Everyone has been talking about the racist law recently passed in Arizona - justifiably so.
But another threat, far larger than the real or imagined hordes of Hispanics coming across the border (and some of them have been real) has been the budget crisis and the threat to education.
Arizonans, because of huge budget deficits, were threatened with severe cuts to K12, universities, and so on. Arizona was already near the bottom whenever states were ranked, and with these budget threats could still fall further. And I think we can all agree that Arizonans NEED better education.
Because of this, Jan Brewer (yes, that Republican governor, Brewer) proposed a special election to raise the sales tax in order to raise money. And Arizonans have voted to increse the sales tax!
Link to article here
Here are some quotes from the article...
PHOENIX -- In a major victory for Gov. Jan Brewer, Arizona voters approved a temporary one-cent hike in state sales taxes for the next three years.
The levy will raise about $1 billion a year for the next three years. ...
Most immediately, it avoids the state having to enact a "contingency budget" approved by lawmakers earlier this year to be ready in case voters decided otherwise. The biggest cut would have come in K-12 education which would have lost about $428 million in state aid.
Other winners Tuesday -- meaning they won't have their budget cuts -- include the state university system which will be spared $107 million in cuts, and community colleges which will dodge a $15.2 million cut in state dollars. Brewer specifically sought to reach out to the substantial minority of Arizonans who did not want the tax hike.
Why did the measure pass? I had trouble voting for it myself, because I hate giving this government more money. Finally I decided that education was too important and crossed my fingers that SB1070 will soon die the death of unconstitutionality. So I voted for it.
Here's some of the anaylsis:
Responsibility?
Ultimately, Brewer said the measure passed because Arizonans believed her message that there is no responsible way to balance the budget without new revenues.
Fear?
But state Treasurer Dean Martin, a foe of the levy, had a different explanation.
"I think at the end of the day the lesson is fear works," said Martin, one of several Republicans challenging Brewer in the Republican primary. "You scare people basically enough and they'll feel like they have no choice."
Slick Campaigning?
That's also the assessment of Farrell Quinlan, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, who called the pro-tax effort a "slick campaign." His group was one of the few business organizations in opposition.
Brewer said funding simply reflects public sentiment.
"The other side could have gone out and gathered money," the governor said.
Certainly there was slick campaigning, and we could all learn from it. I saw "Yes on 100" signs everywhere, and no campaign for the other side - even though part of Arizona's budget problems have been caused by mismanagement.
A win for Brewer?
The margin of victory also is vindication for Brewer who was alone when she first proposed the temporary tax hike 14 months ago amid opposition from both members of her own party and the Democrats. While Brewer never could come up with the two-thirds margin necessary to directly enact the tax, she managed to cobble together enough support for the special election.
Although I can't stand SB1070, I do have to grudgingly admire a governor who went against her own party in order to save the education funding.
I think there are several things that we can learn from this:
People will (sometimes) vote for higher taxes when necessary - but I think that they prefer to do it themselves, rather than have it imposed by politicians who are perceived as incompetent or corrupt.
Campaigns matter. The YES on 100 was brilliantly done - quietly, unobstrusively, effectively. Now, the same approach won't work for every issue and politician, but this campaign is worth studying. It mobilized those who were most concerned, and even used school kids at lemonade stands urging people to vote for 100. How can you deny a kid an education when you actually see the kid?
Many people, even in Arizona, care about education. We should make this a priority.