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Taxpayer Town Hall Forum – June 12th

June 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Dear Southwest Valley Taxpayer,(Please forward this to your friends in Buckeye, El Mirage, Glendale, Goodyear, Avondale, Litchfield Park, Peoria, and Waddell!)

Arizona has a chance to set a great example for America. Arizona has the worst budget deficit in the country, on a per-capita basis, because of the huge spending increases enacted by Gov. Janet Napolitano and the Legislature during the past six years. If Arizona can resolve this crisis without raising taxes, we will do the nation a great service. Arizona can serve as a counter-example to the dangerous national trend of tax-and-spend crisis management.

Friday, June 12, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, the Arizona Chapter of Americans for Prosperity Foundation is sponsoring a Taxpayer Town Hall meeting at the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park (three miles west of 101 and W. Indian School Road). Here is a link to a map and directions

Speakers will include Representatives Steve Montenegro and Jerry Weiers of Legislative District 12, AFPF Arizona director Tom Jenney, Goldwater Institute education policy expert Dr. Matthew Ladner, Goldwater Institute tax and budget studies director Byron Schlomach. We have made room in the schedule for more than an hour of Q&A from the public at this nonpartisan event.

Please RSVP to infoAZ@afphq.org, and let us know you’re coming. The room we have rented seats 100 people, so we need to know as soon as possible if we will need to make accommodations for more persons. There is no charge for this event.

It is very important for Tea Partiers and other Southwest Valley taxpayers to come to this event. The town hall meetings sponsored by other organizations tend to be dominated by the spending lobbies, whose members come in large numbers to beg legislators to raise taxes and spend more of your hard-earned money.

AFPF-Arizona wants to send another big THANK YOU to the thousands of taxpayer activists who came to the April 15 Tea Party at the Arizona State Capitol. You took an important stand in the fight to save our country from the Big Taxers, Big Spenders, and Big Debtors who are trying to lead us down the road toward ever-bigger government. Like you, we are fed up with tax increases, federal bailouts, mounting debt burdens on our grandchildren, and government takeovers of the private sector (including health care).

Please forward this announcement to other Southwest Valley taxpayers and Tea Partiers!

You can see a photo of a recent AFPF town hall event here.

 

 

Filed Under: Press Release, Special Event

Valley Metro Seeks Naming Rights

June 5, 2009 By 4 Comments

Hat Tip to Mesa Issues for first posting on this and JD Hayworth for giving it air time on KFYI-550!

As Valley Metro finds its budget in the pooper and homeless individuals spread feces on the floor of the train, maybe Valley Metro should approach Depend for a sponsorship in its naming rights solution? Now there’s a solution we can wrap our you-know-what’s around!

We’d love to hear your suggestions…

Filed Under: City Government, Transportation

Senate Budget Closes Deficit Without Tax Increase

June 5, 2009 By 8 Comments

Goldwater Institute says Senate budget is responsible during economic downturn

Phoenix–Late last night the Arizona State Senate passed a budget to close the 2010 budget deficit without raising taxes. The budget deficit is projected to be between $3 and $4 billion. The budget plan includes $631 million in reductions to state agencies, $143 million in accounting tricks, $1 billion in one-time fund sweeps and other revenue sources, and uses $1.2 billion in federal money.

If this budget is adopted, state spending will be $500 million less than it was in 2007. The House is expected to vote on the budget today.

“No tax increase is good news for Arizona and will help our economic recovery,” said Darcy Olsen, president and CEO of the Goldwater Institute. 

The Governor has vowed to veto the Senate budget if it passes the House and is sent to her for approval. The Governor favors smaller budget cuts and a tax increase.
 
“The modest spending reductions in the Senate budget really amount to trimming the fat,” said Ms. Olsen.

Complicating matters, the Governor and the Legislature don’t agree on how big the 2010 deficit will be. The Governor says $4 billion, and the legislature says $3 billion. The Goldwater Institute has recommended that state finances be independently certified by the State Treasurer’s office to provide lawmakers with an accurate figure upon which to base the budget.
 
The Goldwater Institute is a nonprofit public policy research and litigation organization whose work is made possible by the generosity of its supporters.

 

Filed Under: Spending, State Budget, State Government, Taxation

Obama v. Merkel and the Power of Gold

June 5, 2009 By 2 Comments

by Gayle Plato

As Barack Obama woos the Germans with charm, Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is not amused ( see drudgereport.com linked http://tinyurl.com/p2nr69).  Merkel is also quite skeptical of the financial machinations of the current U.S. Administration. There are stories in main stream media and blogs noting how Merkel is deeply concerned about pending inflation issues and the quantitative easing of the Federal Reserve pumping of money.

The Independent of the United Kingdom wrote of Merkel’s concerns and history: “Germany’s experience of the hyper-inflation of the Weimar Republic makes it highly suspicious of anything that smacks of printing money. Rigid adherence to the principles of sound money have served Germany well in the post-war period, with low inflation and a stable economy.” (http://tinyurl.com/ptfere)

Angela Merkel is openly chastising the FED actions of dollar injection, and of the Central Bank of England’s actions.  Note too that Gordon Brown, current UK Prime Minister is fraught with scandals and may face a vote of no confidence this year. Some speculate his resignation is being pushed. All of Europe leans on one another like cards, ready to hold each other up or topple, taking the shaky economic structure with them.  Is this a beginning of the Euro breaking and is there concern in Europe as to where the actual gold holdings are?

