The latest Internal Revenue Service (IRS) migration report revealed that Arizona gained about $4.8 billion aggregate adjusted gross income.
Over 247,600 were reported migrating into Arizona from all 50 states. Nearly 63,100 from California, over 15,700 from Texas, over 15,000 from Washington, nearly 12,800 from Colorado, and over 12,500 from Illinois.
During the same period, the state lost over 169,400 individuals: over 25,300 to California, over 16,500 to Texas, nearly 9,000 to Colorado, over 8,800 to Washington, and over 7,600 to Florida.
Based on the latest IRS data, the Wall Street Journal editorial board discovered a pattern: high-tax states lost the most aggregate adjusted gross income. The majority of those states were blue, with Ohio being the exception.
New York lost $19.5 billion, California lost $17.8 billion, Illinois lost $8.5 billion, Massachusetts lost $2.6 billion, New Jersey lost $2.3 billion, Maryland lost $1.9 billion, Ohio lost $1.4 billion, Minnesota lost $1.2 billion, Pennsylvania lost $1.2 billion, and Virginia lost $1.1 billion.
California has the highest individual income tax rate in the nation at over 13 percent, followed by New York at nearly 11 percent, and New Jersey and Washington, D.C. at 10.75 percent.
They noted that Florida gained $23.7 billion, Texas gained $6.3 billion, North Carolina gained $3.6 billion, Tennessee and Nevada gained $2.6 billion, Colorado gained $2.3 billion, Idaho gained $2.1 billion, and Utah gained $1.3 billion.
Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and Nevada don’t have an income tax. North Carolina, Colorado, and Utah have flat income tax. Idaho has a graduated-rate income tax.
Arizona’s graduated income tax rate ranges from those individuals making up to about $27,800 at 2.59 percent to those making between $166,800 to $250,000 at 4.5 percent. Those making over $250,000 pay one percent of their taxable income, plus just over $10,000 and a 3.5 percent surcharge.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Wednesday, the Arizona Senate passed HB2008, which reforms the state’s high school learning standards to cast a positive light on America’s founding principles while exploring the dangers of other governing ideologies. The bill now heads to the House for review before submission to Governor Doug Ducey for final approval.
Under the bill, the State Board of Education (SBE) must update high school social studies standards to incorporate a comparative discussion of political ideologies. Communism and totalitarianism will be juxtaposed with American ideology, such as its founding principles of freedom and democracy.
“The academic standards prescribed by the state board in social studies shall include personal finance, American civics education, and a comparative discussion of political ideologies, such as communism and totalitarianism, that conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy that are essential to the founding principles of the United States,” states the bill. (emphasis added to reflect the new legislative language)
Specifically, HB2008 requires the learning standards to rely on source texts, oral histories from victims of ideologies like communism and totalitarianism. The SBE would develop resources from the Arizona State University (ASU) School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, the University of Arizona (UArizona) Center for Philosophy of Freedom, and the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy.
The SBE would have until this New Year’s Eve to establish a list of “portraits in patriotism” oral history resources supplementing the civic education and social studies standards.
The bill almost didn’t make it out of the Senate. It failed just the day before, on Tuesday, when Majority Leader Rick Gray (R-Sun City) joined Senate Democrats in opposing it since State Senators Kelly Townsend (R-Mesa) and Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-Scottsdale) weren’t able to vote. However, all Republican senators offered unified support for the bill the next day.
HB2008 passed in the House along party lines, with unanimous opposition from Democrats and unanimous support from Republicans.
Democrats have pushed back against efforts to portray communism in a negative light. Some, like State Representative and congressional candidate Daniel Hernandez (D-Tucson), have argued that ideologies like white nationalism pose a bigger threat than communism.
HB2008’s sponsor, State Representative Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott Valley), was a victim of communism himself. At 12 years old, Nguyen fled from the Communist Party of Vietnam a week before the Fall of Saigon in April 1975.
HB2008 was Nguyen making good on his promise late last year to ensure students learn about the evils of what he and others, such as House Majority Leader Ben Toma (R-Peoria), had suffered. Toma was nine years old when he emigrated from Romania in the 1980s, ruled at the time by communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The latest voter registration report from Maricopa County revealed that over 5,000 voters switched their party affiliation to “other,” the majority of which were registered Democrats previously. “Other” serves as a catch-all for those who register as Independent, No Party Preference, and any parties not recognized as official parties.
