The Fucked Up Arizona Legislature

As I have written before, Maricopa County government is a dysfunctional mess.  I have also written about my proposal to fix the problem.  I know that I am but one voice among so many, but what the hell does the Arizona Legislature think they are doing even contemplating requiring county boards to give lump sums of tax payer monies to the departments of elected officials without any oversight authority.

Instead of dealing with the State of Arizona's budget issues, the Arizona Legislature is instead providing cover to their two favorite sons, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County and Sheriff Paul Babeau of Pinal County.  Both of these sheriffs have had budget fights with their respective county boards and both are champions of draconian anti-illegal immigrant policies.

That doesn't excuse the reckless micromanaging by county governments and it certainly doesn't excuse their total disregard of the voters.  We don't vote for the legislators to deal with county issues, we vote for county supervisors to do so.  We don't vote for the legislators to give political cover to sheriffs who can't operate within the oversight of the county boards.

What we need is real reform of our county governments, not this political mockery of the voters.  Too bad the Arizona Legislature is too fucked up to realize that.

Let Them Eat Cake - The Second Helping

You can read the original Let Them Eat Cake here.

Courtesy of Fratelli Studios

It didn’t take long for Governor Brewer and the Republican controlled legislature to strike a deal to give more subsidies to corporations on the backs of Arizona’s poor and working poor.  If you remember, Governor Brewer has proposed dropping almost 300 thousand men, women and children from the Arizona’s Medicaid (ACCCHS) rolls in order to cut $540 million from the budget.  Not surprisingly, the new corporate welfare bill will cost an estimated $538 million a year.

WHAT THE FUCK?!  Arizona can afford to give out $538 million a year in tax breaks, tax cuts and other corporate “incentives” yet it can’t afford $540 million a year to make sure that 300 thousand men, women and children don’t go without non-emergency room medical care?  Are we as a state that callous that we would throw that many people to the wolves in order to give more corporate welfare in the name of “job creation”?

Arizona already has some of the lowest corporate income and property taxes in the nation.  We are one of the most business friendly states and one of the most worker unfriendly be an “at will” and “right to work” state.  Maybe we are spending on all of this money on corporations because we can’t entice them here any other way.  I mean, why would a corporation want to invest in creating jobs in a state that doesn’t value public education, public transportation or a social safety net?

Then again, there will be corporations that will jump at the opportunity to partake in corporate welfare at the expense of 300 thousand men, women and children.  Those corporations will wallow in the state’s largesse and provide very little in return.  Those corporations will gladly say, “Let them eat cake”.

An Open Letter to Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio

Mr. DiCiccio,

I understand that being the pockets of businesses is par for the course in American politics.  In fact, its a time honored tradition.  But the latest move by you is the worst form of corporate ass kissing I have seen in a long time.  I am speaking of course about your attempt to end run the Phoenix city council by going to the Arizona Legislature to force the city to privatize most of its services and to dictate what the city can offer for wages and benefits to its public employees.  That's pretty bold for someone who wasn't even elected to the city council, but was appointed.

I understand that you believe that privatization is the most efficient way for the City of Phoenix to deliver services, but I believe privatization to be nothing more than a diversion of limited city resources and corporate welfare of the highest order.  Currently, out of an operating budget of $3.5 billion, $425 million is paid to corporations to operate certain city services such as public transit.

I am sure that you have a lot of friends who are investors, company heads or owners that would like the majority of the city's budget paid out to them.  But you have been rebuffed by the seven others sitting on the city council.  You can't help your corporate friends if your city council members won't play ball, right?  So what's a person who doesn't play with others do?  He finds the biggest bully around and gets them to do his dirty work for him, the Arizona Republican controlled Legislature.  That is what you have done and its rather shameful, because I have no doubt they will do the dirty work for you.  Too bad its the residents of Phoenix who get screwed by this deal.

Its too bad that you don't actually care about the people of Phoenix, only your corporate buddies.

Sincerely,

Phoenix Justice