LD15 Action Alert: Something remarkable just happened in Arizona…

Dear LD15 (Central Phoenix) Taxpayer,

Something remarkable happened this weekend (other than the Cards playing in the Super Bowl).

Gov. Jan Brewer and a majority in the Arizona Legislature voted to reduce state government spending by over five percent. They have brought the state budget within striking distance of being balanced, and have done so without raising taxes.

Please send Gov. Brewer a quick email, or better yet, leave her a brief phone message, to thank her for doing the right thing:

Gov. Jan Brewer info@brewertransition.org (602) 542-4331

Unfortunately, none of your LD15 legislators voted for the spending reductions:

Rep. David Lujan dlujan@azleg.gov 926-5829
Sen. Ken Cheuvront kcheuvront@azleg.gov 926-5325
Rep. Kyrsten Sinema ksinema@azleg.gov 926-5058

And, please forward this email to your friends and neighbors in Central Phoenix.

Gov. Brewer cut the state budget in the face of heavy protests from the recipients of government subsidies, who argued for increasing taxes, increasing debt, expanding the use of accounting gimmicks (such as a proposed higher ed rollover), and leveraging the bailout money that may come from Congress (to do your part to stop the bailout, visit www.nostimulus.com).

Gov. Brewer made a tough decision, against the advice of the editorialists at most of the state’s newspapers. For an example, read Espresso Pundit’s review of a recent Arizona Daily Star editorial: http://www.espressopundit.com/ (Scroll down to January 26th.)

Five percent may not sound like a lot, when you and your family have been working overtime and cutting back on expenses. But because of voter-mandated protections for some budget areas (mainly K-12 and health spending), the five percent had to be taken out of less than half the budget. And, with only five months left in the fiscal year, many agencies have seen their remaining budgets reduced by over 20 percent.

The spending reductions that must be made for the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, which must be passed by June 30th, will be even more difficult--and the resistance from the spending interests will be even stronger. Gov. Brewer will need all the encouragement you can give her.

Source: Americans for Prosperity