Goldwater Institute

Government Spending

No government has ever spent its way to prosperity. Our proposals help governments be fiscally responsible so citizens can be prosperous.

<p>No government has ever spent its way to prosperity. Our proposals help governments be fiscally responsible so citizens can be prosperous.</p>

• Read more about And now, the rest of the story on voter-protected spending

Arizona's Voter Protection Act passed in 1998 (Prop 105) mandates that spending approved by initiative cannot be reduced by the Legislature. Thirty-five percent of Arizona's General Fund budget is voter-protected. The way to amend voter-protected spending is for three-fourths of the Legislature to vote to override a mandate. But there is more to the Voter Protection Act story, which is sometimes used as an excuse for not reducing spending when it needs to be.

• Read more about AHCCCS Director misleads public on Prop 101

A nearly perfect gauge of the wisdom and importance of a policy proposal is how loudly special-interest groups howl in opposition. By that measure, Proposition 101-the Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act-must be a great idea.

• Read more about $42 Billion Transit Proposal Moves in Wrong Direction

After months of rumblings around the state capitol, a private coalition called TIME Transportation and Infrastructure Moving AZ's Economy has unveiled a $42 billion solution for Arizona's transportation problems. It can be summed up as tax and spend.

• Read more about 'White House pressures banks': It's deja vu all over again

The Arizona Republic's front page headline on October 29 read "White House Pressures Banks." The article went on to describe how bankers were being accused of hoarding bailout cash and told to get out there and loan money.

• Read more about Do you want Congress to hold the line on the debt ceiling?

• Read more about Risky Business: Understanding the Business Side of Government Bonds

Three law firms dominate the legal work that goes into issuing state and local government debt in Arizona, according to a review of bond documents done by the Goldwater Institute. That finding is consistent with what bond lawyers and government officials have said in interviews about the industry.

• Read more about A Tale of Two Cities

It was almost like the gold rush all over again in Stockton, California. With booming property values and tax revenue during the past decade, city coffers were flush and cash was flying to sports arenas, retail centers, office buildings, and parking garages.
 

• Read more about The Gift Clause: Big Government Kryptonite

By Trey Kovacs

• Read more about Glendale shares details of deal with potential Phoenix Coyotes buyer

By Lisa Halverstadt and Cecilia Chan, AzCentral 

• Read more about Goldwater Institute wins again. We lose. Again.

Lawyers for the Goldwater Institute (the de facto Supreme Court of Arizona) used the hammer that is the “gift clause” in the Arizona Constitution to deliver a blow to the Phoenix police union.