AZ New & Blogs 7/17/10

• Chino school board adopts budget, increases tax rate 
• Officials counter critics, say it's not a new tax; state delaying payments
• My thoughts:  Yep, officials always like to tell you it's the opposite of what it really is.
• 'Sovereign Citizens' claim freedom from Arizona, federal laws 
• They don't like taxes and they don't like government telling them what to do.
• But unlike Tea Party protesters, a number of Arizona residents are acting on their beliefs in an unusual way, filing paperwork to become "sovereign," trying to declare themselves U.S. Nationals rather than U.S. citizens.
• 1.65 Million Properties Receive Foreclosure Filings in First Half of 2010 
• [RealtyTrac released its] midyear 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows a total of 1,961,894 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 1,654,634 U.S. properties in the first six months of 2010, a 5 percent decrease in total properties from the previous six months but an 8 percent increase in total properties from the first six months of 2009. The report also shows that 1.28 percent of all U.S. housing units (one in 78) received at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of the year.
• Arizona registered the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate in the first half of 2010, with 3.36 percent of its housing units (one in 30) receiving a foreclosure filing, and Florida registered the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate, with 3.15 percent of its housing units (one in 32) receiving a foreclosure filing during the six months.
• Mills Suspends Campaign 
• "I entered the race for governor because the solutions being proposed to solve the state budget and economic crisis were grossly misguided. Higher taxes, unsustainable spending, and more debt will continue to depress job creation in Arizona and delay a recovery. There is no doubt in my mind that fiscal and economic issues are the most important issues facing Arizonans."
• "SB1070 has regrettably taken the focus off of job creation and fixing the state budget. So even though the chasm between Brewer’s policies and mine is dramatic, SB1070 has politically mitigated those issues. I have therefore decided to suspend the campaign."
• Mills drops out of governor’s race 
• After spending $3.2 million of his own money on his campaign, Northern Arizona businessman Buz Mills bowed out of the governor’s race, leaving Jan Brewer virtually unopposed in the Republican primary.
• My thoughts:  Wow, I don't know if we truly are free anymore.  The most likely person to win the governorship is a known liar and is not truly conservative (believes in raising taxes even though she has always says the opposite).  Ernest Hancock is right, there is no true election process.  How come we always get hard core statists as our governors?
• “The choices before Arizona voters cannot be more clear between the advocates of bigger government, uncontrolled spending and unaccountable education policies and those of us committed to smaller government, job creation, fiscal discipline, and quality education,” Brewer said.
• My thoughts:  Um, you're a statist Jan.
• Obamacare Begins -- In Idaho 
• When the Regime sets prices, this is called "applied compassion."
• When producers organize to complain about price controls, and then freely decide not to offer their services at the artificially low price, this is called "a criminal conspiracy to fix prices."
• This is the central claim of the "consent decree" inflicted, at gunpoint, on a group of Idaho orthopedic surgeons by the Obama Regime -- with the eager collaboration of the Idaho State Attorney General. Under the terms of that extorted agreement, it would be tantamount to a criminal offense for a doctor to complain to his peers about regulatory actions that may drive accomplished medical specialists out of business.
• Restore Free Markets to Health Care 
• [Eline van den Broek] comments on how the American health care system was a mess even before Obamacare are particularly important and echo many of the points made by Mike Tanner and Michael Cannon.
• She also talks about the Norwegian country where she is from got screwed by their national health care.

