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Byron Schlomach

I recently attended a meeting with Maurice McTigue, director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, a former member of the New Zealand Parliament, and a man with wide experience in government reform. Attendance at the meeting, arranged by State Senator Sylvia Allen, should have been required for everyone in our state government.

Prior to comprehensive reforms 20 years ago, New Zealand was an economic mess, suffering from debt, continual deficits, and a stagnating economy. Out of desperation, New Zealand’s political leaders reduced government spending and enacted fundamental, wide-ranging reform. Since then, New Zealand’s national government has seen a single deficit; it was this year and due to the worldwide recession.

One instructive example given by Mr. McTigue concerned agriculture subsidies, which, among other things, were artificially inflating land prices. Everybody knew land prices would collapse when those subsidies ended. Some estimated 31 percent of farmers and at least seven major banks would go bankrupt. Yet, with no bailout or any other government involvement, only one-half of 1 percent of farmers went bankrupt. And not a single bank went under.

An outbreak of “spontaneous economic order,” as Mr. McTigue described it, resulted. Banks re-valued loans to avoid defaults. Farmers renegotiated payment schedules. People figured out how to navigate the changing economy without government intervention.

This example may seem most applicable to federal financial policies in response to the U.S. real estate meltdown; but, the lesson is broader. We commonly hear stories that if Arizona cuts spending on parks or education or health care, our economy will collapse. Yet New Zealand’s experience illustrates that fundamental reform, rethinking, and shrinking of government should be welcomed, not feared.

Byron Schlomach, Ph.D., is the director of the Goldwater Institute’s Center for Economic Prosperity.

Learn More:

New Zealand Herald: Survey ranks NZ in top six for economic freedom

New Zealand Herald: Unemployment at record low as job growth surges

Doing Business: Economy Rankings

President Obama issued Executive Order 13528 on January 11, 2010 establishing a Council of Governors ostensibly “to strengthen further the partnership between the Federal Government and State governments to protect our Nation and its people and property.”

If history has taught us anything, it is to beware of “cooperative partnerships” between the federal government and states. They invariably result in an expansion of federal authority and reach at the expense of the states and a diminution of individual rights and freedoms in the name of the general welfare and national security. So-called “cooperative federalism” is a snare and a delusion. Read more here

One direct result of the new Council of Governors will be to provide the federal government more control of state National Guards, allowing the president to synchronize and integrate federal military operations within the United States. The total disregard for the Posse Comitatus Act within this order is one more erosion of restrictions against the use of the military for law enforcement.

More generally, the new Council of Governors establishes a bureaucratic transmission belt for the president to conscript state governors to act as agents of the federal government. Indeed, by establishing this council, appointed by the president and presided over by the Secretary of Defense, President Obama is asking governors to engage in the ultimate act of sovereign suicide in the name of “intergovernmental cooperation and coordination.” This council represents the ultimate in “intergovernmentalism,” a perversion of true federalism.

Read the rest.

PHOENIX–The Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP-Arizona), formerly the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers, today released its 25th annual “Friend of the Taxpayer” scorecard on the Arizona Legislature.

To view the 2009 Scorecard and legislators’ cumulative averages since 2005, use this URL:

http://www.americansforprosperity.org/files/afpazlsc2009final_0.pdf

AFP-Arizona graded dozens of tax, budget, and regulatory bills from the 2009 regular session, as well as bills from five special sessions, giving weight to bills according to their projected dollar impact to taxpayers, consumers, and producers in Arizona.

According to AFP-Arizona, taxpayer victories during the last year included approximately $1.5 billion in baseline spending cuts to the FY2009 and FY2010 budgets, passage of a bill that allows for private enterprise to provide for Arizona’s transportation infrastructure, and referral of the Arizona Health Care Freedom Act and the Save Our Secret Ballot proposition to the November 2, 2010 ballot. But the 2009 sessions also produced disappointments for taxpayers, including the collective failure of the Governor and Legislature to implement measures that would balance the state’s long-term structural budget deficit in the near future.

Read the rest.

This E-mail is not intended to endorse one candidate over another, but to inform. Since the tax increase is just a proposal we could not find out the facts necessary to compute the entire total. We know that taxes are complex and difficult to understand but polls are showing that many Arizona residents do not seem to be concerned over this proposal. Let’s discuss what we do know. The State taxis 5.6% and if you live in the City of Phoenix the tax is 8.3% and other cities in Arizona are as high as 9.3%. So let’s look at an example of what we do know. If you buy an automobile for $ 25,000 and purchased furniture for $ 2000.00 and bought a newly constructed home, you are paying almost an 18% tax increase for the items!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All day we have tried to get answers from the Governor’s Office on services, existing home sales, etc. but to no avail! If services are covered and currently we don’t pay tax on these services then it is a 100% tax increase on those items. It is easy to see where this is going!

If you honestly believe that tax increases are necessary to create a healthy economy then this E-mail is not necessary for you to ponder. If you believe that we can’t spend our way out of financial difficulties then please continue to investigate this proposal!

We have brilliant conservative, constitutional legislators who have fought so hard to stop tax increases, PLEASE support them. They need you support! Give them a call and thank them for their hard work!

