“Things people neither want nor really need”

by

by David Safier

From Jan Brewer's address to Republicans Saturday, according to Daniel Scarpinato:

Brewer said the role of government is to provide public safety and "keep the people of Arizona as unburdened as possible."

"Especially," she said, "from the heavy-handed Democrat-led government, whose spending priorities seemed to focus on things people neither want nor really need."

I can't hog all the fun for myself. I leave it to you to fill in your own punch line.

Update:  Todd sent me a link to a shaky, hand-held recording of the entire address. The passage above is just under 6 minutes in. Here's the whole quote:

"We Republicans have a core principled belief, and that would be that the responsibility of government is to assure public safety and to keep the people of Arizona as unburdened as possible, especially from the heavy-handed Democrat-led government whose spending priorities seem to focus on things people neither want or need."

Soon, possibly as soon as the end of this week, we'll see the R's budget proposal and be able to find out, line by line, what things people neither want or need.

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9 thoughts on ““Things people neither want nor really need””

  1. Thanks for the link, Todd. The portion I quoted is about 6 minutes in. I transcribed the entire passage and added it to the original post.

  4. “no system of private colleges and universities” eh?

    I bet that means that Grand Canyon University in Phoenix was a dream I had this afternoon. It must have been a mental distraction when I believed I noticed University of Advancing Technology in Tempe. My noggin must have been concussed when I came across Ottowa University. Perhaps I was experiencing food poisoning when I came across Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe.

    There are plenty of non-government schools out there. There may not be any evident “system” to them but it is a fallacy to presume that the “government system” way is the only way possible.

    I’ll also make mention that not all education is to be found in schools. I have nothing against schooling beyond high school but expecting the taxpayer to subsidize it strikes me as immoral.

  5. All too true, Richard. The Republicans are out for vengeance against the “educated elite” and the Napolitano years. This is Grover Norquist driven ideology — cut taxes, starve government.

    But it surprised me to read that about a third of the students at the universities are from out of state paying full tuition. That tells me our universities must be desirable, either for academic or other reasons. So even with the meager budgets, the schools must be doing something right.

  6. You know, for family reasons and others, I’d like to stay in Arizona more, but as someone who makes his living as a college instructor, I can’t do it in Arizona. So I have lived in other states and come back when I can.

    Arizona’s higher education was woefully inadequate (and much too centralized) before any budget cuts. Other states are making foolish cuts in higher ed, too, but Arizona is near the bottom of the bottom quartile.

    And there’s no system of private colleges and universities to pick up the slack when public higher ed is passed. Unfortunately, the diploma mill University of Phoenix is the largest private school and sucks up all the air.

    When I taught high school in Phoenix, I saw that the best students who could afford it left the state. Others stayed for the honors colleges at ASU and UofA, but if they’re cut, those who can afford it will go elsewhere.

  9. Um, this is like shooting fish in a barrel!

    Education?

    Health care?

    A safety net for the unemployed?

    Transportation?

    A clean environment?

    Fairness?

    I feel embarrassed doing this so I’ll stop.

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