by Dr. Thomas Patterson | Feb 14, 2025 | Opinion
By Dr. Thomas Patterson |
“Rust Belt city benefits from Bidenomics” headlined an article last month in the Wall Street Journal, detailing the economic rebound being experienced by Terre Haute, Indiana, a former manufacturing center in decline for many decades.
Suddenly, due to an infusion of stimulus funding from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, this community is experiencing such a windfall that the mayor is “running out of room on his whiteboard” tracking infrastructure projects. New factories are being built, new home starts have tripled, long vacant properties are rehabbed. The venerable Charlie’s Pub and Grub will get a new roof and awnings.
The new initiatives in Terre Haute are part of the hundreds of billions of dollars in federal subsidies supporting manufacturing, housing, and clean energy ventures doled out during the Biden administration.
But one question was never asked. Where is all this money coming from? You might think “taxpayers,” but the truth is that we spend $2 trillion more every year than we take in. There are no available tax-derived funds available to distribute.
Instead, we spend fantasy money, loans charged off to future generations who don’t vote yet. We really do love them, just not as much as the luxury of getting to have things that we don’t have to pay for.
The Terre Haute story, just one of thousands like it, contains several insights into why spending cuts are so difficult and rare. The public habits of mind we have developed about the role of government and the responsibility of government to live within its means are the ultimate reason we have fallen into such fiscal danger.
Earlier generations of Americans would have been alarmed, not heartened, at the gigantic unfunded Biden spending surge. We instead assume that none of us should endure hardship or decline and that if we do, it is the duty of government to rescue us. Personal responsibility is outmoded.
Government has never been known for its efficiency, so all these “free” things are actually quite expensive. The good news is we still have a productive economy that has generated 1.4% revenue growth, net of inflation, since 2001, the last year the budget was balanced. Reasonably prudent governance would have achieved budget surpluses.
But that’s not what happened. Politicians spent so much feeding our welfare addiction that spending grew by an inflation-adjusted 3.0% annually, creating the true crisis we now face. Present projections by the Congressional Budget Office indicate spending will continue to outpace revenues, absent reform. Our national debt stands at an unimaginable $36 trillion, while borrowing costs are rising.
We’re in deep trouble. It may well be too late to avoid fiscal collapse. Interest on the national debt, the only truly non-negotiable item in the budget, tripled during the Biden years. It now exceeds total defense spending.
Interest payments amount to half of the total amount borrowed We are borrowing money to pay interest on the growing sums already borrowed, with no plan in place to reduce the debt amount, the dreaded Doom Loop.
Yet at this point, millions of families and seniors, businesses and governments manage their finances based on the expectation of federal subsidies, without which they presumably would be bereft. Over 75% of the federal budget goes to support these private expenditures.
Can Trump be the white knight who rescues us from fiscal doom? The logistics aren’t all that ominous (e.g., raising the retirement age of Social Security by two years would help), and Trump has generated more support for cost-cutting than any politician in memory. But it’s a matter of simple arithmetic. We can never balance the budget without addressing entitlements. That’s where the money is.
Entitlements are termed “mandatory” spending, but they are really just creations of Congress which can legally amend them at will, if they have any.
Unfortunately, Trump so far shows more interest in the low hanging fruit (Department of Education, USAID, obvious fraud) than in the hard work of convincing the American people that substantial entitlement reform is risky but necessary. Without him, Social Security and Medicare will remain No-Go zones even for budget hawks.
The task only gets harder as time passes. We’ll see soon.
Dr. Thomas Patterson, former Chairman of the Goldwater Institute, is a retired emergency physician. He served as an Arizona State senator for 10 years in the 1990s, and as Majority Leader from 93-96. He is the author of Arizona’s original charter schools bill.
by Corinne Murdock | Dec 9, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Gov. Katie Hobbs has reversed course on her decision to send the National Guard to the border.
