Government Accountability
Back-room deals and closed doors are not the stuff of free governments. Our work is making governments more transparent and accountable to citizens.
The Arizona Legislature --including leaders from both parties -- received poor marks for controlling government spending.
The Libertarian Goldwater Institute graded state lawmakers on how they voted on a slew of spending, regulatory, education and tax bills during the 2007 session.
Both the Arizona Senate and House of Representatives received D grades. Only one Democrat in the state assembly received a grade above F grade from Goldwater, which is critical of increased state government spending and rules. State Sen. Ken Cheuvront, D-Phoenix, received a D.
How many congressmen does it take to change a light bulb? 400.
That's how many members of Congress recently voted for a bill which will force American consumers to change the 50-cent incandescent light bulbs they're currently using and replace them with expensive new, $3 "energy-efficient" light bulbs. As Shane Cory of the Libertarian Party sarcastically put it, "If you outlaw light bulbs, then only outlaws will have light bulbs."
Should citizens foot the bill for lobbyists? One think tank says no.
The publics will and right to petition the government is being trampled by the growing number of taxpayer-funded government lobbyists, according to a new report issued by the Goldwater Institute.
Are they a bunch of losers or what? Voters are sure to wonder after taking a look at the Goldwater Institute's 2003 Legislative Report Card. (See on opposite page.)
None of the 15 members of the Tucson delegation scored higher than a C+ and 11 got F's. Although the Legislature scored poorly as a whole-with both the House and Senate scoring under 50 percent-Tucson lawmakers had some of the lowest grades in the state.
Don't jump to the conclusion, however, that Tucson could use a good legislative housecleaning.
Goldwater Institute says two vote against individual liberties
A conservative think tank says some of Tempe's state legislators aren't making the grade.
A recent legislative report card released by the Goldwater Institute gave the Arizona Senate an average ranking of D+ and the House of Representatives an average ranking of D.
Two Tempe Democrats were on the lists of the five lowest-ranking ranking senators and representatives. Sen. Harry Mitchell received an F ranking, and Rep. Meg Burton Cahill received an F-.
Republican legislative leaders earned only marginal marks, and no Democrat received higher than a D-grade, from the Goldwater Institute in its analysis of 191 votes during the 2003 Arizona legislative session.
Not surprisingly, the fiscally and economically conservative Goldwater think tank gave the highest marks on its 2003 legislative scorecard to fiscal hawks such as state Sens. Thayer Verschoor and Jack Harper and House Majority Leader Eddie Farnsworth.
Compare the candidates
The Star's election reporters Rhonda Bodfield and Hipolito R. Corella have done a six-day series to examine the candidates and their stances on issues in the gubernatorial and congressional races.
For a time, it didn't seem that Arizona leaders had to worry too much about economic development.
The state saw unprecedented growth and job expansion. Budget surpluses were the norm.
P.J. O' Rourke pokes fun at terrorists, U.S. government
Beef and sacred cows arrived equally skewered at the [Phoenix-based] Goldwater Institute's luncheon Thursday as political satirist P.J. O'Rourke flayed terrorists, pork barrel spending and the World War II generation.
The best-selling author's discussion at the Ritz-Carlton Phoenix launched the conservative think tank's speaker series. About 250 people attended the event.
"He's well-loved, even by people who don't love him," said Darcy Olsen, executive director of the Goldwater Institute.
PHOENIX – The Goldwater Institute’s annual Legislative Report Card was released today, taking into account 375 votes during the first session of Arizona’s fiftieth legislature.
Now in its ninth year, the report card is a citizen-friendly tool for evaluating state legislators’ votes and their impact on individual liberty.
A few weeks ago, the Phoenix City Council agreed to give Thomas J. Klutznick Co. $100 million for building a high-end shopping center. Backers of the deal say failure to subsidize retail would send developers to other cities or to Arizona's Indian reservations.
With a total sales tax of 8.1 percent, Phoenix has the highest sales tax rate of competitor cities. It may very well be true that Phoenix is losing business to neighboring cities. Poor tax policy has that effect.