H2161 locks in 391% interest for payday lenders

As Robert Merry notes in his book “A Country of Vast Designs,” President Andrew Jackson wrote in an 1832 veto letter, “In the full enjoyment of … the fruits of superior industry, economy, and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions … and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society… have a right to complaining of the injustice of their Government.”

Stopping climate change essential for national security

The safety and security of the United States will depend on how well we as a nation address the challenges of climate change.

Brewer uses Symington’s playbook, and staffers

Gov. Jan Brewer is taking a page right out of former Gov. Fife Symington’s playbook. And why not? It worked.

State needs to close tax loopholes, cut non-essential services  

Arizonans watched Republican lawmakers and the governor fail multiple times last year to solve one of the biggest budget deficits in history and continue to push our state down the wrong track.

Pearce’s bill would increase county costs, eliminate accountability

Sen. Russell Pearce has introduced a bill that would make elected county offices totally dysfunctional and far more expensive.

Senator Burns: Read our lips - no new taxes

Based on Senator Burn’s recent editorial in The Arizona Republic (”Conservative Calls for Sales-Tax Hike”) it is apparent that we need to look to other leaders for solutions to our budget challenges. Burns labors mightily to create the impression that everything that could possibly be done to stem the tide of red ink has been done. This is false.

Time has come for sentencing reform

In 1990, a 31-year old man went into a Fry’s grocery store. When no one was looking, he picked up a carton of cigarettes and walked quickly to the exit. All of this was captured on the store video, and he was apprehended in the parking lot with the carton of cigarettes and no receipt.

This offense could have been prosecuted as a misdemeanor, given the value of the cigarettes ($16.95). A misdemeanor may carry up to six months in jail. However, the prosecutor at the time elected to charge it as a felony

An inside look at Maricopa County’s evolving mental health system

Undeniably, one of the biggest issues of the day is how to reform our nation’s health care system. It’s a colossal task and one that’s long overdue.

The same can be said for mental health care in Maricopa County.

Fiscal conservatism and the future of the Republican Party

It doesn’t take a DC insider to know that conservatives are in a battle for the soul for the Republican Party. It is a battle for the future of fiscal responsibility in America. It’s a battle between the George W. Bush wing of the Republican Party and the Reagan/Goldwater conservatism that made our nation the strongest, most prosperous and freest in the world.

Clean Elections opens the door for you 

In 1998 Arizona voters decided that they should hold the power in the political process and enacted Clean Elections. The success of the Clean Elections program has been undeniable, with 70 percent of today’s legislative and statewide officeholders participating in the Clean Elections system at least once.