Arizona's Own Espresso Pundit

State Government Marches On.

Well, I was wrong about an inevitable government shutdown.  I've gone back over the time line that I used when I calculated that there was no way to finish the budget in time.  It seems that I had time allocated for the "Republicans in the Legislature" to "negotiate with the Governor."  That part didn't happen and the "Republican Leadership" simply did what the Governor wanted.  Well, I guess that's a good way to save a week.

Let's face it, the Governor and the Democrats enjoy a working majority on fiscal issues.  It looks to me like they kicked the can down the road using accounting gimmicks and deficit financing on the theory that the current revenue drop is temporary and they can hydroplane over it.

My theory is that revenue growth will come back slowly and the Governor's solution--raided funds, accounting tricks and new debt--will devastate the state's finances in the long run.

If the legislature finds itself in the same fiscal mess next year...or later this year...I guess we will know which theory is right. 

ReTRIBution

The Arizona equivalent of the Freedom of Information Act is an important resource for the media and the public to ensure transparency in state and local government.  Want to know what your legislator, mayor or bureaucrat is up to?  Ask for his or her email or correspondence.  Government in Arizona is open and government agents are required to disclose their activities, no matter how "confidential."

Of course, with rights go responsibility.  For example, if you request information you have to indicate that you aren't using it for corporate purposes.  The media ferociously guard their right to government information and policy makers assume that the media will use the law responsibly.

That's why I was shocked to hear a report that the Tribune had abused the Arizona's Public Records law to seek confidential information about...one of its own reporters. 

The Tribune issued a public records request to the town of Gilbert to force the town to disclose who had applied to be the town's Public Information Officer.  We all know who applies for PIO jobs...reporters.  Sources tell me that when the paper learned that one of its reporters had applied, she was immediately transfered to a different department. 

That's as low as it gets folks.    I wonder if the Tribune staffer checked the "not for corporate use" box when he filled out the request form.  The information they sought was obviously for business purposes, not for public purposes. 

Maybe that law needs to be tweaked. 

Feeding the Dog that Bites You

Newspaper revenue continues to decline sharply.

For newspapers, the news has swiftly gone from bad to worse. This year is taking shape as their worst on record, with a double-digit drop in advertising revenue, raising serious questions about the survival of some papers and the solvency of their parent companies.

The ad decline began as a demographic shift as fewer people read the newspaper.  The decline accelerated with a technological shift as ads migrated to Craig's list and Autotrader Online.  It steepened with the rise of the blogs and access to free content. 

The decline has approached freefall with the declining economy.  Homebuilders and car dealers have little incentive to pay for ads in the hope that more customers will trickle into empty model homes and dealerships. 

I have often wondered why homebuilders and car dealers funded newspapers anyway.  After all, Ford wants to sell SUVs and Pulte wants to sell new homes on the perimeter.  They buy ads that are burried in a newpaper that advocates sustainability and rails against sprall.

It's kind of like putting a Hummer ad in a Greenpeace brochure.  It's not the wisest use of cash but more importantly you are funding a message that ultimately hurts your product. 

Sanctions Bill Pays for Itself

The outline of the State budget is taking shape and I thought this line was interesting. 

...a $187 million reduction in education funding made possible by reduced enrollment,

Arizona's population is certainly increasing, so where have all the children gone?  Perhaps...Mexico?  The US Supreme Court has said that illegal aliens under the age of 18 are entitled to a free education.  (I don't remember where in the Constitution that provision is found, but I think it's right after the section about  your fundamental right to birth control and just before the Article that says Congress can control what type of light bulb you buy at your local Home Depot.)

Of course there's no Constitutional right to a job (yet), and while many of the kids in our local schools were legal, obviously their parents weren't.  At $10K a kid, it doesn't take too many parental self deportations to balance the budget. 

(Ironically, Napolitano's biggest accomplishment--the employer sanctions bill, completely pays for her second biggest accomplishment--all-day kindergarten.  It's also a huge transfer of benefits from the poor to the middle class.)

John Dougherty has Passed Away

On April 19th of last year, I provided this update. 

John Dougherty, Vice President of Governmental Affairs for the Tucson Chamber, has been diagnosed with bone cancer.  Last summer, John fought back against melanoma skin cancer, but it has returned in his spine.  He thanks you all for the great support and prayers received from colleagues across the state and wants people to know he’s fighting back and will conquer cancer.

Sadly, John passed away on Tuesday afternoon.  Our prayers are with his family. 

Strong Blogging Skills Required...

