Survey: Most in Arizona would pass up tax cuts

[Thom Little]

With a potential $850 million revenue surplus and an election right around the corner, Arizona's Republican-dominated Legislature is mobilizing for major property- and income-tax cuts this year.

But chatting over hamburgers at the Red Onion Restaurant in Heber, retirees Wes Vosburgh and Al Eubank say tax-cutting fever hasn't spread to their corner of the state. It's a surprising position given that both are ardent Republicans and fiscal conservatives and that support for tax cuts has been pretty much assumed among state GOP ranks for years. But they don't think it's a good idea two years after a recession that spurred $1 billion deficits.

"I'm against using that money for tax cuts because next year they are just going to want that money again," Eubank said of tax-cutting lawmakers. "What if you don't have a surplus to pay for it? I think they should pay up the emergency fund and drop a few bucks into the school system. No new programs and no permanent programs."

.......

The Republic poll asked Arizona voters if they could have their state income taxes cut by about $100 next year, would they take it? Or would they forgo it so lawmakers could either spend it on public programs like all-day kindergarten and raises for state employees or so the state could restore its "rainy day fund" and provide help during future economic downturns?

Only 28 percent of those polled said they would take the tax cut. Forty-two percent said they would forgo the cut to spend it on public programs, and 25 percent said they would give it up in order to prepare for the next economic downturn.


http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0106poll-taxes06.html

[shoelace414]

1. People are starting to put cutting taxes and cutting spending in the same

sentence.

[Hello_Kitty]

2. Not surprising at all

Poll after poll shows little support for tax cuts in our current fiscal situation. Even in a state with a surplus, people want to see important programs funded. And at this point, all but those who have drowned in the koolaid realize that the Republicans are NOT the party of fiscal restraint anymore.

[catmother]

3. i live in arizona and saw that on the news last night. don't forget

we have a democratic governor who's done a great job. and no i don't need a tax cut from the state. i think our taxes are low. one suggestion was to increase the salary of teachers. now i think that's a good idea.

[AZBlue]

4. Excellent idea.

Or fund all-day kindergarten. Or extend aid to seniors.

[catmother]

5. don't we live in a great state? if we could just get some more

democratic leaders it would be wonderful.

[AZBlue]

7. Yes it would!

Speaking of which, I can't wait for the governor to officially announce her campaign for re-election so I can go volunteer!

[sandnsea]

9. Fund k-12 first

I think before we delve into all day kindergarten we should have a strategy to guarantee k-12 works. Better salaries isn't enough, we've got to have an education strategy that really works. And I have no idea what it is, but it's ridiculous to me that we don't know.

[snowbear]

6. And yet Wes and Al at the "Red Onion" will pull the lever in November

...for whoever the ReTHUG running is.

[sandnsea]

8. No new programs

This won't be popular, but I guess I never worried about that, ha. Anyway, if we ran on a platform of no new programs, just identifying and shoring up the ones that are currently working, that could be a whole new kind of Democratic Party reform. Moderate Republicans aren't against government, they're against bad government and programs for the sake of programs. We need to streamline and cut overhead, any business minded Republican will get that. I think that was one of the key mistakes of the Kerry campaign, it sounded too much like just another list of programs.

[1932]

11. but doesn't this article say that people are willing to have tax money

invested in new programs like all-day kindergarten?

It sounds like people want a government that takes initiative and solves their problems.

[AX10]

10. People prefer balanced budgets and spending on necessities over...

massive tax "cuts" and out of control spending.

[1932]

12. This article suggests many Arizonans want to run a surplus (not just a

balanced budget) -- they like the idea of a rainy day fund. They also seem to think that you can start tackling new problems with the surpluses you have, so surpluses are fine.

I also bet that these same voters would believe in borrowing to invest in useful programs if they were running deficits.