As an Arizonan, when you hear about trade agreements, you might not automatically think about jobs in the great Copper State. However, as the most populous landlocked state in the U.S., we should. Trade is a huge driver of our economy, not only as a nation, but also of our state economies.

The two years of the 50th Arizona Legislature will go down in the history books as the years when the Legislature hit reboot on the Arizona economy and turned what was a basket case into a best case.

A handful of elected officials in the Arizona Legislature have repeatedly tried to intimidate and silence Goldwater Institute analysts out of giving testimony in support of or in opposition to legislation this year. In one case, an elected official forced a Goldwater Institute attorney, who asked to speak on behalf of the Institute, to refrain from speaking because she was not a registered lobbyist for the Institute. Although the attorney was later allowed to testify after signing in as representing only herself, the instance demonstrates that certain Arizona legislators want citizens to curtail their First Amendment rights before daring to talk or write about public policy with their representatives.

If Yogi Berra were a political analyst, he might describe the May 3 passage of HB2815 as the second consecutive year that the Legislature passed a once-in-a-generation competitiveness package.

Arizona Legislative Republicans did the state a disservice by pushing through a bait-and-switch budget that lacks vision, leaves kids of working families without health care coverage and fails to create jobs.

Republicans passed a budget this week and, as usual, we did so without the help of Democrats. Despite the fact that we made no cuts in essential services while providing $150 million for statewide K-12 education funding, $21 million for universities and $100 million for health & welfare programs, there never seems to be enough spending to satisfy all their demands.

Nearly two decades of simmering conflict over water resources in Cochise County reached an explosive climax recently when bureaucrats with the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued an unprecedented and stunning ultimatum to the state of Arizona: Stop development near the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA).

Ask Arizonans about their health care concerns and — overwhelmingly — they will say they are worried about how much their health insurance costs and whether they will continue to be able to afford it.

For Arizonans, the centennial presents the perfect opportunity to reflect on the past and envision the future of our state, as these are serious times. Based on a number of factors, it appears a unified vision is sorely lacking, and without it, we run the risk of declining prosperity and intractable problems with the ultimate consequence being a significant decline in our quality of life, which is at the very essence of Arizona.

On April 4, Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed an expansion to Arizona’s education savings account program and drew attention to a subject that affects all Arizona educators and students.