By insisting on a sales tax, our Republican governor has put herself into an untenable position. Republicans in the legislature refuse to include it in their budget, and ironically Democrats won’t support it either, noting that it will cost familes an extra $438/yr, more than the governor admits. Now columnist Robert Robb has come out with a column observing that Brewer’s line-item vetos are “irresponsible” and would actually ADD to the budget – not the purpose of the line-item veto.
What Brewer did instead is fiscally insane…Brewer’s vetoes added hundreds of millions, and perhaps billions, in spending to the underlying budget…So, she hugely added spending while eliminating the means of paying for it. She kept the doors of state government open, but at an utterly unsustainable spending pace…And then she vetoed the K-12 budget entirely. She’s in essence holding the schools hostage for her sales tax increase…Brewer’s rhetoric in taking this action was grotesquely disingenuous. She said that the legislative budget “incorporates devastating cuts to education, public safety and our state’s most vital health services for the frail.”…It was, however, a budget she agreed to just a week earlier. And there was not a single dime in 2010 restorations for public safety and health care in the sales tax referral agreement.
Brewer is going to meet with the legislature today or tomorrow to discuss working out a new budget. It’s reported that Senate Majority leader Bob Burns is already out of town on vacation, and he was one of the few Senators who had agreed to support her tax increase. Without his support any longer, the legislature should have no problem stopping her, she has no support left.
The blog Gila Courier is already discussing which Republicans will run against her for governor in 2012. Her political career appears to be over because of stubborn insistence on a tax increase. It has already been exposed on this blog and elsewhere that Brewer’s political consultant Chuck Coughlin is behind the tax increase, because his contractor clients will benefit from infrastructure projects. How long is Brewer going to continue to fight for him and his special interests, while using a fake “it’s the children” excuse as cover? It’s been disappointing watching her ruin her career over this, transforming into a Democrat.
The Republic is reporting today that Burns is going to cancel his trip. But he’s gotta be furious at Brewer so I doubt he’ll be terribly helpful.
Another sterling example of “write first, think never” from Chewie. You do know that you just demoted Burns, right? Also, it was known last week (like, Thursday) that he wasn’t going to Europe as planned.
But seriously, good job. I can’t wait until the MSM is dead and we all have to rely on insights and reporting like yours to be informed.
Chewie, you’ve been asked in at least 5 other posts to come on and explain how a tax increase to backfill education cuts can possibly help General Contractors or fund NEW infrastructure projects and never have had the guts to do it.
I know you’ll never do it but I figured I’d point out what an idiot you are one more time for the heck of it.
As always, you’re welcome to come on here and attempt an explanation. In the meantime, we’ll all consider your silence an acknowledgement of your ignorance.
Chewie, Does your boss in the CA’s office know you actually write this stuff? Does he care that you’re so blatantly wrong? Do you follow this same level of professionalism in your job? I mean, we all see what a joke that has become but I thought that was limited to a few people over there.
Roger,
I wrote the post under the login Chewie Shofir. I don’t work for the “CA Office,” I own my own business. So keep guessing. Why don’t you reveal that you work for Chuck Couglin’s High Ground firm?
Chewie
The Democrats offered a sales tax cut that broadens the tax base:
http://strongerarizona.com/
Because a plurality of the Republican caucus are more loyal to Washington lobbyist Grover Norquist than to the oath they took to serve Arizona, we in this state have more to worry about then just Gov. Brewer.
I think I’ve said three or four times I don’t work for Coughlin and until you started posting never even knew who he was.
I work in real estate and finance, am a PC in the East Valley. While I applaud you for getting on and claiming you don’t work for the CA’s office, you never did explain your AGC benefit claims as you have been asked to do numerous times.
Roger, if you believe that they are going to spend 1.8 to 3 Billion to backfill education – which is already spending at its legal expenditure limits – you are the one not looking at reality.
In addition, if you believe Highground and the AGC were going to spend a quarter million dollars to push this tax increase due to their altruistic interest in education, you either are a dreamer, you do not know these people, or you work for them or their industry.
Chewie, every time you write you are attacked by leftists and other apologists for Tax Collector Brewer and her left hand man, Chuck Coughlin, so keep up the good work!
But here’s a question for Roger: If Tax Collector Brewer’s tax hike will not benefit the public infrastructure lobby, why is the same inept gang that was behind the TIME Initiative at the forefront of this most recent effort to hike taxes?
I’m talking about developers like Doug Pruitt, contractors like David Martin, and others like Marty Schultz, as Sonoran Alliance has documented before? http://sonoranalliance.com/?p=4337
Surely you are not asking us to believe that these special interests are doing it for unselfish reasons, so why are they doing it?
Roger,
You’re really pathetic!
There is NO support in the legislature for the sales tax increase proposed by Couglin, er Brewer!
If Brewer really believes there is such support, let her start and initiative to get such a proposal on the ballot.
I doubt if she could get the signatures, and am positive that if she got Couglin’s proposal on the ballot, it would be defeated by a massive margin!