AZ News & Blogs 5/19/2010

• The law of unintended consequences: Russell Pearce’s guest-worker program 
• The arrest-and-release policy is a little-known part of federal immigration law that allows illegal immigrants to challenge deportation and obtain legal residency, and a driver’s license, as long as they meet certain conditions. If more illegal immigrants are apprehended and processed through the federal system – which is expected to happen after Arizona’s immigration law takes effect on July 29 – then an even greater number would qualify for legal status.
• My Thoughts:  The bright side of things :).
• S.B. 1070: Your Driver's License May Not Be Adequate I.D. 
• A PERSON IS PRESUMED TO NOT BE AN ALIEN WHO IS UNLAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED STATES IF THE PERSON PROVIDES TO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER OR AGENCY ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
• 1. A VALID ARIZONA DRIVER LICENSE.
• 2. A VALID ARIZONA NONOPERATING IDENTIFICATION LICENSE.
• 3. A VALID TRIBAL ENROLLMENT CARD OR OTHER FORM OF TRIBAL IDENTIFICATION.
• 4. IF THE ENTITY REQUIRES PROOF OF LEGAL PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES BEFORE ISSUANCE, ANY VALID UNITED STATES FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT ISSUED IDENTIFICATION.
• "Arizona and Immigration" featuring Daniel Griswold 
• Audio Podcast from Dan Griswold.  On how the immigration law is anti-freedom.
• Arizona Seeks to Preserve Role of Parents in Raising Children 
• The opening passage of the bill is clear: “The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children is a fundamental right.” State and local governments “shall not infringe these rights without demonstrating that the compelling governmental interest as applied to the child involved is of the highest order, is narrowly tailored and is not otherwise served by a less restrictive means.”
• Arizona Corporation Commission Exceeds Constitutional Limits 
• The Arizona Corporation Commission has over-stepped its constitutional boundaries by making rules and regulations in areas our state founders never intended it to control, according to a new report from the Goldwater Institute.
• "The ACC has usurped the Legislature's role to set energy policy and it will cost consumers $2.4 billion over the next 15 years," said Nick Dranias, director of constitutional policy at the Goldwater Institute.
• Government transparency has bright future in Arizona 
• On Monday, Governor Jan Brewer signed House Bill 2282 , which will require most local governments to post on the Internet extensive budget information including individual spending items. In addition, the state will have a website where a street address can be entered and, at the touch of a button, links to every unit of government with authority over that address will pop up. Each of those governments must, in turn, post information about taxes, upcoming elections, and how to contact officials for more information.
• Arizona's Charles Goyett who wrote  The Dollar Meltdown: Surviving The Impending Currency Crisis With Gold, Oil, and Other Unconventional Investments Interviewed by Lew Rockwell and Ernest Hancock listen to the second half.

Sheeple of AZ Steal More Money from their Neighbors

HornIt said it best:
People don't need to vote to "tax themselves". They can tax themselves whenever they want to by writing a check and sending it to the state. But nobody ever actually votes to tax themselves, they vote to tax others. They vote themselves the property of others. They are free to give their up to others any time they want to..........but they don't of course. Well, actually some do. Conservatives do it at twice the rate of liberals. It's called charitable giving as opposed to the kind of coerced government taking you and your ilk are so found of.


EX18C said:
It is what it is. Anytime I hear about "the children", "the teachers", cops or firefighters I immediately think B.S......scare tactics. I used to work for the government......there is plenty of waste that can be eliminated without raising taxes to pay for stuff.

See the analysis of the election here and here.

See how many sheeple live in your county with the results here.

AZ News & Blogs 5/12/2010

Speed Cameras

• Ernest Hancock Interviews camerafraud.com

Taxes

• Taxes Truly Are High 
• Households across America are spending more on taxes per year than they ever have in history. 
• Unemployment Benefits Create Unemployment 
• In Detroit: In a state with the nation's highest jobless rate, landscaping companies are finding some job applicants are rejecting work offers so they can continue collecting unemployment benefits.

National ID

• The Left the Right and National ID 
• The left has wanted Americans to register with the federal government and obtain a national id card ever since Franklin Roosevelt tried (and failed initially, until he stacked the court in 1937) to get the Supreme Court to rule that the Social Security system was constitutional.

Illegal Immigration

• Border towns say violent crime rates are low 
•  FBI Uniform Crime Reports and statistics provided by police agencies, in fact, show that the crime rates in Nogales, Douglas, Yuma and other Arizona border towns have remained essentially flat for the past decade, even as drug-related violence has spiraled out of control on the other side of the international line. Statewide, rates of violent crime also are down.
  
