The GOP insane clown posse budget is based upon delusional assumptions

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I have said it before and I'll say it again. The current Arizona Legislature is the worst failed legislature in the history of Arizona. It's not even close. Republican legislators have failed their constitutional duty and violated their oaths of office. This is legislative malpractice and malfeasance in office writ large. The GOP insane clown posse who run the insane asylum are incompetent and ideologically incapable of governing in the public interest. These Republicans are radical extremists who want to "drown the government in the bathtub."

You would not hire someone to run your business if they promised to destroy your business. So why would you vote for someone ideologically opposed to government and who promises to destroy government to run the government? For future reference, any candidate running for elective political office with an "R" behind their name should trigger a rote response in your mind to "Reject" that candidate. Your future and the future of Arizona depends on it.

The GOP insane clown posse budget taking shape is based upon delusional assumptions. AZ budget plan with major cuts advances:

The package of measures, pushed through by Republican leaders over Democratic objections, is designed to help bring expenses into line with revenues. Aside from cuts, it also takes nearly $500 million from special funds and defers payment of some bills to balance the books.

But to make up the $2.7 billion deficit for next fiscal year, the budget presumes voters will approve a temporary 1-cent-per-dollar hike in the state sales tax in a special election May 18. If that fails, the plan calls for another $867.5 million in spending cuts, more than half of that in state aid to public schools.

Even with that, the plan still may not be in balance. The new budget year begins July 1.

The budget is built on the assumption voters will agree in November to repeal a 2006 mandate [Prop. 203] to fund programs for early childhood development.

There is no guarantee that the one cent sales tax increase will pass in May when every Republican in the Arizona Legislature will be out campaigning against it, funded by their corporate network of right-wing anti-tax think tanks and political action committees. Special elections are low turnout elections, only the activists turn out. The Republican right-wing anti-tax zealot base may be enough to defeat Proposition 100.

And Republicans "assume" that voters will repeal Prop. 203 (2006) to establish an early childhood development program funded through an increase on state tobacco taxes? The proposition passed by a margin of 793,312 to 698,286. "Lawmakers want to use the $150 million a year raised from the 80-cents-a-pack tax on cigarettes, enacted in that initiative, to fund other programs. And they want to drain the estimated $325 million in the account."

Right, voters are going to throw young children under the bus so that the irresponsible and reckless GOP insane clown posse can give further corporate bailout tax cuts to corporations and the super-wealthy. Think again.

The budget package also counts on taking another $123.5 million out of a fund to preserve open space in urban areas. That, too, will be on the November ballot since the fund was approved by voters in 1998 [Prop. 303].

And the spending plan also is built on decision by GOP lawmakers to remove more than 310,000 people from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state's Medicaid program, to save $385 million. Voters mandated expanded coverage in 2000 [Prop. 204], with nearly 1.3 million Arizonans – close to 20 percent of the state population – now getting free care.

Prop. 303 (1998) passed by a margin of 501,358 to 446,598. Prop. 204 (2000) passed by a larger margin of 903,134 to 532,317.

Do you see the pattern emerging here? The irresponsible and reckless GOP insane clown posse want voters to repeal the citizen initiatives enacted by voters – your constitutional right – to adopt policy decisions and to protect those policies from the very GOP legislators who refused to act in the public interest at the time those measures were enacted. And these fools really believe that voters are just going to say "you know, you are right and I was wrong"? Not a chance in hell. These citizen initiatives are NOT going to be repealed by the voters. Republican legislators have a real problem with democracy and respecting the will of the voters, and the voters are going to teach them a lesson.

The other piece of the budget awaiting final Senate action would repeal a tax break for retailers that lets them keep a small percentage of what they collect to cover their costs. Because that would raise state revenues, it requires a two-thirds vote, something that was lacking Thursday.

And therein lies the heart of our budget problem: Prop. 108 (1992) that enacted a two-thirds super-majority vote in both chambers to either increase taxes or to reduce tax credits or exemptions. The one measure that should be referred back to the voters to restore majority rule to tax matters is not even under discussion. There has not been a tax increase in Arizona since Prop. 108 was enacted in 1992. A tyranny of the minority of GOP anti-tax zealots have controlled Arizona tax policy ever since.

GOP lawmakers and Gov. Jan Brewer did agree to postpone one part of the plan that would have closed the Department of Juvenile Corrections and forced each county to house and pay for rehabilitation programs for delinquents. The issue will be studied for the next year.

"In the interim, though, Pima County will need to give the state $6 million to defray costs, with another $38 million from Maricopa County." Which means these counties just had another hole blown in their budgets and will have to increase local property taxes to cover their deficit. The Arizona Legislature is shifting tax burdens and passing the buck to county governments.

I cannot emphasize this enough: No Republican should be elected to the Arizona Legislature after the spectacular train wreck failure of this legislature. They must be held accountable by the voters. Republicans must pay for their legislative malpractice and malfeasance in office. After 44 years of a GOP-dominated Arizona Legislature and 20 years of reckless and irresponsible faith based GOP supply-side tax policies, enough is enough! Republicans have destroyed this state, they have forfeited any right to govern. Throw the bums out!