Now, I am asking you will you stop lying? I will repeat this request every time you repeat one of dishonest posts, and will keep track of them in the future. So, stop now!
Why not put it on the ballot and let the voters decide? You all will have all the time you need to dissuade voters from the tax increase. AND…if you really think that it is that unpopular, then what are you afraid of? Right?
kralmajales,
You know, its looking like things might be moving in the direction of the Dems plan. Maybe the sales tax vote won’t even be necessary.
True true Todd.
Sarah, I am anything but a leftist. I am a PC in a very conservative district. It’s ludicrous to compare a temporary sales tax to the TIME initiative. The only thing they have in common is the 1 cent. It’s not just AGC that was part of the group either even though that makes for a good argument.
Carl Hay, if you are SO sure that it will fail, why not rush it right now to the ballot? If it fails that will allow us to REALLY reduce government. Instead, we call it reducing but really just are doing the same crap we criticized Nappy for last year. All of these so called Fiscal Conservatives are hypocrites and are just praying their constituents are too dumb to realize what’s really going on. So please Carl, tell me where I’m wrong. Tell me when I’M being dishonest. You may want to stop and look in the mirror first.
The AGC was the main money, Westmarc allowed their name to be used for about two days then reneged, and the EVP has no real money in this economy.
In addition AGC ties to Coughlin has been deep and longstanding. Obviously, since he was the head of the Transition Team, the same holds true for Brewer. Also, it is simply the numbers are too close to the TIME Initiative to pass off as coincidence.
Maricopa, I’m going to assume you are just misinformed and not lying. I don’t know the money situation but Westmarc never reneged from any support and in fact put out multiple press releases of support.
I invite you, as I have invited others, to show me hard facts of any connection. As I said before, the only coincidence between the two is that both are 1 cent. Brewer cut education in the budget with the agreement that if the tax passed in November, she would back-fill those education cuts with new tax revenue that would be collected throughout the remainder of the year.
So I’ll ask you directly. Please explain to me how a tax designed to back-fill education cuts pays for NEW state infrastructure.
Gawd, your all friggin idiots.
This is not designed to backfill education- we *have* to spend that money thanks to the J-No initiatives and Fed MOE.
This money is to keep general state government on life support so we don’t have to open the prisons and start booting out folks we can’t afford to keep in.
Can’t cut welfare any more, can’t cut health care anymore, most of the rest is off limits, and all that is left is doubling all state fees to business.
Gee, where’s Glen Hamer?
Uh, stopping those fee increases in exchange for support for the penny.
Once again, if the blogs are going to replace MSM, then some of the folks here had better buy a clue and understand 2+2=4 in a *real* budget.
Government has been right sized except for that sacred cow of law enforcement and a couple more dollars from the Universities.
If one more person suggest we sell our falling down state building, I will remind them we don’t even own the last three we built- they are owned by the BK Opus!!!
Chewie’s problem is he is yet another friggin lawyer who can’t do the math!!!
Carl Hay wrote:
“Roger,
You’re really pathetic!
(Keeping it classy, CH! Why is it you ‘pure’ conservatives think you can write in any tone about anyone?)
There is NO support in the legislature for the sales tax increase proposed by Couglin, er Brewer!
(True, how smart of you to read a newspaper from last week!)
If Brewer really believes there is such support, let her start and initiative to get such a proposal on the ballot.
(uh, no, then she wouldn’t need lege support, that would be a BALLOT INITIATIVE)
I doubt if she could get the signatures, and am positive that if she got Couglin’s proposal on the ballot, it would be defeated by a massive margin!
(Wow, even your lame argument appears to be self-loathing.
So, CH, in review:
1. Ballot initiatives require signatures, not legislative support.
2. Referendum are placed on the ballot by the legislature. These are saved for the really important questions facing our state, like gay marriage but not abortion.
3. You, CH, don’t know jack about this process.)
I just need to remind everyone here that what they think is big spending is among the lowest spending in the United States. And what has it gotten us? A few deep conservatives who get to hold on to every priceless dollar and the rest of the state being uncompetitive with the other states in this union. That means business will not flock here.
The theory is that if you let people keep your money then they will spend it and the economy will grow. That only works to a point…the right places is somewhere in the middle. If you cut govt. infrastructure and programs back to the bone (as Arizona has), then you get a state without the infrastructure for economic development. There is a reason that the majority of industry was building and government contractors like Raytheon. Note the “was” in the part about building.
Kenny, you really need to learn how to read.
First, while you may believe it is “classy” to lie (the Roger technique), I prefer to be accurate. While you may want to silence criticism of lefties like Roger, the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States recognizes freedom of speech and press (as much as you may dislike that).
Second, as I pointed out, Brewer probably could not get enough signatures to get an initiative to increase taxes on the ballot and was instead trying to pressure the legislature to refer such a measure to the voters. What part of that were you unable to comprehend?
Please try reading before posting.
Carl,
Nowhere does Kenny claim to want to silence you or destroy your or anyone else’s freedom of speech so stop playing the victim.