Charlie Hendricks has announced that she is not seeking re-election to her seat on the Maricopa Integrated Health System Board.  You are familiar with the MIHS Board:

The Maricopa County Special Health Care District Board of Directors is the governing body for Maricopa Integrated Health System. Each member represents one of the five districts in Maricopa County.

The districts are coterminous with County Supervisor Districts, and they are large; Charlie represented Gilbert, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Fountain Hills, Scottsdale, Carefree and Cave Creek.

Board members have a tough but important job.  Here's a sample of what MIHS covers.

Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS) includes Maricopa Medical Center, the Arizona Burn Center, the Comprehensive Healthcare Center, the McDowell Healthcare Clinic, 10 community-oriented family health centers, and an attendant care program.

Someone who runs for the seat would obviously have to live in District 2.  He or she would  need to understand how government functions, how budgets are established and followed, how the private and public sectors work together.  He or she would need to have a government background, a finance background and maybe even a legal background. 

Hmm, you know, that sounds like...me.

Dude, I'm a CPA, I served four years on the House Appropriations Committee, I chaired the House Government Operations Committee as well as the House Banking and Insurance Committee.  I even have some legal training and may actually pass the bar after a couple tries. 

As you know, I've been interested in the Board for quite some time.

It's a non-partisan election, so there's no Primary.  We will all just face off in the General election.  I'll need several hundred signatures by early August.  So if you are interested in circulating a petition, let me know. 

Say, does anyone know where I can borrow a beat up old truck and some gloves?

House Finds Unique Way to Balance Budget

Wow, this is creative.  This afternoon, the Arizona House sent out a press release with this link http://www.azhousetv.org .  Now we know how they are going to balance the budget. 

Here's a link to the original press release.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I have a theory that as political campaigns progress, the probability that they will morph into a Seinfeld episode approaches one. 

The Wall St. Journal has a story about the Obama camp fighting the rumor that he's Muslim...while saying that there's, you know, nothing wrong with being Muslim.

It is inaccurate to call Barack Obama a Muslim. Is it a slur?

The Obama campaign suggests it is. A new campaign Web site designed to air and rebut potentially damaging Internet rumors reads in one part: "Smear: Barack Obama is a Muslim... Truth: Sen. Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised as a Muslim and is a committed Christian."

First Get a Million Dollars...

Sunday's Republic has an article about young lawyer's struggles for jobs.  It included this advice. 

Ted Wimsatt, who finished first in the most recent graduating class from ASU's law school, recommends that potential law-school students do extremely well in class.

Dude, I should have thought of that.

(Ted's an outstanding student.  He and I were Paul Bender's Arizona Constitutional Law class together and he really knows his stuff.   Ted didn't show up for the final and it eventually dawned on everyone that he was only auditing the class.  The class is graded on a curve and there was an audible sigh of relief in the room when everyone realized they weren't competing with him.) 

Face it. Your life Sucks.

We've all heard of the culture wars, but you may not realize that there's also a "perspective" war.   Some members of the media and intelligentsia are determined to foist on the populous the myth that the world has been in steady decline since the Reagan administration.  Here's a great example from the AP.

Is everything spinning out of control?

Midwestern levees are bursting. Polar bears are adrift. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Home values are abysmal. Air fares, college tuition and health care border on unaffordable. Wars without end rage in Iraq, Afghanistan and against terrorism.

The can-do, bootstrap approach embedded in the American psyche is under assault. Eroding it is a dour powerlessness that is chipping away at the country's sturdy conviction that destiny can be commanded with sheer courage and perseverance.

The reality, of course is that things are pretty darn good--especially when compared to other periods in American history. 

The Brookings Institution's Gregg Easterbrook exposed the phenomenon in his book the Progress Paradox.  He continues his theme in this Wall Street Journal article. 

The relentlessly negative impressions of American life presented by the media, including the entertainment media, explain something otherwise puzzling that shows up in psychological data. When asked about the country's economy, schools, health care or community spirit, Americans tell pollsters the situation is dreadful. But when asked about their own jobs, schools, doctors and communities, people tell pollsters the situation is good. Our impressions of ourselves and our neighbors come from personal experience. Our impressions of the nation as a whole come from the media and from political blather, which both exaggerate the negative.

The latter has never been thicker. Democrats insist Republicans are ruining domestic policy, Republicans insist Democrats are ruining foreign policy. Neither claim is true, but both reflect what we've been conditioned to believe: that America is in much worse circumstances than it actually is.

Before nuking me in the comment section with a Hell-in-a-handbasket tale of woe, read the whole Easterbrook article (or preferably the book).  Then tell me when life was better.  Try not to bore me with an overly nostalgic look at the Clinton Administration.