Arizona cuts more than just taxes
February 27, 2011 By Rolando Garcia

Arizona’s Republican majority strives to increase business activity, stimulate the flow of dollars and create an active economy for its residents. A means for achieving this common goal is opening Arizona’s doors to new businesses and increasing corporate incentives.

Gov. Jan Brewer is a firm believer in the philosophy nothing attracts big businesses like statewide tax-cuts. For this reason, she has recently signed into law a tax-cut package legislative budget analysts estimate at $538 million.

Although Brewer and Arizona’s legislators maintain a sound state of mind by believing less taxes increase business opportunities, they are making a risky strategic move by cutting state revenues at a time when the one-cent-per-dollar temporary tax is reaching its expiration date. Never before has a state planned on balancing a $1.6 billion deficit by reducing spending and revenue. The plan consists of cutting costs in different sectors — it includes a $142 million cut to the state university system, $133 million in cuts to K-12 education and $44 million in reductions to the state’s healthcare system for the indigent.

Whatever revenue may be received by the state from the new enterprises — given rise by the tax-cut package — will be counteracted by the lack of incentives for families to raise their children in the state ranking 50th in the Union education-wise, and by the disinterested out-of-state students who won’t pay their tuitions to Arizona’s inadequate and under-funded universities.

A state that values corporate business over education is headed down a path of defined social stratification and the downfalls of excessive capitalism. If under-educated, an individual has less chance of reaching the status of the privileged high-class, and can probably expect to live a life as an employee for these corporations at $7.25 an hour. Arizona is becoming the Promised Land for large corporations, providing tax-cuts and under-paid employees to increase businesses’ revenues.

However, a person does not need a college degree to start a successful business. Quite the opposite — often times a high school drop-out will have a higher comparative income than college graduates. But regardless of how successful the business may be, it will fail to teach them cultural understanding, artistic expression, literacy and eloquence, and expand their horizons like a college degree would. This new culture Arizona is giving birth to will become isolated from the arts and sciences and focus only on the financial aspects of life, destroying the diversity that enriches the culture of any region.

That scenario, however, applies only if Arizona’s plan to balance the budget succeeds. There is a realistic possibility our outstanding politicians will miscalculate and therefore fail to balance the reduction of revenues along with the reduction of expenses, causing Arizona’s economy to collapse and sending corporations, businesses, enterprises, families and students to other states.

Perhaps this is Arizona’s master plan to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants into the state — cause the economy to collapse and reduce the incentives an illegal immigrant has to come to this state.

Filed Under: Editorials, Opinion

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