Tell me where I have lied Carl Hay TELL ME. You’re quick to throw out accusations but short on details or proof. On thing I never have trouble with is showing proof that the idiot likes of Chewie are flat out wrong and know they are wrong.
You have all the freedoms in the world to come on here and post. Since you supposedly catalog them so well, tell me where I have lied. I have no problem admitting if I’m wrong but you better be ready when you accuse someone of lying.
Threads like this make me so proud to be a Republican.
We are losing because we do not do what it takes to govern, we do what it takes to be re-elected. The majority of Lege’s are voting not for what is good for the state but what is good for their next campaign. If they have nothing to run against, what will they say, how will they stay relevant?
Try looking at the real issues and be honest with real solutions. All this fighting has produced not one good thing but has left one hot mess.
A tried and true conservative, Nancy Barto, is now called an open borders, Acorn loving liberal because she dared vote against a Pearce bill?
Now, that’s pathetic!
Carl:
you wrote:
“There is NO support in the legislature for the sales tax increase proposed by Couglin, er Brewer!
If Brewer really believes there is such support, let her start and initiative to get such a proposal on the ballot.”
Please explain how the word “support” in the first paragraph has magically become a reference to something entirely different in the second graf, just 20 short words away? These are serious issues and you clearly don’t have a clue, CH.
These are your words CH, I understood them completely. On the point of reading comprehension, try reading the First Amendment. It doesn’t apply in this instance.
Thanks for the tip on reading, CH, I’ll be reading you for laughs from now on.
Kenny, don’t go confusing Carl about the first amendment. That might lead into a discussion about how the founding fathers weren’t against paying taxes, they just wanted representation if they were paying taxes. They would be laughing at the type of representation we have now.
Limited to 200+ bills this session is the greatest accomplishment they could have had. Could you imagine if it was a normal session?
Well, laughing boy, lets examine your assertions:
You said:
“Why is it you ‘pure’ conservatives think you can write in any tone about anyone.”
I responded:
“While you may want to silence criticism of lefties like Roger, the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States recognizes freedom of speech and press (as much as you may dislike that).”
Second, as I pointed out, there was no support for the tax increase in the legislature that she wants, and I noted that if she really wanted the voters to vote on such a proposal she could get the signatures to get such an ballot measure by the initiative process, but doubted if she could get the signatures. Sorry you find this difficult to understand.
Oh, and the “support,” (or as I noted, lack of support, was in the legislature), which deals with Referendums NOT Initiatives. I don’t doubt you support higher taxes, but as I pointed out, like the legislaters, I believe it unlikely the people voters will support the tax increase either.
In November the voters of Arizona will get a chance to vote on the measure, and will overwhelmingly defeat Brewer’s attempt to increase taxes.
OK Roger,
If the money is “used to backfill education” it will not be used to increase funding to education, and the money that is now used there will be released for the infrastructure that the AGC supports. It is a circular accounting gimmick that amounts to the same thing.
As to Westmarc, they did make multiple press releases about the issue, but, “informed sources” reliably report that the original promise of financial support failed to materialize. That is supported by MSM reports alluding to that fact.
Maricopa, you clearly don’t understand the budget numbers. There were cuts in education and health care that were agreed to. Those cuts were agreed to by the Governor on the basis that the tax was on the ballot in November. If it failed, the cuts remained. If it passed, those cuts were reduced with the new tax revenue.
So again your conspiracy theory falls short. Show me proposed new infrastructure projects that are in the budget based on a tax increase passing and you win. If not, just admit that you were a little wrong on this one and we’ll all call it a day.
Can’t comment on the financial aspects of a committee but from what I read in blogs, MSM and talking to people, there was never a full blown movement so a commitment wasn’t necessary. Not sure what they ended up spending so couldn’t comment either way.
Carl, your response in post #26 is…interesting. OK, here we go:
You are comfortable with insulting people, so am I, but I refuse to allow you to misquote me. Your cowardly use of the First Amendment is wrong. Your insistence on sticking with that assertion shows you are not just stupid but stubborn as well. That’s not a good combination. I suggest you go back and fact-check yourself since I’ve done it for you and you still don’t understand. There are folks here at SA laughing at you and they are conservatives, shouldn’t that be a hint?
Thank you for the re-write of your paragraphs on the question of “support” for or against the various vehicles of changing the sales tax. Your new version cleans up your unclear thinking and sloppy writing, now if you just had the character to admit what you originally wrote…
Your prediction for a November (or February IMO) vote on a sales tax proposition may turn out to be true, however your lack of intellectual heft will remain obvious. Even a broken clock is correct twice a day.
And as for your interest in my position on the sales tax issue, I support this:
http://strongerarizona.com/
and in doing so I find some common ground with the Goldwater Institute.
Well laughing boy,
First, my expression in the original post was clear, it is your inability to comprehend that is the probem.
Second, I quoted you precisely, not a misquote.
Third, I support the Bill of Rights, including the first amendment. That you consider such support “cowardly,” of “stupid” says a lot about you.
Finally, when the voters reject the tax increase, the State of Arizona budget will be in worse shape than it would have been had the Governor signed the budget that was passed (think California).