fund to use for education. Study: Proposal won’t bring funding of AZ schools to pre-recession level:

The analysis by the Children’s Action Alliance comes as by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (.pdf) finds that Arizona cut a bigger chunk out of education funding between 2009 and 2014 than any other state. It pegged the loss in dollars at 23.3 percent.

Arizona, which was heavily dependent on revenues from population growth and construction, got hit particularly hard when the housing bubble burst.

Even with funds put back into education spending in the past two years, state aid to students in Arizona is still close to 15 percent less than in 2009 when inflation is taken into account, said Dana Naimark, president of the Children’s Action Alliance.

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