Harry Mitchell's response to my letter on health care reform

Last month, I wrote a letter to Congressman Harry Mitchell urging him to support health care reform.

This is the response, courtesy an email received today -

Dear [cpmaz],

Thank you for contacting me about the state of health care in our country. Like most Arizonans, I believe that rising costs and the threat to so many of losing coverage is cause for careful and extensive consideration of reform.

As I meet with people throughout the district, it seems that everyone has a personal story about health care. Many of these stories show the incredible dedication, skill, and compassion that doctors and health care workers provide. Too often, however, these stories reveal that as health care costs continue to rise, many Arizonans are increasingly worried that they will be unable to access the health care they need or see the doctor of their choice. This is simply unacceptable.

Since 2000, health care premiums have more than doubled and small businesses have faced a 30 percent increase in health care costs. These dramatic increases have already forced many employers to reduce coverage or shift costs to employees. This has hurt patients seeking access to quality care, employers struggling to remain competitive, and doctors caring for patients.

We need a comprehensive solution to the health care crisis that not only provides affordable and quality health coverage for all Americans, but one that preserves choice and rewards quality. Reform should not leave individuals with fewer options, should not add to the national deficit, and should not leave doctors with inconsistent and low reimbursement rates as is often the case with Medicare.

The freedom to choose your own health care plan is important. If you like your current plan and doctor, I believe you should be able to keep them. However, if you are underinsured or want another plan that would better fit your needs, you should have the choice and ability to access it.

The current health care system is straining both employers and employees. Employers are having a hard time meeting the health insurance needs of their employees, and we are seeing workers basing their employment decisions increasingly on health care. This is not only frustrating for all involved; it is economically inefficient, and bad for business. I believe we need to find a way to make health insurance coverage portable, so consumers can take it with them from job to job and from state to state.

We also need to prevent insurance companies from 'cherry picking,' insuring only the healthiest patients, while discriminating against people based on a pre-existing conditions or age.

In order to establish a health care system that will cost less yet cover more, it is important that we address the issues that are driving up costs in our doctors' offices, clinics, and hospitals.

Too often, Americans put off seeing a doctor and only receive medical attention when potentially preventable problems reach a crisis point. This not only creates needless health complications, but also drives up the cost of health care for all Americans by increasing the incidence of chronic, and costly, disease. Instead, we must encourage Americans to seek preventative health care, which is less expensive, and has the potential to save millions of American lives.

Accordingly, I also strongly support a health care system that rewards healthy lifestyles and personal responsibility. As a former teacher of almost 30 years, I believe that our children should be taught to make healthy choices from a young age. Promoting healthy eating and exercise habits in childhood educate children to practice a health lifestyle and will ultimately prevent them from costly surgeries and doctors' visits later on in life.

Additionally, we need to take full advantage of technological advances, helping to reduce costs for doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies. Our doctors are bogged down by a paper record system which is time-consuming, difficult to store, and subject to human error. Health Information Technology (HIT), or a digital system of electronic medical records, would lower costs while reducing sometimes deadly doctor and pharmacist error.

In order to fix our health care system so it works for everyone, we must work with all stakeholders: patients, employers, businesses large and small, insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, schools, and all levels of government.

On July 14, 2009, H.R. 3200, America's Affordable Choices Act was introduced by Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, and referred to the House Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Oversight and Government Reform, and Budget.

Please be assured that I will keep your views in mind as the House begins reviewing this legislation, as well as other efforts to reform our nation's health care system.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me on this issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if you have additional comments or concerns.

If you would like to receive email updates about how I am working on behalf of Arizona's 5th Congressional District, I invite you to sign up for my newsletter at http://www.mitchell.house.gov/.

Sincerely,

Harry E. Mitchell
Member of Congress

Congressman Mitchell has an online constituent survey regarding health care reform here.

Later...

This year has been ugly, but Democrats *are* making progress in Arizona

It's been hard to tell, what with the Republican caucus in the lege and the Accidental Governor ignoring Democrats and trying "out-wingnut" each other, but there are signs that the Democratic Party has been making serious gains in Arizona.