On Friday, Hobbs announced the plans to deploy the National Guard through Operation Safety, Enforcement, Coordination, & Uniform Response (SECURE): a new mobilization effort of additional state resources to mitigate the burgeoning border crisis. Operation SECURE will house a new Department of Homeland Security division, the Border Security Office, using $2 million from the state’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal funding.
Should the Biden administration continue the closure of the Lukeville Port of Entry, the governor directed the state to spend up to $5 million to mobilize the National Guard. In the corresponding press release, Hobbs criticized the Biden administration’s closure of the port of entry as the direct cause of “an unmitigated crisis” that endangered the state’s communities and commerce.
Hobbs warned that the Biden administration has placed Arizona at a “breaking point.”
“Our ports of entry are vital for security and trade, and insufficient resources hinder our ability to properly manage the influx of migrants who have continued to come to Lukeville,” said Hobbs. “We need the federal government to step up, do its job, and bring security and order to our border.”
Hobbs also submitted a letter to President Joe Biden on Friday requesting the reassignment of just over 200 Tucson Sector National Guard members to the Lukeville Port of Entry as well as the assignment of National Guard members elsewhere in the nation to reopen the port of entry.
“For far too long, Arizona has continued to bear the burden of federal inaction in managing our southern border,” said Hobbs.
Hobbs also requested the reimbursement of the over $512.5 million the state has spent under Biden on migrant transportation, drug interdiction, and law enforcement. In her press release announcing Operation SECURE, Hobbs promised to seek reimbursements of border crisis mitigation on a regular basis.
“The federal government must act immediately to solve the unmitigated crisis caused by the Lukeville Port of Entry closure,” said Hobbs.
The governor also disclosed to reporters earlier this week that she would visit the area on Saturday to assess the situation. Hobbs is scheduled to travel with Arizona National Guard Adjutant General Kerry Muehlenbeck.
Hobbs’ decision to deploy the National Guard marks a turnaround from her perspective on Monday, when she felt that the troops weren’t warranted since the border communities hadn’t asked for them.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the closure of the Lukeville Port of Entry last Friday. CBP attributed the closure to the need for more personnel due to the ever-worsening state of the border crisis.
“In response to increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border, fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals, CBP is surging all available resources to expeditiously and safely process migrants,” said CBP.
Scenes from the border reveal that around 1,000 illegal immigrants on any given day — mostly single, military-age men — await alongside the border for processing and transportation after illegally crossing into the U.S.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to CBP as Customs and Border Patrol. The story has been corrected and now refers to CBP as Customs and Border Protection.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Nov 9, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
The Arizona Governor’s Office is taking action to provide more resources for elections ahead of a crucial year of political contests.
Last week, Governor Katie Hobbs announced that she would be earmarking “$2.3 million in American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funding to support free, fair and secure elections.” The governor also revealed the existence of three new executive orders “to authorize paid civic duty leave for state employees to serve as poll workers, make state buildings available as polling locations, and require state agencies to provide voter registration information and assistance to the Arizona citizens they serve.”
In a statement, Hobbs said, “As Secretary of State I oversaw the most secure elections in Arizona history, but I know we must continue to improve Arizona’s elections ahead of 2024. Election officials and voters are facing new challenges when it comes to administering elections and participating in our democracy. I am thrilled to immediately address some of the problems identified by the Bipartisan Elections Task Force to ensure Arizona voters can make their voices heard.”
The flurry of actions from Hobbs follows the completion of a report from the Governor’s Bipartisan Elections Task Force, which was issued a day earlier, on November 1. The Task Force, established on January 6, focused on five main topics under the umbrella of the Arizona elections system, which were Election Administration, Voter Registration, Early Voting, Election Day and Post-election Procedures, and Election Equipment and Security.