It is time to strongly investigate this matter because very few today are flushed with extra money. Let’s try Arizona, by saying “NO MORE TAXES”!!!!!!!!!!!

If you agree with this please pass this E-mail so the good people of Arizona will be properly informed.

Thank you,

Willa and Dick Key

The President of the United States tomorrow will inform the Congress on the State of our Union, as he is constitutionally mandated to do. The past 12 months have seen our country head down a dangerous course, and The Heritage Foundation can only hope that the President will use this time of reflection, coming on the heels of a stunning electoral loss, to change direction.

Read the rest.

Exploring Sarah Palin’s Debut Week on Fox News

OK, I’ll admit it, when I first got the news that Sarah Palin was signing onwith Fox News to be a commentator and analyst, I was kind of like…huh(?), but that faded fast. Like many, it came at me from out of the blue, and I follow Sarah pretty closely.

Also, like many, I was concerned about the other efforts she has going on: Things like giving speeches, campaigning for Conservatives, doing charity work, and smacking Barack Obama upside the head on a regular basis. You know, saving the world stuff!

Of course, after the few minutes it took for all of this to sink in, and for me to process it all, I realized that this was, after all, Sarah Palin, the ultimate multi-tasker. Sarah Palin, the woman who is known to have a Blackberry in each hand, and her beautiful son Trig in her arms, all the while being briefed on something else. This is Sarah Palin, who reportedly has a photographic memory, and likes her briefings rapid fire!

The Fox News gig may be the easiest, least taxing job she’ll have!

My second thoughts went to the Great Ronald Reagan, my political hero, and well, one of Sarah’s, as well. Once again, one sees Sarah as nothing less than Reaganesque with this move.

Sarah’s life really does parallel Reagan’s in many ways:

Both grew up in small towns in modest surroundings.

Both played sports and played them well. Reagan played football, Sarah is a championship winning basketball player, and now a competitive runner.

Both went to small, “no name” colleges. And yes, as the left points out, Sarah went to several. Took her 5 years to get her 4 year degree in journalism. That sort of thing is rather common in America, among those who work their way through college, and pay for it all with the sweat of their brow.

Read the rest.

Arizona Moves to Oppose Obama’s Expected Health Care Mandates

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer

(CNSNews.com) – Voters in Arizona will decide next year whether residents will be subject to mandates in the pending health care reform that President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are promoting.

At least five other states – Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota and Wyoming – have considered proposals to take pre-emptive action against the pending federal mandates, but those proposals have either not made it out of committee, failed to get enough votes from one side of the legislature, or are still being crafted.

Only the Arizona Legislature introduced an initiative (HCR2014), which if passed, would amend the state constitution to codify that no resident would be required to participate in any public health care option. Arizonans will vote on the initiative in November 2010.
Read the rest.

Arizona Health Insurance Reform Amendment ~ 2010 (Ballotpedia)

Sheriff Richard Mack

By now we have all heard the cliches and seen the posters from the “Tea Parties” espousing freedom, less government, and perhaps most of all, how the federal government had better back off trying to shove their national healthcare down our otherwise healthy throats. The truth of the matter is all the slogans of “Don’t Tread On Me” or “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death” or “We’re Mad As Hell And We’re Not Taking It Anymore,” don’t mean a thing when compared to reality; the real and actual answer to all the protests, marches, and outrage. The answer is in our own backyards! The States can stop every bit of it! That’s right, the individual States can stop “Obamacare” and all other forms of out-of-control federal government mandates and “big brother” tactics. If Arizona, Hawaii, New Hamshire, Texas, etc. want nothing to do with National Healthcare as proposed by Barack Obama or Congress, then all they have to do is say “No!”

For you skeptics who think the States could no more do this than fly to the moon, let’s look at the law. First, the U.S. Constitution is the ultimate and supreme law of the land. More specifically, the Bill of Rights was established, because some of our Founding Fathers, feared that the Constitution did not go far enough in restricting or limiting the central government. Hamilton was one of a select few who wanted a bigger and powerful federal government. However, several key states and powerful delegates such as Patrick Henry, said they would not support the formation of a new government if the Constitution did not contain a Bill of Rights, a supreme law to establish basic and fundamental human rights that could never, for all future American generations, be violated, altered or encroached upon by government. So the Framers of our Constitution came up with ten; ten God-given freedoms that would forever be held inviolable by our own governments. Read the rest.

Official Call – Statutory Meeting of the MCRC

Honorable Precinct Committeemen

Date: January 8, 2011

This is your official notice of the Statutory Organizational Meeting of the Maricopa County Republican Committee. Your attendance is required. If you cannot attend, please send another Registered Republican from your Precinct with the proxy printed on the reverse side hereof, download the Proxy Form here [PDF][DOC]. (Identification will be required, as well as a voter Registration Card for non-Precinct Committeemen Proxy holders) The meeting will be held at 9:00 AM on January 8, 2011 at El Zaribah Shrine, 552 N. 40^th Street, Phoenix, Arizona.

Transportation by chartered bus is available from certain areas. Prepayment required. See www.maricopagop.org for details or call (623) 977-4532, M-F 10:00AM to 4:00PM. Price $12.00 per person.

Beverages and snacks will be available for purchase.

Paved on site parking spaces limited to 500. Carpooling is recommended.