Just in time for next year's elections.

In the area of voter registrations, the AZ Dems have cut the Rep registration advantage to 90,000 (as of July 2009). That sounds like a lot, until you remember that at this same time going into the 2006 Congressional midterm elections/statewide constitutional officer elections (July 2005), the Rep advantage was almost 150,000.

Just a reminder - In 2006, Democrats made gains in the lege and won two statewide seats, as well as gaining control of two more Congressional seats.


Even better than that is the latest report on state-by-state party affiliation figures from Gallup.

Not only is Arizona in the "competitive" category, we're actually listed as one having a slight (2%) advantage in people identifying themselves as "A Democrat" or "Leaning Democratic."


This is far from a guarantee of success for individual candidates or for the AZDems in next year's elections, but it does show that strong candidates combined with a strong outreach effort from all AZ Democrats could reap some serious benefits next year.

For both the ADP and, more importantly, the people of Arizona.

Gorman's resignation letter: an example of what is wrong with the GOP

State Senator Pam Gorman has resigned as Senate Republican Whip. Her resignation letter is here, courtesy AZCentral.com.

I won't publish it in its entirety here, mostly because it is available on Republican blogs and it isn't the purpose of this blog to serve as an outlet Rep propaganda.

You can read her letter at your leisure, but when you do, you should note one thing - for all over her talk about "ideological and philosophical differences", "solid Republican legislation" and concern for the health and unity of the Republican caucus, nowhere does she express concern for her constituents or the state as a whole.

EJ Montini of the Republic has made pretty much the same observation.

I would like to think that at some point, the Reps in the lege will get tired of spending August in Phoenix, but my cynicism is holding sway over my idealism right now.

I suppose there is one upside to all this, for the Republicans anyway.

The longer they go without doing a budget, the longer it is before the inevitable lawsuits over some of their moves can be filed.

It's August 4th. Do you know where your budget is?

Live blogging today's session of the AZ Senate...

5:00 - As you can tell, I gave it up. Nothing was happening re: the budget. Steve Pierce was selected at temporary Republican Whip. Speculation on my part: They needed the votes of a majority of the caucus to elect a new Whip, and only about 75% of the Rep caucus showed up. Pierce was probably a bit of a compromise for the duration of the special session. They'll probably pick a new Whip for the beginning of the next session in January.

The Senate is scheduled to reconvene on Friday at 1.

1:37 -The Senate Republican caucus meeting is closed. They are picking a new Whip. My guesses: If Burns gets his way, Steve Pierce or John Huppenthal; if the really hardcore members get their way, Jack Harper or Ron Gould.

1:29 - No Democratic caucus. Nobody expects much to happen today...

1:20 - Recessing to go into caucuses...

1:19 - Got bored, surfed over to AZCentral.com, and read how Sen. Pam Gorman has resigned at GOP Whip in the Senate.

1:18 - Huppenthal is still going on....

1:16 - Huppenthal is going on about how proud he is of MVD.

1:14 - Cheuvront is countering.

1:10 - Harper is rationalizing his scheme to lay off 5% of state employees. One of his arguments? Some of the positions are empty already.

1:08 Holy cow! They have a quorum! OK, they have 20; enough to legally conduct business, but not enough, in practical terms, to actually, ya know, *pass* anything...

1:05 - More Sens showing up. gavelled into order

1:02 - Approximately 50 folks in the gallery....the least the Senators could do for them is make an appearance, and never let it be said that this Senate didn't do the least it could do...

1:00 - activity on the Senate floor, but few actual senators...Pierce, Miranda, Melvin, Harper wandering around

Yet another Rep files for next year's governor's race

...and based on the evidence so far, the "big name" Republicans are giving Jan Brewer all but a free pass through the primary, no matter how ticked they are with her...

On Monday, the Secretary of State's website listed yet another non-"big name" Republican who has formed a committee in order to pursue their nomination for Governor.

One Robert Graham of Phoenix, filer ID 201000173, has filed, with one Angela Titus acting as his committee's treasurer.

His website is here. It's currently under construction, so don't expect much.

