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COMMENTARY The Raw
Deal, Year 6: By Dennis
Durband, Editor Liberal Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has an obsession – to spend this state into oblivion. Ignoring obvious realities and ignoring basic economics, the lame duck governor called Monday in her State of the State address for obscene new levels of state government off the backs of citizens reeling from unprecedented growth in government spending during her term and amidst a bad housing market. After cozying up to her minority base, the wild-spending governor launched into a 12-page mission to spend your money like it’s going out of style. Napolitano governs with a collectivist authoritarian style, talking down to the legislature and the citizenry in a condescending way. Napolitano’s call for free community college tuition for B average students is likely to be the alt fuels scam of the 21st century. Like typical finance-challenged Democrats, her plan will put an unbearable burden on taxpayers and flood the college campuses with a glut of average and below average students. Bleeding heart liberal high school teachers will inflate grades to help struggling students and minorities, and the state’s community colleges will be forced to raise tuition. The governor will be preaching tax increases at the same time. After all, nothing is free and that money has got to come from somewhere. So it may as well come off the backs of Arizona’s struggling middle class, Napolitano figures. The governor calls this the Centennial Scholars program. It sounds strangely like Bill Clinton’s Goals 2000 farce. State of the State 2008 is indeed a nightmare for taxpayers. The size of government spending has grown exponentially under the tenure of the greedy governor and a tepid Republican legislature in the last five years. Expect more of the same. Napolitano said, “My message to you today is clear: the state of Arizona is strong. And together, we are writing the story of its future.” Arizona is not strong in education, the first plank in her five “interlocking chapters.” Napolitano boasts of implementing all-day kindergarten and calls for raising the legal dropout age to 18. What’s the point of encouraging teens to drop out at an age when most are close to graduating? The message is it is okay to serve your country militarily, but you cannot drop out of school. Students should be encouraged to complete K-12, but no government program will ever create a 100-percent graduation rate. Why burden those who are serious about their studies with those who are not (and who are more likely to disrupt) Furthermore, Arizona ranks embarrassing low in scholastic performance, and many big corporations won’t relocate here because of the underperforming K-12 system. Why strong-arm students to get an early start on the front end when so many are destined to need remedial reading on the back end? And remedial math, history, science and civics? Napolitano has so little to boast about educationally that she brags of creating “a new grade level.” It’s performance and results that are lacking, and she hasn’t addressed that problem in five years. Napolitano boasted of starting up a new medical school in Phoenix. But a day later, the University of Arizona and the City of Phoenix have reached an impasse on a new downtown medical school. She had to have known that was coming before she said, “We also need to educate and train more health care professionals. To achieve that end, the new university medical campus in Phoenix, which will bring more doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals to Arizona, is paramount. My budget asks you to authorize the funding necessary for this project, which will make Arizona a world leader in cutting-edge medical education and health care.” So the governor is asking for more taxpayer bucks for a school that’s on hold. It is no wonder her spending addiction has placed the state in a huge hole. The governor stopped short of calling for a new Espanol university, though she made the point that 15 percent of the state’s students do not speak English. What happened to that English immersion proposition that passed a few years ago with strong Hispanic support? Now the colleges must adjust, she says, because K-12 has failed to teach English. And Napolitano had the gall to tell leadership to take tax dollars out of court and put them into education. This is what happens when a Republican majority does not get tough with a liberal governor from the start. “We need more teachers,” Napolitano said. “We need more engineers, scientists, urban planners, water specialists and entrepreneurs.” The problem is where do you get them when you’re not teaching them English, your K-12 system consistently underperforms and you encourage students to drop out when they’re 18? Moving on to economics, Napolitano said she has named former Cong. Jim Kolbe, a liberal, to “head Arizona’s effort to build strong commercial corridors through our state. Today, I have also asked him to update Arizona’s ongoing strategy for improving our ports of entry, so that we can support a system that works for Arizona.” No doubt, this is the payback for Kolbe directing RINO votes to the governor. Moving on to the housing market crisis, Napolitano issued words that every citizen should fear: “I’ve created a three-step plan.” Democrats can’t keep their paws off anything; they want to puppeteer the entire globe and everything that happens in the world. “First, the Department of Real Estate, at my direction, has created the Homebuyers’ Bill of Rights. It is available now, on the Web and in print, and it gives homebuyers information about roads, water, police and fire services and more. It’s a tool for making educated financial decisions, and it’s step one.” This information won’t help the beleaguered middle class pay their mortgage. A more appropriate document for the governor would have been the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights that State Rep. Russell Pearce has tried to get the Legislature. “For step two, you need to pass the Arizona Home Equity Theft Protection Act, to license ‘equity purchasers.’ There are some in this category who prey on vulnerable homeowners and use deceptive practices to cheat them out of their homes. Let’s pass the bill and put the bad guys out of work.” If any companies are breaking the law, bust them. But this is a market issue that doesn’t need help from Nanny State Napolitano. “The third step is to license loan officers. When an Arizonan sits down to talk about buying a home – usually the biggest investment they’ll ever make – the person on the other side of the table should be experienced, educated and ethical. Once they’re licensed, that license can be removed for behavior that violates the law or the ethical rules of the profession. Our state’s lenders want high standards in their field, so let’s work with them and get this done this year.” If there are ethical rules in place, why aren’t they being enforced and why is an additional regulation needed to enforce them? Napolitano’s Chapter Three focuses on security and public safety. She emphasized terrorism and a 24-hour terrorism intelligence center. All well and fine, but what about Arizona’s horrible crime rate? What about the gangs, numbering 7,500 strong in Phoenix alone? Napolitano spoke of “intense pressure” on these gangs; the public isn’t buying that line. The governor said, “we’ve become the leading state in the nation in confronting America’s broken borders head-on.” The news doesn’t confirm that. Daily reports of illegal aliens terrorizing Arizonans and raping children. She made a publicity stunt trip to D.C. to point her finger at the feds and sent the Guard for a cup of coffee at the border. That’s hardly getting tough on the invasion. Napolitano’s answer is the comprehensive immigration reform that American’s shouted down last summer. The governor should have called for an end to day labor centers and sanctuary cities. Napolitano complained that lawmakers didn’t provide enough money for the employer sanctions law. If she hadn’t ballooned the size of state government, there would be plenty of money for that and other necessities. She also fell short of reason by demanding a second, optional driver’s license for border crossers – which would subject to misuse. The governor said we went after fake IDs, but the fraud-ridden matricula consular card is accepted in her back yard. Once again, the governor passes the buck on the problems with Child Protective Services, trying to throw more money at the agency. This is an annual and tired refrain. Where are the real solutions, governor? If Napolitano recognized the value of marriage and stable homes, she would not have to call for more money for CPS. Her executive order for domestic partner benefits for state employees will cost the state more in welfare and state agency expense, putting women and children at greater risk of domestic violence at the same time. As the governor was calling for more money on public transit – including rail lines – light rail workers in Maricopa County discovered broken rail lines. Public transit is a tough sell to independent-minded commuters, who travel to and from work far more cheaply in their own vehicles than they ever will via light rail. She demanded a referendum on transit in either 2008 or 2009. Napolitano indicated she will forward a plan to lawmakers on how to generate and conserve energy. Democrats have a woeful record on energy, especially in California, which experienced rolling blackouts in recent years and which recently threatened to take control of home thermostats. This is not an issue we can safely leave to Democrats. The governor: “Following the lead of the Arizona Corporation Commission, we should require that – by 2025 – all electric utilities provide 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. Likewise, at least ten percent of fuel sold in Arizona should be low in carbon emissions.” Contrary to what most Democrats believe, life cannot always be lived by formulas. The continued population growth is a real concern to Arizonans. However, this is not a clarion call for expanding the size of state government. Napolitano also called for preservation of riparian habitat, just to keep the environmentalist lobby satisfied. Riparian habitats are wonderful, but no one will ever turn the desert into one. Next, the governor prescribed greater government intrusion into the private health care industry. It’s long been a pet project of Democrats. This governor said providers need to give information about their plans and prices to the state government, which will then “publicize this information in a clear, consumer-friendly way.” Democrats often assume that the common man is a blithering idiot who needs government supervision. She particularly sees rural areas and tribal jurisdictions as pockets of growth for government health care. Many people in these poverty-ridden areas can’t afford health care, so the government agencies can come in to perpetuate the nanny state. The state will also expand the number of veterans’ counselors. No stone will be left unturned in making Arizona totally dependent on government. In conclusion, the governor said, “These are the five chapters we are weaving into the story of Arizona’s future. It is a powerful narrative, one of progress, action and success.” It’s more of a frightening glimpse into unchecked government reaching into virtually every area of life – socialism in the desert. The single person most responsible for Arizona’s billion-dollar budget deficit then proceeded to lecture the state on what a budget shortfall isn’t: “It is an opportunity to make government even more efficient and effective. Over the past five years, my Efficiency Review team has identified more than $1 billion that we have saved, through measures like improving procurement and reducing paperwork. We will continue this year to find innovative ways to make our tax dollars work their hardest.” Making government “more efficient and more effective” is a brazenly-stated intention to expand state government. Now it’s up to the people and their elected representatives to put the brakes on this run-away government, get it out of debt by cutting spending and preventing future reckless spending and shortfalls. Fortunately, the governor plans to merge 50 various boards, commissions and agencies. She needs to shrink the cost of the same groups to keep this state solvent. Napolitano then called for the building of new schools, but that needs to wait until the state can afford it. And by the way, the state should not be in the business of building schools; that should be the responsibility of individual school districts, when their citizens vote for them. Napolitano was wrong when she said that future generations will not ask how we balanced the budget. They will ask how she got away with roll-overs and other tricks that are not tolerated in the private sector. Arizona’s chief executive is not pushing for tax increases, she said, but all those new roads, light rail and new schools have to be paid for somehow. The ultimate lesson of the 2008 state of the state address is to beware of liberals talking about writing the state’s chapters. |
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