“In 2008, for example, Arizona taxpayers spent $696 million on state debt interest payments alone. That’s more than the state spent on the Department of Health Services which administers behavioral health, disease prevention and control, and community public health programs and regulates the state’s childcare and assisted living centers, nursing homes, and hospitals, among other things.”
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Debt carries interest obligations.
Everyone whines about raising teachers salaries – but lo! look at the money spent to stay current on interest payments ALONE that could have provided a source of funds for schools, health, roads or not sucked out of taxpayers in the first place so they could invest in businesses or other useful activities.
Phoenix sure is pretty, with incredible highways and overpasses that are works of art, with magnificent landscaping, but what about the rest of the people in the state? Enjoyed many an “Arizona Massage” on state-maintained washboard since moving here.
But now that cities like Phoenix are all purty and loaded with amenities, the money’s gone, worse, it’s a honking big deficit with growing interest payments to make to keep from defaulting. No fancy upgrades for roads or services for anyone else in the state, with worse weather conditions to deal with.

Poor governance for years and the chickens are coming home to roost.

After all, that would interfere with their magnificent fund raising machine.

I would be kinder if they actually accomplished much of what they blather about, but so much is just plain dumb, that the better points are just lost.

Where in the State Constitution does it limit municipal or political subdivision debts?

Just interested in the facts, not fund raising propaganda.