On the other hand, based on some research, it might not be wise to expect much, even after the website is fully up to speed.

In the SOS filing, the committee's address is listed as 4800 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 2400,Scottsdale AZ 85251.

A check of the ACC website finds that Robert Graham is listed as the manager and a member of RG Capital LLC, with the same business address as the political committee.

RG Capital has a website here.

RG Capital is an investment advisory firm. Not sure how well they are doing or how "on top of things" that they are, however.

From their "About RG Capital" page (emphasis mine) -

Wealth Management Advisors*

{snip}

*Investment Advisory Services offered through AIG Financial Advisors, Inc.

That last may explain why Mr. Graham is looking to transition into a steadier gig than "financial advisor."

I mean, Jan Brewer may have one of the least popular jobs in AZ right now, but it still beats hell out of anything associated with AIG.

Of course, the "AIG Financial Advisors" reference *does* indicate another issue with Mr. Graham's viability as a gubernortorial candidate.

That organization is now called SagePoint Financial Inc.

The name was changed months ago.

Mr. Graham's candidacy will be hurt if he pays as much attention to his political message as he does to his commercial one.

Yeah, I know it's early, and that at least one "name" Republican will jump into the race to be the Republican nominee to lose to Terry Goddard next year, but for now, why not have a little fun?

Later...

Harry Mitchell recognized by President Obama

Lost in the angst over health care reform, buried in the fear-mongering that the insurance industry and their stooges in Congress have been spewing, obscured by the deceptive and divisive attacks by the Republicans on Democrats in swing districts (including CD5 here in Arizona) is the outstanding work that some of those Democrats have been doing on behalf of the nation's veterans.

On Monday, President Obama gave some well-deserved plaudits to many of those Democrats during his remarks on the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill. His speech was given at George Mason University.

From the Washington Post transcript (emphasis mine) -

And of the original bill sponsors who could not be here today, we've got Senator Chuck Hagel, Senator Frank Lautenberg, Representative Harry Mitchell, Representative Bobby Scott, Representative Ginny Brown-Waite andRepresentative Peter King. All of them worked hard...

Whether it is shining a bright light on the inadequate research into Gulf War Syndrome, an ailment afflicting thousands of veterans of the first Bush's war against Iraq or holding the VA's feet to the fire for shoddy medical practices that expose their patients to life-threatening diseases, or any of dozens of other examples, Congressman Mitchell has been untiring in his efforts for America's veterans.

Every one of his constituents who reads this should contact him (online contact form here; AZ office number 480-946-2411; DC office number 202-225-2190) and thank him.

Of course, since you are contacting him anyway, while you are at it you might just find the time to urge him to support H.R. 3200,the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.

:)

A lesson for the Republican caucus in the lege -

From AZCentral.com -

As cities trim budgets during the recession, elected officials across the Valley are taking a second look at their own expenses.

The Tempe mayor and City Council refused a 3.5 percent scheduled pay increase. Gilbert town officials are considering changes to council perks such as mileage reimbursements. And when Mesa's municipal workers took a 2 percent pay cut, so did elected officials.

While council and mayoral budgets are often small compared with multimillion-dollar citywide budgets, some officials say it is important to give their own spending scrutiny to show support for municipal employees.

Many, even most, of the municipal officials who have prescribed cuts to their own salaries (where possible; in Scottsdale, for example, the salaries of the mayor and city council are hard-written into the municipal code here and cannot be readily changed) are...you might want to sit down...wait for it...


Republicans.


Most of them are utterly wrong on most issues, but they've got this one right - if they are going to impose huge cuts in services and layoffs of many of the people who actually provide services to the public, it's only right that they share some of the pain.

So, what have their ideological brethren in the lege done to demonstrate that they understand the pain that their budget proposals inflict on the average state worker and the average Arizonan?

Nothing.

Every budget proposal that they've tried to railroad through the lege contains huge cuts for every agency and the Attorney General's office. Even last week, Jack Harper (R-Surprise!) tried to amend the latest failed proposal to include a blanket 5% RIF of state employees.