Among those who switched to a party considered “other” were over 2,100 Democrats, over 1,700 Republicans, and over 150 Libertarians, with just over 1,000 individuals switching between classifications within the “other” category.
The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office noted that there were over 2.5 million active voters in the county. 34.5 percent of those belonged to an “other” party, 34.2 percent were Republicans, 30.4 percent were Democrats, and .8 percent were Libertarians.
— Maricopa County Recorder's Office (@RecordersOffice) June 7, 2022
As of April 1, there were over 21,100 registered voters in Maricopa County who haven’t provided proof of citizenship. The county has retained a similar amount of that kind of voter since October 2020. Prior to October 2019, the number of voters who didn’t provide proof of citizenship totaled just over 9,000 — well under half of the average of current totals.
Total new registrations amounted to just under 14,000: those classified as an “other” party made up over 53 percent of new registrations, while Republicans made up over 25 percent, Democrats made up over 20 percent, and Libertarians made up less than one percent.
In the month of May, the county recorded over 10,500 party changes.
Second to the “other” party changes were those switching to the Republican Party: over 3,100 individuals registered as Republican. Over 2,400 made the switch from an “other” party to Republican, while over 600 switched from Democrat to Republican and under 100 switched from Libertarian to Republican.
The Democrats gained over 2,000 voters: over 1,700 switched from an “other” party, over 300 switched from Republican, and less than 50 switched from Libertarian.
Libertarians had the least gains, numbering just over 160.
These latest voter registration numbers were released just after the Maricopa County Elections Department announced the launch of a new website for voters. The new website will be active next Monday, June 13.
The countdown is on! We're launching a new website on June 13 to serve @maricopacounty voters. https://t.co/lbRqJ5CvgT will provide a modern design, accessible colors & features, & the same critical elections and voter registration info! We can't wait to share it with you! pic.twitter.com/a5cvVS12Oh
— Maricopa County Elections Department (@MaricopaVote) June 6, 2022
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Two election integrity bills sponsored by Sen. JD Mesnard were signed into law by Gov. Doug Ducey this week in an effort to ensure consistency among the state’s 15 counties and more quickly remove ineligible voters from the rolls.
Senate Bill 1260 amends Arizona’s election law to require the state’s 15 county recorders to cancel someone’s voter registration upon confirmation that the person has registered to vote in another county. This will include removing the voter from the Active Early Voting used to mail ballots to voters signed up to received them in advance of election day.
SB1260 also makes it a Class 6 felony for any person to “knowingly” assist someone to vote in Arizona if the voter is registered in another state. This allows criminal charges to be filed is if someone forwards an Arizona early ballot to a voter at an address other than what is listed on the early ballot packet.
The legislation takes effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns for the session, so the provisions could be in place before the 2022 General Election.
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 1362 adds a new statute describing the process for on-site tabulation of early ballots brought by voters to a polling place on Election Day. Currently, those in-person “drop offs” might not be tabulated until the next day, a practice each county recorder or election director will now have the authority to set.
SB1362 also tweaks the criteria for when a county’s board of supervisors may reduce the number of polling places during an election. And it better defines the methods which election officials can use to reduce voter wait times at in-person polling places.
It too takes effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns for the session.
According to Mesnard (R-Chandler), the bills will help improve voter confidence in our elections.
“Democratic systems only work if our elections are secure and their integrity unmatched,” he said after the signing. “That means ensuring that each person has one vote and that their vote is properly counted.”
Cochise County Recorder David Stevens is one of the election officials across Arizona who closely followed Mesnard’s bills. He told Arizona Daily Independent his county already has a procedure for when a voter reportedly moves away, but there is a delay in dropping the voter until a notice to be mailed and a response received.
Under SB1260, the process will be sped up by not having to wait to hear back from the voter. This allows county recorders to cancel the voter’s registration upon official confirmation of new registration in another county.
As to the section of SB1260 making it a crime to forward someone’s early ballot to another address, Stevens noted he is waiting to hear what the consequences will be, and whether the statute applies to U.S. Postal Service personnel involved in the forwarding process.
Stevens explained that some counties already offer election day tabulation of early ballots as described in SB1362. On-site tabulation provides a “a more complete election total” which Stevens calls “a good thing.”
He added that while the provisions of SB1362 will entail more work, it will be minimal.