In the final report, the Task Force unveiled proposals under each of the topics. For Election Administration, proposals included a Poll Worker Communication Platform, Incentives to Improve Poll Worker Recruitment, Annual Election Officer Certification Trainings, Election Fellowship Program, and Comprehensive Website for Voter Information. For Voter Registration, proposals included Provisional Ballot Form as Voter Registration Form, Cross-Country Voter Registration, Voting Rights Restoration, and AVID (Access Voter Information Database) Funding. For Early Voting, proposals included Disability Resource Liaison, Emergency Voting to Final Weekend Voting, and Ballot Return Interference. For Election Day and After, proposals included Ensuring Timely Recounts and Reconciliation Best Practices Guidelines. And for Election Equipment and Security, proposals included Election Security Advancements and Election Worker Code of Conduct.
The Task Force concluded its report by writing, “We can, and should, continue to refine our election system to ensure voters have access to the polls and that our election officials – the guardians of our democracy – have the resources to do their jobs well. The Task Force’s proposals are motivated by a deep commitment to these goals, and to the overarching goal of protecting democracy in our State.”
Members of the Task Force were Ken Bennett, State Senator District 1; Michelle Burchill, Yavapai County Recorder; Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, Pima County Recorder; Christina Estes-Werther, Attorney and Former Arizona Elections Director; Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, Attorney and Director of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law Indian Legal Clinic; Adrian Fontes, Arizona Secretary of State; Renaldo Fowler, Arizona Center for Disability Law, Senior Staff Advocate; Alex Gulotta, All Voting is Local, Arizona State Director; Don Henninger, The Carter Center, Representative; Katie Hobbs, Arizona Governor (Chair); Scott Jarrett, Maricopa County Elections Director; Ben Lane, City of Scottsdale City Clerk; Ken Matta, Election Security Expert; Michael Moore, Chief Information Security Officer; Brad Nelson, Former Pima County Elections Director; Helen Purcell, Former Maricopa County Recorder (Co-Chair); Alma Schultz, Santa Cruz County Elections Director; and Laura Terech, State Representative District 4.
Helen Purcell, the Task Force’s Co-Chair, weighed in on the accomplishments of her group, saying, “This Task Force is made up of talented, bipartisan experts who have diverse on-the-ground experience with Arizona’s elections. It was rewarding to see them come together week after week to brainstorm where additional support is needed, collaborate on potential solutions, and develop the proposals in the final report. Thank you to Governor Hobbs for bringing us together with a unified goal and for her unwavering commitment to protecting democracy in our State.”
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes added, “I’d like to thank Governor Hobbs, Recorder Purcell, and the entire Task Force for prioritizing safe, secure, and accurate elections. I must also mention all our staff for being generous with their expertise and insight. The work of the Task Force, the Governor’s Executive Orders and the much-needed $2 million in election support will be critical in building towards smooth and successful elections in 2024.”
Earlier this year, the Chair of the Arizona House Municipal Oversight & Elections Committee, Representative Jacqueline Parker, vowed, on behalf of her panel, to “swiftly reject any election-related recommendations of this biased, corrupt, & secretive task force.”
By signing the executive orders and designating the ARPA funds for assignment, Hobbs appears to be bypassing any cooperation, as of now, with the Legislature to improve the state’s elections systems.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Corinne Murdock | Sep 5, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Another $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding has been issued, this time from Maricopa County to Phoenix for the purpose of building more affordable housing.
$5 million of the ARPA funds will go to repurposing 125 rooms in a former Super 8 Motel off the I-17 and Northern Avenue, with the other $5 million going toward redevelopment efforts in the Edison-Eastlake Community (EEC) east of downtown Phoenix.
That’s around $40,000 per room for the motel renovation, and nearly $46,000 per unit. The latter development, EEC, will include unit sizes ranging from one to five bedrooms. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego told KJZZ that people were excited at the prospect of larger affordable housing units during meetings about the redevelopment.
City-funded emergency shelters served over 2,600 families and over 5,900 individuals in 2021, over 3,400 families and over 7,300 individuals in 2022, and over 1,100 families and over 2,200 individuals so far this year. This year, 249 individuals left for permanent housing.