What haven't they attempted to cut?

The budgets of...

The Governor

The State Treasurer

The Secretary of State

The Superintendent of Public Instruction

and, of course, The Arizona State Legislature itself.


Of course2, this makes one thing obvious - when the Republicans in the legislature are finally serious about balancing the budget, they might just signal that intent by putting out a proposal that has them sharing some of the pain.


Yes, it's apparent that I'm an incurable optimist. :))

I guess this lends new meaning to the phrase "Mickey Mouse operation"

From AZCentral.com (emphasis mine)-

Arizona collects and distributes millions of dollars every year from court fees so the 15 county sheriffs can improve their jails.

In Maricopa County, the Sheriff's Office has spent hundreds of thousands of those dollars on out-of-state travel for training, stays at luxury hotels and a staff party at a local amusement park, The Arizona Republic found.

{snip}

Reviewing those records, The Republic found money used for items directly related to Maricopa County jail operations, including security and video-visitation equipment, Tasers, mobile-security towers, polygraph systems, computer programs to enhance record keeping, body shields and gloves to protect guards.

Also listed in the records were staff trips and hotel stays at the Walt Disney Yacht Club Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.; Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville; Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas; the Bourbon Orleans French Quarter Hotel in New Orleans; and Paradise Point Resort & Spa in San Diego.

The MCSO stated that the expenses were related to needed training, but how do stays in Mickey's yacht club, Opryland, a Vegas casino and resort, and posh resorts in New Orleans and San Diego enhance training? I suppose the hooker patrol could find some "training opportunities" in those places, but that would be about it. :)

Later...

The coming week...

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevant political bodies/agencies and subject to change without notice...

...In a move that is certain to brighten the days of Thane and certain other readers ( :-) ), the U. S. House of Representatives is on their "district work period" and is not in session until September 8, 2009.

...However, the U.S. Senate is still in session this week. Look for a vote on Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.

...The Arizona State Legislature is scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday at 1 p.m. Your guess is as good as mine on whether or not they're going to actually accomplish anything this week. One thing is certain though - if they finally do get their act together, any budget they pass is most likely to be punitive, not professional.

...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has an informal session scheduled for Monday at 9:15 a.m. The agenda is a sparse one, but unsurprisingly, it includes yet another executive session. At 9 a.m. on Wednesday, they've got a formal session scheduled. The agenda for that one is much longer, but looks to be pretty much run-of-the-mill stuff.

...The Arizona Corporation Commission will be holding a series of public comment meetings regarding proposed rate hikes for APS and UNS Gas. Up this week: Flagstaff on Monday and Prescott on Thursday. The full hearings schedule is here; no formal ACC meetings are scheduled this week.

...The Arizona Board of Regents is scheduled to meet on Thursday and Friday at ASU in Tempe. The agenda is here. One of the highlights is ABOR approval of a multi-year contract for ASU basketball coach Herb Sendek (hint: coaching D1 college hoops is a lucrative field :) ). There will also be a presentation on the activities of the legislature this year. For numbers geeks, ABOR will consider, and likely approve, an item regarding the FY2010 State Expenditure Authority.

Of interest to students, prospective students, and their parents will be an item to move the Board's tuition setting calendar back to the spring. A few years back, the tuition setting process was moved to the fall to allow students more time to prepare financially.

...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will hold a regular meeting on Thursday at 10 a.m. The agenda is here.

Not scheduled to meet this week: The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, and the City Councils of Tempe and Scottsdale.

Later...

An open letter to the moderate Republicans in the Arizona Legislature -

This one is a bit of a vent for some of the frustration that has built up from watching the lege inaction over the last seven months...

Relax and please don't be insulted by the term "moderate." I'm not saying that you are actually anything other than very conservative Republicans who, in most other parts of the country, would be considered some of the leading lights of the far-right branch of the local GOP.

However, some of you have a sense of civic duty and professionalism, and by the standard set by the Arizona GOP, that makes you moderates.

And with the collapse of yet another horrible budget deal, a deal that wasn't horrible enough to suit certain members of your caucus, it's time for you to step up for your constituents and for all Arizonans.

