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Public must demand competitive districts, scrutinize new maps
It’s been a quiet summer at the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, punctuated by some predictable partisan posturing. But now we are seeing the early outlines of maps, even before the draft maps are released. The commission is in the stage of the process where it is considering “what if” ideas about what the first draft maps will look like.
Adhere to immigration laws
The federal government, working with the border states, should provide the personnel and resources to secure our borders.
Dems lament – A credit card for war, but no cash for teachers
Once again, war is being paid for with a credit card while investments in our children's future are tossed aside.
Open Letter to Corporation Commission Candidate Barry Wong
Dear Mr. Wong: To say that I was shocked and dismayed to read in Wednesday's Arizona Republic of your proposal to deny utility services to illegal immigrants would be an understatement. Your cynical attempt to ratchet up the rhetoric over immigration to score cheap political points in a bid for office marks a new low in our state's immigration debate.
The broken promise of welfare reform
The swift and sweeping process used to enact historic state budget cuts has hidden major policy shifts affecting the state’s safety net for families with children. Virtually overnight, our elected officials gutted programs and policies developed with conscientious public debate, careful deliberation and clear purpose. At a time when Arizona has lost 315,000 jobs – an 11.6 percent reduction in[...]
Pearce’s contempt for immigration attorneys misplaced
In response to Sen. Russell Pearce’s claims in the Arizona Capitol Times (May 17, 2010, “Trespassing law may turn more illegal immigrations into citizens”) that immigration attorneys ‘tie up the system or play games” or “fabricate and exaggerate issues” in immigration court proceedings, he grossly exaggerates our ability to manipulate a well-established, yet arguably broken [...]
Robo-polls cheap and untrustworthy
Robo-polls such as Rasmussen and SurveyUSA have proliferated because they are absolutely free to conduct. You throw a bunch of phone numbers into a database and have a large volume of robo-calls made over an IP telephone, and you can conduct the entire survey at virtually zero cost in three or four hours.
Budget cuts will lead to more pain and suffering
So what does the future look like in Arizona now that the Legislature and the governor have made the deepest cuts in health and human services in 25 years in the last two legislative sessions? It is not a pretty picture.
Legislature deserves a scolding from Mother Nature
It has been awhile since the environment had a good session at the Arizona Legislature, but it has also been awhile since we have seen anything quite as awful as the 2010 Legislature.
Chamber chalked up wins, but still pushes for tax cuts
A number of important legislative reforms supported by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Arizona Manufacturers Council made their way to Gov. Jan Brewer and were signed into law, including, for the second consecutive year, major regulatory and tort reforms.
ATRA gives Legislature mixed review
The Arizona Legislature adjourned sine die on April 29, and the policy achievements of the 49th Legislature get a mixed review from a taxpayer’s perspective.
Multiple suppliers for F-35 engines would be wasteful
A recent guest opinion in the Arizona Capitol Times said: “The government shouldn’t pick winners and losers when it comes to military contractors; the marketplace should.” I could not agree more. However, I must disagree with the author’s statement about Congress being a champion for competition in the case of the Joint Strike Fighter (F-35). In fact, it has been just the opposite.