In April, I wrote of the gold COMEX obligations, and the Deutsche Bank linking to odd transfers of gold by the European Central Bank.  Noted financial blogs speculated after much research that Germany was trying to get it’s actual gold back, and needs to prove it exists.  The United States holds some of that actual gold too. Does Mrs. Merkel want it back maybe? Hmm.

 
 The Gold market is relatively small and might be opened to manipulation. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lots of gold and China has openly offered to buy some of that gold.  China will be contributing, loaning, whatever- billions into the IMF and it’s happening as I write. There are traders and those that research and monitor every single commodity and stock.  When they see any anomaly they jump on it.  Cash gold is down 2.4% on the COMEX at this moment, so I do not see any sustained gold buying. If  I do, I will be thinking about what is next. Beware the gold trader analysis too as it’s dripping with lots of conspiracy writers who give Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons a run for the money ( pun intended).  Gold is as elusive as it wants to be; it also rests at the base of money and markets worldwide.

Once again, we see prices rise, unemployment rise, bond markets shakier than a no-doc loan holding cold chihuahua. A house of cards in Phoenix, with upside down mortgages second to none: the only green shoots- weeds in the front: we all await the butterfly effect.   A President Obama and his Czar-o-cratic economic team moves a shell in Europe or Asia, and all might tip the deuce of diamonds yet, only to see the joker standing.

References:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/129128-did-the-ecb-save-comex-from-gold-default
http://www.marketskeptics.com/2009/04/gold-prices-could-surge-on-sustained.html
http://www.ft.com/world
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/06/what-obama-told-germanys-merkel-about-mideast-peace.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/jeremy-warner/jeremy-warner-merkel-slams-banks-loose-money-stance-1695500.html

Filed Under: Economics, Federal Budget, Foreign Policy

Scandal increases: Investigation discovers conflict with Supervisors’ $347 million new court tower

June 5, 2009 By 5 Comments


Taxpayers should be grateful to Channel 15 for investigating the $347 million state of the art Taj Mahal court tower boondoggle the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors insists on building during the recession, as they lay off employees and cut other agencies budgets – including law enforcement – by 15%. This blog has speculated that the contractors who won the bids to build the tower contributed to the Supervisors’ election campaigns, and so that is the reason the Supervisors are refusing to cut even one cent from the cost of the state of the art tower which will feature marble, travertine, porcelain and wood floors. Some excerpts -

It’s the largest construction project in Maricopa County history, but the new-state-of- the-art court tower is shrouded in secrecy.

The $347 million dollar taxpayer-funded project is already under criminal investigation by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

“This is a flagrant abuse of public trust,” said Clint Bolick, a former attorney with the United States Department of Justice who now works for the Goldwater Institute.

Documents obtained exclusively by the ABC15 Investigators reveal attorney Thomas K. Irvine and his firm are representing both the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, who are funding the project, and the Maricopa County Superior Court, that will occupy the building.

“It is a blatant conflict of interest, one of the first kinds of conflicts you learn about in law school,” Bolick said.  “It’s a matter of the fox guarding the hen house.”

Over the last three years, the Maricopa County Superior Court has paid Irvine and his law firm more than $800,000.

For what? The taxpayer would have no idea, because the Superior Court is refusing to say.

Additionally, ABC15 has learned Irvine’s contract with the courts was not put out for public bid.

Meanwhile, the county is still refusing ABC15 and the taxpayers access to thousands of records regarding the court tower project that are being kept behind a locked door on the third floor of the county administration building in downtown Phoenix. ABC15 first requested access to those records five months ago.

Filed Under: County Government, Judicial, Spending, Taxation

Haven’t We Been Through This Already?

June 5, 2009 By 7 Comments

In 2001, a so-called “businessman” from out of state showed up on the political scene claiming he wanted to run for Congress. He was replete the requisite cowboy boots and jeans – apparently out of staters think we are all a bunch of cowboys – and splashed around a lot of money to win a seat in Congress. His ties to the state were minimal at best – he had gone to college here but hadn’t lived in the state for over 20 years. That Congressman was Rick Renzi. Most political followers know the rest of the story.

Now comes news that another “businessman” is looking to do the same thing. Call it Renzi-redux if you will. Jim Ward announced he was running for Congress stating in his press release that he has traveled the district listening to residents to “get a sounding as to the viability of his candidacy” (get a sounding?). That was probably a smart move on Mr. Ward’s part, given the fact that according to property records, he’s only lived in the district and the state for a little over six months. But fair is fair, our Constitution places no resident requirements on running for Congress.

But the topic of this post isn’t really about Mr. Ward. Apparently he thinks that his long time residence in the Bay Area of California is sufficient to understand the needs and concerns of Arizonans. I’m not here to question that.

What I’m wondering is what it is about Arizona that seems to attract these types of candidacies from out of staters? Why do out of staters think they can come to Arizona and despite having very little connection represent our views in Congress?

Do we come off as that small time? A place where someone can show up and splash a little money and be considered a credible candidate to represent our views despite having little to no real ties to the state?

I’m curious what Sonoran Alliance readers think. Feel free to comment.

Filed Under: Uncategorized