It may mean working with the Democrats to get something done...OK, there's no "may" about it at this point.

It's time to fashion a budget with no tax hikes or cuts.

A small tax hike or two could be put to the voters, but any budget should be crafted assuming that nothing will pass; if one does, in fact, gain voter approval, a brief (and probably fairly relaxed) special session can be called to deal with the additional revenue.

Yes, your more extreme colleagues will threaten electoral retaliation during next year's primary season, but let's be honest here - they're coming after you anyway.

If you don't believe that, just ask former colleagues like Pete Hershberger, Tom O'Halleran, and even Jennifer Burns. And that's just from the 2008 election cycle.

You were elected to do a job, to represent the best interests of your constituents, and in the past you have done it pretty well.

I may not always agree with some of your proposals and your votes, but always thought that the intent of those proposals and votes was honorable.

Now, your state and your constituents need that integrity and professionalism like they've never needed them before.

Step up.


To the Democrats in the legislature -

I realize that most of you already realize this, but even a more moderate budget proposal will still have massive cuts to services and schools. Unfortunately, the revenue just isn't there to be able to avoid some heartrending decisions.

And equally unfortunately, fiscal sanity isn't going to return to Arizona government until January 2011 at the earliest, and then only if enough voters do their part and step up by actually voting for the best candidates, not for blind ideology.

If some Republican moderates approach you (and you know who they are), step up and work with them in good faith. The state needs you to do so.


To Governor Brewer -

To be totally blunt Governor, by no real world standard could you be *ever* be considered a moderate.

However, Arizona is *not* the real world.

By the standard set by your GOP brethren in the legislature, you *are* a moderate.

Whether or not you stand for a full term as governor, there is going to be a vicious battle in the Republican primary.

If you choose to enter the race, you will be the underdog, even if you roll over for the extremists' budget.

However, if you do so and are able to win in the Republican primary, in the general election you will be running on the legacy as "The Governor who crippled Arizona for two decades, and did it in less than two years."

Not the best legacy, or platform, for a general election campaign.

When the moderates and the Democrats come to you with a feasible compromise, step up and work with them.


To the majority of the Republicans in the legislature -

You had pretty much everything you wanted - significant budget cuts to education and human services, huge tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, gifts to the homebuilder's association in the form of a moratorium on impact fees, and privatizing state assets so that private companies can profit from taxpayers, and more, but that still wasn't enough for you.

You didn't want to allow the voters to consider a temporary tax hike that would have slightly mitigated some of the impact of the devastation you were wreaking upon society's infrastructure.

Simply put, you got greedy.

Now, if the moderates and the Democrats can find the spine to stand up to your ideological bullying, you'll get *far* less of your ideological agenda than you would have if you had just taken what was there in early June.

When the Democrats and the moderates bring together a budget, step aside.


And lastly, to the voters of Arizona -

Step up and get involved.

Step up and pay attention to candidates, their qualifications, and their records.

Step up and vote for the candidate, not the party.


I'd love for most of you to become active Democrats (hey, I am a Democrat after all :) ), but many of you cherish your independence. Also, some of you are dyed-in-the-wool Republicans, and I respect that, believe it or not.

Get involved anyway.

Independents - find a candidate or candidates that you can support, regardless of their party affiliations, and volunteer your time and financial support.

Republicans - do your part to ensure that the candidates that your party puts forward places the long-term needs and interests of their constituents and all Arizonans before the blind ideology of Grover Norquist and the craven avarice of corporate lobbyists.

Bottom line - Before we are Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Libertarians, or Independents, we are Arizonans.

If nothing else, remember that when you cast your votes.

Live blogging Senate Approps, via streaming video

Joining it in progress...

8:34 - I was hoping to see how this all turns out on the floor of the Senate, but I have to work in the morning. Good night...

8:28 - Tax package passes after Gould calls out his own party on spending too much. A correspondent noted he seems "pissy about getting smacked down by Burns yesterday." Aboud calls out Republicans and their diminishing credibility by cutting taxes for the wealthy while cutting voter-protected services. Pearce is spouting off about marijuana and meth and people who "have decided to not earn a living." A while back, I apologized to my readers for resorting to name-calling and said I wouldn't do so again (other than in a humorous way.)

