Arizona's budget: Just who are the winners and losers when cash is scarce?
The ambitious education agenda Gov. Doug Ducey outlined Monday left many wondering how the state can afford his priorities — pay raises for teachers and expansion of full-day kindergarten, among other ideas — when extra cash is scarce.
This latest tug of war between what the public wants and what lawmakers decide the state can pay is a reminder of how tight Arizona's budget remains a decade after the housing boom ended and the Great Recession cut a path of destruction through the economy.
With no significant tax increases and a series of tax cuts behind it, Arizona has in the past 10 years seen state government's buying power weakened and its priorities shift.
Prison spending — including privately owned facilities — and child services have seen significant spending surges compared with 10 years ago. Medicaid and K-12 education have gotten much smaller bumps. Meanwhile, other areas of the budget, ranging from public safety to higher education, endured sharp cuts during the recession that have not been restored.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2017/01/12/arizona-budget-10-years-after-housing-crash-prisons-schools/96111560/