Since 2021, city-funded rapid rehousing programs have moved 579 households into rental housing: 398 in 2021, 139 in 2022, and 42 so far this year. Rapid rehousing programs place homeless individuals into conditionless permanent housing. Only one individual has acquired permanent housing this year.
Of nearly $400 million in total ARPA funding, the city has reported spending over $37.2 million of $119.3 million for affordable housing and homelessness. However, the city hasn’t reported spending any of its $16 million ARPA funding allocated specifically for the affordable housing program. It also hasn’t reported spending any of the $5 million allocated for its community land trust program. According to the city, these programs are “pending federal guidance.”
The Arizona legislature has also allocated an historic $150 million to the Housing Trust Fund. The Arizona Department of Housing also allocated $13.3 million to the city, with some of the funds applied to illegal immigrants as well as Arizona citizens.
The city has allocated at least $245 million in the past five years on the EEC.
The city received a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2018 for its EEC One Vision Plan. The city used that grant along with $190 million in leverage to redevelop the EEC with mixed-income housing. The HUD grant went toward demolishing 577 units and building over 1,100 units.
In December 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded the city $1 million for its criminal justice innovation program concerning EEC. The DOJ reported “alarmingly high” rates of domestic violence and sexual offenses, as well as chronic issues with drug sales and usage. Phoenix Police Depratment (PPD) had two to three higher call rates for overdoses, suicide attempts, and dead bodies than any other Phoenix neighborhood. The DOJ issued over $18.7 million in those types of grants that year.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | May 10, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Maricopa County began to give $5 million to serve refugees, starting May 1.
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (BOS) approved the $5 million appropriated from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to go to nonprofits serving refugees.
The nonprofits serve as part of the Maricopa County Relocation Assistance Program, a welfare program to bolster refugee and refugee family economic and social self-sufficiency.
In a press release, Supervisor Steve Gallardo said that the county was fortunate enough to subsidize this welfare program for refugees.
“Maricopa County is fortunate to have many nonprofits that help refugees from other countries find housing, medical care, and cross language barriers so they can integrate and become an asset,” state Gallardo.
The greatest bulk of the funding went to Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) with nearly $1.88 million to serve 40 families. That metes out to nearly $47,000 per family. Their program provides the widest array of services: outreach, intake, transitional housing, legal services, and stabilization support.
As AZ Free News has reported previously, CPLC’s subsidiary is facing federal investigation for pandemic loan fraud. CPLC’s President and CEO, David Adame, served on Gov. Katie Hobbs’ transition team.
It’s interesting that Gallardo decided to speak on this latest round of refugee welfare, since he also served on Hobbs’ transition team with Adame and, later, was Hobbs’ pick for Democratic Party Chair.
Of note, the federal webpage outlining the investigation into CPLC’s subsidiary, Prestamos, for pandemic loan fraud disappeared in late February. Archives of the report were available through February 24, but disappeared by February 27.
Also earlier this year, several CPLC leaders were identified as part of the liberal think tank that helped provide the cover-up for Hunter Biden’s laptop.
The Area Agency on Aging will receive over $125,400 to assist 100 elder refugees with pre-literacy and citizenship classes, as well as financial assistance for citizen application fees.
Friendly House received nearly $345,000 to provide adult education, emergency report, and immigration services to 150 refugees.
The International Rescue Committee received over $1.6 million. Of that funding, over $675,500 will provide case management services to 100 refugees, as well as training those community providers in “culturally appropriate techniques” to provide “culturally appropriate services” to crime victims. The remainder, over $957,400, will give legal services for refugees.
Lutheran Social Services will receive $600,000 to provide case management, medical services, and other support to “the most vulnerable refugees.” The press release named families, single parents, and women under this category.
Finally, the Somali American United Council of America will receive $312,000 to give refugees job placement services and “women’s empowerment.” The funding will also support nutrition, health, citizenship, digital literacy, and cultural adaptation classes.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
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