I apologize again, because I have to say - Pearce is a putz.

8:15 - Harper sounding off on tax pledge, saying that this doesn't violate the pledge he and most of the Rep caucus gave to Grover Norquist. No explanation offered as to why a pledge to an anti-government special interest group is more important than his oath of office or his duties to his constituents.

8:05 - SB1029, the tax package. Ugly.

8:01 - SB1028 passes, Dems and Gould opposing.

7:58 - SB1028, Environment BRB.

7:57 - SB1027 passes 6 - 3.

7:51 - Huppenthal still lecturing. Even Pearce is now calling on him to get to the point. Gould votes "no" out of protest of the suspension of the rules that allowed the bills to be brought forward today.

7:48 - Finally voting on SB1027. Huppenthal lecturing on tax theory. Thinks AZ's cities have "lived high on the hog."

7:45 - Now Harper is going off on the NEA and the "homosexual agenda." And this guy wants to run statewide next year. God help us all.

7:42 - Gould just showed up.

7:38 - Still on SB1027. Back to a debate on tax policy theory. And they haven't gotten to the actual tax bill yet.

7:32 - OMG, quote of the freakin' year! Sylvia Allen - "We have to think 'What are *we* doing for the wealthy?' "

7:26 - Still on SB1027. They broke into a debate on taxes. Listening to Sylvia Allen (R-6000 years) spout off in defense of tax cuts for the wealthy was funny, if not actually enlightening.

7:03 -SB1027, striker into K-12 Education BRB. Rolling back the few good things that came out of the special session earlier this month. Pearce trying to stifle Paula Aboud a little. Unsurprisingly, that's not working too well. :))

7:01 - SB1026, striker into Health and Welfare BRB - eliminates KidsCare Parents among other things. Passes 6-2, Reps for, Dems against. Harper disappointed that it doesn't cut more.

6:56 - SB1025, striker to amend into General Revenues BRB - passing on a party line vote, with a Harper amendment attached that attacks Rio Nuevo in Tucson. Paula Aboud protested, but it still passed.

More budget games at the lege...

...Games played by the Republicans to avoid having to go to the Democrats to get votes in committee for their budget.

Latest move: Sen. Pam Gorman (R-Princess) is off of Appropriations and John Huppenthal (R-More Pliable Unless You're An Elderly Democratic Volunteer) is on...

Currently budget bills are moving through Senate Appropriations on party-line votes, with Gould, Hale, and Aguirre (I think) absent.

Update, and a note: After talking to someone down at the lege, it seems that Gorman was replaced because she is now out of town. No such replacement of absent members was offered to the Democrats. In addition, the "Princess" nickname for Gorman was *not* invented by me; it was overheard at the lege from multiple sources, including both elected and unelected folks.

And here I was, thinking that the Reps had completely sold out years ago..

But it turns out that after selling off their souls to corporate interests, they plan to officially sell off the infrastructure of government too...

From AZCentral.com -

Call it a sign of desperate times: Legislators are considering selling the House and Senate buildings where they've conducted state business for more than 50 years.

If successful, by this time next year we could have -

The Arizona Community Financial Services Association House of Representatives Building

The Home Builders of Central Arizona Arizona State Senate Building

The Pinnacle West Executive Tower

Maybe we could sell off

...the state's parks and ADEQ to mining interests (Sydney Hay needs a job, doesn't she?)

...the Department of Education and the state's universities to the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (bonus - AACS is based in Scottsdale)

...DPS could be sold to Redflex Traffic Systems

...the county jails in the state to the Mob (the state's prisons are probably going to The GEO Group, AZSOS filer ID 201000125, as soon as the Reps pass their budget)

...and the list goes on.

Of course, a lot of this, especially the stuff involving the Capitol buildings, would just be officially acknowledging what most people know is currently reality.

So remind me again Republicans - why were auto industry bailouts bad, but banking bailouts good?