“In the long run, any attempt to have clean rolls is worth the work,” Stevens said.
The Arizona Mirror fired one of their reporters after his explicit tweets from over a decade ago were publicized by GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters.
That reporter, Dillon Rosenblatt, wrote an article about Masters’ abortion stance claiming that Masters praised Nazis. Controversy ensued after Rosenblatt cited an essay written by Masters in 2006, in which the candidate quoted a Nazi Party leader, Hermann Goering. The quote came from the writings of a psychologist with access to Goering and other Nazi prisoners during the Nuremberg trials. That psychologist recounted and paraphrased conversations with those prisoners. Goering’s quote, which Masters repeated, described how to convince a nation to go to war. Masters’ essay focused on his opposition to the war industry and higher powers’ interests in convincing Americans to enter foreign conflicts.
After Masters stated publicly that Rosenblatt mischaracterized his use of the quote, The Arizona Mirror retracted Rosenblatt’s claim.
In response to the article mischaracterization, Masters uploaded documentation of 17 explicit or derogatory tweets from Rosenblatt made about a decade ago.
In multiple tweets, Rosenblatt called multiple individuals the n-word, a combination of the n-word and the insult for gay men, and a version of the n-word signifying a baby. He also tweeted Asian stereotypes concerning driving and male genital sizes, as well as Black stereotypes about diet, lingo, and intellect.
Rosenblatt hasn’t issued a public response to his firing.
However, the parent nonprofit of The Arizona Mirror, States Newsroom, issued a statement condemning Rosenblatt’s remarks.
“We are committed to holding ourselves and our reporters to the highest ethical standards, learning from our mistakes and producing the type of non-partisan, high-quality journalism that our readers expect,” stated the nonprofit. “State Newsroom has zero tolerance for racism, misogyny, and any form of hate speech.”
The Arizona Mirror, a small local news site in Arizona, fired a reporter today after the campaign for US Senate candidate Blake Masters uncovered multiple tweets from 2011 and 2012 in which the reporter used anti-Black and anti-LGBTQ slurs. https://t.co/cTFypDvBazpic.twitter.com/E9gxrMLXR4
$1.2 million from the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) will fund the University of Arizona’s (UArizona) “identity exploration” efforts for indigenous children.
Specifically, the grant was awarded to the Native Student Outreach, Access, and Resiliency (SOAR) program within UArizona’s College of Education. Native SOAR is a “multigenerational mentoring program culturally grounded in indigenous teachings and Ways of Knowing.”
Native SOAR Director Amanda Cheromiah explained in a press release that the program uses culturally responsive teaching to improve indigenous students’ college enrollment. Culturally responsive teaching aligns with the controversial Critical Race Theory (CRT).
“Historically, Indigenous students have lower enrollment, retention, and graduation rates in higher education compared to other student populations,” said Cheromiah. “Native SOAR closes educational gaps by providing culturally responsive programming and mentorship that increases the number of indigenous students who enter and graduate from college.”
The program also promotes other, similar controversial ideologies such as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and concepts like systemic racism.
We’re in New Orleans for #NMI19 because we want to grow in our ability to articulate the complexities of diversity, inclusion & equity work. Not only bc @uarizona needs it but also bc we are raising up future leaders. pic.twitter.com/4tfOLnJnlR
“It's difficult for one single person to eliminate or decrease the impact on institutional systemic racism,” said @fjtucson, Native SOAR grad assistant https://t.co/XkuaLUEBqE@uarizona@UAZEducation
“Advocating for access and equity is personal/exhausting, [especially] when you are constantly centering the uninformed with the realities of genocide, slavery, and institutional racism,” tweeted Native SOAR.
TY, Native fac, SA warriors, emerging scholars & non-Native allies for your support of NA students. Advocating for access & equity is personal/exhausting, esp when you are constantly centering the uninformed in the realities of genocide, slavery and institutional racism. We TY❤️ pic.twitter.com/LNbCiVSD0I
The 10-week program has UArizona students mentor middle and high school students for three to four hours a week on college, cultural resilience, leadership, and identity exploration. It also offers students a class worth three university credits per semester.
The grant will enable the purchase of 750 tablets loaded with the mentoring resources for students, and 65 tablets for program staff and educators. It will also pay for more workshops and K-12 educators’ professional development opportunities.
Since its inception in 2005, the Native SOAR program has earned national recognitions, including one by former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
