Razing Arizona
Tuesday, March 16 2010
My latest post for Change.org is up – Razing Arizona: Budget Cuts Leave Sick Kids Uninsured – about the budget crisis in Arizona and the Legislature’s insane response:
The articles paint a picture of conservative lawmakers going berserk on the most defenseless of their constituents — the sick, the poor and the young. Not only are Republicans cutting funding for programs their most vulnerable citizens need, but they are also forgoing the 3-for-1 matching funds the federal government provides for the same programs. The Arizona Legislature is like a rusty Schick Quattro — it cuts once, you bleed four times.
I’m quite proud of that last joke, paraphrased from a Dr. John lyric, but I will admit to Googling a bit before I remembered which razor has four blades. I use a single-blade safety razor – very retro, very Mad Men – when I can be bothered to shave.
Anyway, things in Arizona are turning ugly. If you live there and are sick/poor/a parent, you have my sympathies.
Unlike the Federal Government, the state of Arizona can not print off billions of dollars or borrow from foreign nations in order to pay for promises which were made to Arizona citizens despite not actually having the resources to fulfill them.
Arizona can raise taxes – but the Republican legislators lack the necessary courage. Instead of doing what’s necessary to run a functional government, they’re abandoning hundreds of thousands of their most vulnerable citizens.
And don’t forget: all those sick people they’re cutting off will end up in the ER eventually. This will end up costing more in the long run than doing the right thing – but at least they don’t have to raise taxes.
And they can raise those taxes, which will cut off investment in Arizona and will cut off businesses from hiring new employees and it will cause downsizing, taking employment from those already employed. It will take away from disposable income which would have been spent on food, lodging, entertainment, restaurants, and products from Arizona, which would all hurt Arizona businesses who would have to cut back on their services, firing employees.
Raising taxes has been shown over and over to have detrimental effects on economies.
Raising taxes to cover unpaid promises is like a bankrupt drug addict who commits robbery to buy more heroin. The “fix” will be immediate, but it does nothing to improve the long-term solvency of the state and could be disastrous in the long-term as businesses and productive individuals leave the state. It will hurt more than it will help.
Arizona is 40th in per capita tax collections: http://www.census.gov/govs/statetax/05staxrank.html . They could take 20% more per capita, and still rank lower than California and New Mexico. And being 40th was not such a magnet for investment that it kept their economy from collapsing.
Meanwhile, nothing says “Attractive Investment Opportunity!” like city streets full of poor kids with rickets.
Do you believe that taking 20% more on average from every living Arizonan will have no detrimental effect on Arizona’s current economy?
Regarding California, that state is currently suffering a massive budget shortfall and it has been unable to deliver on promised public services despite being #10 on that list. Why doesn’t California just hike taxes by another 50% to cover the shortfall?
Regarding the rickets, Arizona is a fairly southern state and thus have a fair amount of sunshine, and their Western diets are more than sufficient in Vitamin D. I am not familiar with the connection between not hiking taxes in that state and children in the streets with rickets.