Last fall, at the height of D.C.'s bailout mania during the waning days of the Bush administration (and yes, into the beginning of the Obama administration), there was strong support in Congress for bailing out the white collar banks whose irresponsible and even fraudulent practices helped precipitate the deepest U.S. economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Yet, when the auto industry came calling, with its hundreds of thousands blue collar manufacturing jobs, the Republicans in Congress, led by AZ's own Jon Kyl, expressed outrage at the mere thought of bailouts for them.

Fast forward to today, when Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General for the State of New York, released a report on the bonus practices of bailed-out banks. (warning: the .pdf file is rather large; if you are using a dialup connection, it may take a while to download in its entirety.)

From the New York Times' article on the report -

The Wall Street millionaire club had nearly 5,000 members in 2008.

At least 4,793 bankers and traders were paid more than $1 million in bonuses last year even as profits at the biggest banks dwindled and they accepted tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money, according to a report released on Thursday by the New York Attorney General’s Office.

Something tells me that of all the things that these "bankers and traders" might have bought with their bonuses, none of them bought even a small amount of shame.

Back to AZ later...

The Republicans' budget proposal: Long term ugliness

The Arizona Economic Council has sent out an email where in memo format, they clearly summarize the regressive effects of the Republicans' plans for Arizona's tax structure.

Shamelessly copied-and-pasted from that email -

MEMO: Budget Deal Shifts Heavier Tax Burden to Middle Class

TO: Interested Parties
FROM: Seth Scott, The Arizona Economic Council
DATE: July 30, 2009

Governor Jan Brewer and the State Legislature are at it again - desperately trying to bail out corporations and Wall Street insurance companies on the backs of Arizona's children and middle class families.

Just like the Governor's June proposal, the current plan concocted by Governor Brewer, Senate President Bob Burns and House Speaker Kirk Adams is wrong for Arizona. The Brewer-Burns-Adams Grand Tax Shift unfairly places a heavier tax burden on the middle class, and uses an 18 percent increase in the sales tax - as well as school cuts - to pay for hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate tax giveaways and bailouts we simply cannot afford.

Specifically, the Brewer-Burns-Adams Grand Tax Shift:

- Raises the state sales tax by 18 percent. Under Brewer-Burns-Adams, Arizona's sales tax would climb to the 7th highest in the nation, and that's before county and local taxes are taken into account. [Source: Tax Foundation 2009 Facts and Figures]

- Takes some revenue from the middle class tax hike to pay for a 30 percent cut to the state's corporate tax rate, shifting the burden to individuals.

- Takes another portion of revenue from the sales tax increase, which targets middle class families, and cut income taxes for those who make over $150,000 a year.

- Puts schools on the ropes and eliminates the $250 million education equalization fund, which goes directly to Arizona schools. This would shift funds from schools to the pockets of Big Business. For example, one of the biggest beneficiaries of this maneuver is New York-based Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. [Source: The Arizona Republic, April 4, 2009]

- Strips voter-mandated protections of school funds, so the Legislature would be free to override the will of the voters and further cut classroom resources in FY2010, FY2011 and FY2012.

The Brewer-Burns-Adams Grand Tax Shift is another example of misplaced priorities at the State Capitol.

Arizonans continue to lack confidence in the Governor and Legislature's handling of the budget crisis. A recent survey of 500 likely voters indicates that 72 percent of voters believe Governor Brewer is doing only a "fair" or "poor" job handing the state budget crisis. Eighty-one percent of those surveyed said the state legislature is doing only a "fair" or "poor" job handling the crisis.

###

The Arizona Economic Council is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that aims to promote ideas and policies to create jobs, strengthen our schools and the state's economy and educate Arizonans about the economic issues that face our state.

Eli Blake at Deep Thought has his take one one aspect of the Reps' schemes here.

AZBlueMeanie has an excellent piece on the entire situation here. It seems that the Reps' are running into trouble from their own caucus because, as bad as the current proposal is, certain members (i.e. Gould, Harper, Gorman, aka "The Usual Suspects") don't think that it is anywhere near bad enough.

Stay tuned today...