  While smugglers have become more aggressive in their encounters with authorities, as evidenced by the April 30 shooting of a Pinal County deputy, allegedly by illegal-immigrant drug runners, they do not routinely target residents of border towns.

• Large share of illegal immigrants entered on visas, not across border 
• The Pew Hispanic Center, a research group that studies issues, attitudes and trends among the Hispanic population, estimated in 2006 that almost half of the 10.8 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. came here with visas and stayed after they expired....By and large, individuals who remain in the U.S. after their visas expire are more educated than those who cross the border illegally, in part because they must demonstrate proof of completing higher education, having a skilled job or being economically stable, said Giovanni Peri, an economist at the University of California, Davis....As legal immigrants, many in this group would work in better-paying jobs, Peri said, but without documentation most wind up competing for low-paying jobs along with those who entered the country illegally.
• Kirkpatrick to propose 3,500 more border agents 

AZ Brief Blogs and News 05/07/10

Immigration 

• Mormons and Anti-Illegal Immigration Bill see also Comment on SB 1070 by a Mormon from Mesa
• Dan Carlin on the recent immigration bill in AZ and how it makes no difference or Show 175  
• Alianza Hispano-Americana (by W. Lane Rogers)  

Speed Cameras  

• Highway Cameras Contract Canceled see also Kudos to Camerafraud.com

Sales Tax Increase

 Yes On 100:  Support Schools and Public Safety

• My Thoughts:  It is interesting to see the signs every where.  When Chino Valley School District was trying to do the over ride they also had plenty of "yes for the over ride" signs but none against.  The over ride was still voted down.  I think that shows the great independent and anti-tax/government sentiment of rural Arizonans.  Let's hope the whole state feels the same when it comes to proposition 100 and that it is voted down.  The last thing we need is more money stolen from the people.  As the sign mentions the support of schools and public safety...these two things are already supported.  We don't need to pay more for things that already receive enough money. 

• Arizona needs tax cuts, not increases, to boost economy (Opinion by John Munger)  
• Tax Increase (Prop. 100) would create larger deficit according to Joint Legislative Budget Committee 
• Blog for AZ has this analysis link on AZ taxes (BFA says we need more taxes) 
• My Thoughts: Since the federal government makes up 36% of Arizona's budget you can say our tax burden is that much higher.  So adding in 36% we have x as the share of the federal government's tax burden on us, so x/(8.5+x)=36% (where 8.5% is the average Arizonan tax burden, including cities).  The federal tax burden comes to 4.78%.  Adding those two numbers comes to 13.28%.  I know I make a lot of assumptions that are false to come to this number but it gives a very rough estimate of what are true state tax burden is.  What is the right amount?  I'll post that later.  Also, see my previous post on taxes here.

Ethnic Bill

• More on ban of ethnic studies bill 

Climate Change 

• Ernest Hancock & Dr. Timothy Ball Talk on Climate Change & Politics

Sine Die 

• Sprint toward sine die
• Of the 352 bills approved by lawmakers in the 2010 regular session, nearly 40 percent of them got their final thumbs-up during the two-day sprint toward sine die that saw lawmakers work late into the night in order to wrap up the year’s work. 
• 
  

