Neither Governor Nor Democrats Helping With Arizona's Fiscal Crisis
By Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Legislative District 9)
The Governor’s recent reversal of necessary spending cuts defies logic and I simply don’t understand it. I’ve known Governor Brewer for a long time and I’ve always liked her. That is why it is so difficult for me to understand this recent action that simply makes no economic sense. Meanwhile, Democratic legislators are putting politics over helping the state.
Our state is over $3 billion short and is spending more than it has coming in every single day. Simply put, we are paying for things we can’t afford. So the fiscally responsible Republican legislators made the difficult, but necessary, decision to make modest spending cuts and passed a balanced budget, without a tax increase, three times. Unfortunately, the Governor has vetoed it or threatened to veto it all three times. If she didn’t, the budget could have been balanced on June 4th.
The Governor’s most recent vetoes have increased spending by $714 million and increased property taxes by $250 million a year. Unless changed, a vast majority of this $714 million increase in spending and the entire $250 million increase in property taxes will continue into future years. This action adds to the already huge gap between spending and revenues instead of decreasing it, meanwhile increasing the tax burden on the public at a time when individuals and businesses are struggling to stay afloat. This is obviously the wrong direction we should be moving in.
What’s next? I don’t know. The Democratic legislators don’t want to help. They would rather see the Republicans crash and burn instead of helping the state balance its budget.
Why would they take on the responsibility of having to make cuts when they can just let the Republicans take all the blame? Not one of them voted for the three balanced budget packages. The Republicans can try once again to re-negotiate with the Governor, but she has the final and ultimate vote.
Rep. Debbie Lesko represents Legislative District 9, which includes Sun City, Youngtown, and parts of Glendale and Peoria. For more information, visit: www.DebbieLesko.org. Debbie can be reached at 602-926-5413 or DLesko@azleg.gov.
The Governor’s recent reversal of necessary spending cuts defies logic and I simply don’t understand it. I’ve known Governor Brewer for a long time and I’ve always liked her. That is why it is so difficult for me to understand this recent action that simply makes no economic sense. Meanwhile, Democratic legislators are putting politics over helping the state.
Our state is over $3 billion short and is spending more than it has coming in every single day. Simply put, we are paying for things we can’t afford. So the fiscally responsible Republican legislators made the difficult, but necessary, decision to make modest spending cuts and passed a balanced budget, without a tax increase, three times. Unfortunately, the Governor has vetoed it or threatened to veto it all three times. If she didn’t, the budget could have been balanced on June 4th.
The Governor’s most recent vetoes have increased spending by $714 million and increased property taxes by $250 million a year. Unless changed, a vast majority of this $714 million increase in spending and the entire $250 million increase in property taxes will continue into future years. This action adds to the already huge gap between spending and revenues instead of decreasing it, meanwhile increasing the tax burden on the public at a time when individuals and businesses are struggling to stay afloat. This is obviously the wrong direction we should be moving in.
What’s next? I don’t know. The Democratic legislators don’t want to help. They would rather see the Republicans crash and burn instead of helping the state balance its budget.
Why would they take on the responsibility of having to make cuts when they can just let the Republicans take all the blame? Not one of them voted for the three balanced budget packages. The Republicans can try once again to re-negotiate with the Governor, but she has the final and ultimate vote.
Rep. Debbie Lesko represents Legislative District 9, which includes Sun City, Youngtown, and parts of Glendale and Peoria. For more information, visit: www.DebbieLesko.org. Debbie can be reached at 602-926-5413 or DLesko@azleg.gov.