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Arizona’s debt has grown $4B since recession began

Most state lawmakers insist they had no other choice than to borrow billions of dollars to keep Arizona government running during the past few years. The reality, however, is that they had a couple of options – they just didn’t like them.

State debt: Arizona’s money pit

The state has borrowed more than $2 billion during the past four fiscal years, boosting its total debt load to $9.7 billion. At least one-third of the state’s debt must be repaid using money from the same account that lawmakers draw upon to pay for public education, Medicaid programs and other basic government services.