AZ Brief Blogs and News

• Promise That Higher Taxes Will “Protect Education” Rings Hollow
•  Apparently 10 years ago the state asked us to do the same thing we are doing now but all it lead to was a bloated bureaucracy.  Also, watch the short video included in the above link.
• My Comments:  In a free market school system we would see more aids than teachers but not wastefully like we see in AZ.  See this article on public school systems and regression to the mean.
• Raza Studies
•  Apparently down in the Tucson area students receive special education on how Latinos are hated.  Legislation HB 2281 is being proposed to stop this type of education.
• Here's the summary "HB 2281 prohibits a school district or charter school from including courses or classes that either promote the overthrow of the United States government or promote resentment toward a race or class of people." 
• My Comments:  It would be interesting to hear the other side of the coin for this one, sorry I don't have any links for you, if anyone has one please put it in the comment section.  In a free society, or education, people would be left to alone to learn what they want to learn, or what their parents would want them to learn.  To truly fix the problem we need to have private schooling across the board and government needs to stay out of education.
•  Dr. Gosar Calls on Congress to Enact Law Limiting Citizenship
•  "the legislation would limit citizenship to children born to parents who are (1) a U.S. citizens or nationals; (2) a lawful permanent resident alien whose residence is in the United States; or (3) an alien performing active service in the U.S. Armed Forces."
• Backers of the bill includes: Dr. Paul Gosar, CD1 Republican primary frontrunner, Trent Franks and John Shadegg.
• My Comments:  I'll have to look up the 14th amendment and remind myself it's ramifications for citizenship.  I remembered I don't have my constitution book right now.  Maybe I'll offer an opinion some other time on this one.
• Anti-illegal-immigration bill is still alight in the blogs
• Seeing Red criticizes a newspaper for it's comments on the killing of Bob Krentz.  Krentz was killed on his ranch near the Mexican border it was appears to be drug war related violence. 
• Coyote Blog shows graphs on the lower crime rate even with the higher illegal immigration in his post Chicken Little: The Supposed Arizona Immigrant-Led Crime Wave.
• Coyote blog has a link to Cato on the new national ID legislation in DC.  National ID has been tried to be passed for many years now, previous attempts have been nullified by the states.
• Cato comments on AZ Republics comments on the new bill. 
• My Comments:  In a free society we would have open borders like we have had in the past.  The government has really screwed things up and now are trying to put a band-aid on it instead of fixing the core problems which cause the illegal immigration problem like the drug war, NAFTA, etc. 
• More than 130 Clean Elections Candidates this Year
• My Comments: The headline should read:  130 candidate vie for theft of taxpayers money.

History

Blog For Arizona posted this history cartoon on their feed not too long ago and commented that "History is a b**ch!"  I would agree it is, because if you look into it a little more you'll find a zero percent income tax at all levels.  With socialism comes the warfare state.  Without the federal reserve it would be terribly difficult to have both of the those.  So for peace sake, end the fed!

Schools Don't Need More Money

A while back ago Chino Valley attempted an override.  After doing some research I determined that they seemed to be getting plenty of money, considering they were getting $1,500 more per pupil then private schools according to one commenter and according to the research I did (it was $5,500 for high school and $4,000 for grade school) and the private school could pay for athletics and music on this budget.  Part of the reason public schools cost more is due to the bureaucracy and mandates by legislation.

Chino Valley school district averaged the following per pupil for the following years:
Year            Average Daily Attendance            Expenditures/Pupil/Year
2001           2415.7                                         $5,732
2002           2430.9                                         $5,828
2003           2504.7                                         ?
2004           2523.2                                         $6,186
2005           2599.4                                         $7,039
2006           ?                                                   ?
2007           ?                                                   ?
2008           2680.7                                         $7,189
2009           2705.6                                         $7,003
2010           ?                                                  ?

Imagine a teacher getting that money directly, we wouldn't have poor teachers anymore!  This is a good case for privatizing schools and getting bureaucracy out of schools.  We would then see some really good teachers make 7 figures and the bad ones finding new jobs!

See the following from "Seeing Red AZ" for more on AZ schools.  Also, see this article for a compelling case to just have privatized schools.  Also, see this commentary video from a successful entrepreneur on schooling and ADD.

Vote no on proposition  100 the 1% sales tax increase this May!

Sales Tax Increase

Here's some good comments on the new sales tax increase:

Sales Tax Increase? Easy Answer

State asks taxpayers for more money, but hasn’t cut out government waste

 Think about it this way. AZ schools average $7,000/student and if you say we should give them less they say they won't be able to pay for music, P.E., etc. The private schools charge $5,500/student and are easily able to pay for all of this. Time to privatize our schools, we should know socialism doesn't work by now.