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HOW THE ARIZONA TOWN HALL IS LIKE THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT

HOW THE ARIZONA TOWN HALL IS LIKE THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT. Improving Arizona’s Economy & Government Revenue Systems. 95 th Arizona Town Hall, Grand Canyon Riding The Fiscal Roller Coaster: Government Revenue in Arizona November 1-4, 2009 96 th Arizona Town Hall, Tucson

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HOW THE ARIZONA TOWN HALL IS LIKE THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT

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  1. HOW THE ARIZONA TOWN HALL IS LIKE THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT

  2. Improving Arizona’s Economy & Government Revenue Systems • 95th Arizona Town Hall, Grand Canyon • Riding The Fiscal Roller Coaster: Government Revenue in Arizona • November 1-4, 2009 • 96th Arizona Town Hall, Tucson • Building Arizona’s Future: Jobs, Innovation & Competitiveness • April 25-28, 2010

  3. Improving Arizona’s Economy & Government Revenue Systems • Discussion Questions: • What are the most important recommendations from the last two Arizona Town Halls? • What steps can we take now to implement needed action?

  4. Per Capita Personal Income as a Percent of U.S.Arizona and its Metro AreasSource: Bureau of Labor Statistics

  5. What’s Happening to our Base Industries?Employment by Industry as a Percent of Total Employment Source: ADOC; Research Administration

  6. Building Arizona’s Future: Jobs, Innovation and Competitiveness Arizona’s Key Economic Assets • Climate & natural beauty • Support for technological innovation • Proximity to Mexico & California • Strong universities • Diversity & entrepreneurial spirit of Arizonans

  7. Building Arizona’s Future: Jobs, Innovation and Competitiveness Key Challenges to Arizona’s Optimal Economy • Lack of a sustained implementation of statewide vision • State financial issues & tax structure • Constitutional & legal restraints • Lack of capital & funding to support economic development • Inadequate funding for education • Insufficient infrastructure including technology (especially in rural areas) • Unavailability of resources such as water, waste management, and energy • Perceptions resulting from SB1070 and other recent legislation

  8. Building Arizona’s Future: Jobs, Innovation and Competitiveness Key Recommendations • Education • Strategic Planning • Changes in Governmental Structures • and Political Ideologies • Capital Formation • Reputation Management • Infrastructure • Broadening the Tax Base • Preserve Quality of Life • Pursue Jobs in the Renewable Energy Industry • Job Training Programs • Others: support for small business development, “economic gardening”, guest worker program

  9. Riding the Fiscal Roller Coaster: Government Revenue in Arizona Driving Forces for Revenue Reform • Severe cyclicality of the existing system. • Failure of the existing system to generate revenues that grow at the pace of the economy. • Negative impacts on economic competitiveness due to relatively high corporate taxes.

  10. Riding the Fiscal Roller Coaster: Government Revenue in Arizona Driving Forces for Revenue Reform • Government revenue is a system. Implementing changes in a piecemeal fashion may result in a suboptimal system. • Government revenue in Arizona is highly cyclical, while demand for government services is not. • Sales tax has not been modified to keep pace with changes over time in consumer expenditures. • Arizona relies heavily on taxes, yet has a narrow tax base. • Revenue is insufficient on average over the economic cycle to pay for the state’s expenditures. • Arizona has a very low tax burden on individuals, a low burden on small unincorporated businesses, but a high burden on large corporations resulting in a negative impact on economic competitiveness.

  11. Riding the Fiscal Roller Coaster: Government Revenue in Arizona Key Recommendations • Long-Term Actions: • Implement secure, stable, flexible, sustainable revenue sources sufficient to provide the services for which the public is willing to pay, while also promoting economic growth, reducing the effects of cyclicality, and increasing stability. • Identify and remove barriers, including structural barriers, to political cooperation and change. • Improve the efficiency of the revenue system. • Establish performance measures to track the effectiveness of the revenue system and mechanisms to make adjustments as needed. • Establish a commission comprised of a diverse group of Arizona citizens, business leaders, community leaders and experts in the field to present its recommendations to the legislature.

  12. Discussion Questions • What are the most important recommendations from the last two Arizona Town Halls? • What steps can we take now to implement needed action?

  13. Upcoming Events • Fall Luncheon, part of “A Day of Civic Action for Arizona” • Thursday, September 23, 2010, 11:30 a.m. • Speaker: Frances Hesselbein • “Leadership that Sustains Civil Society” • Shirley Agnos Legacy Award Recipient : • Don Shropshire, President Emeritus of Tucson Medical Center and former Board Chair of Arizona Town Hall. • Wyndham Hotel Ballroom, Phoenix • 97th Arizona Town Hall, Grand Canyon • “Arizona’s Government: The Next 100 Years” • November 7 – 10, 2010 • 98th Arizona Town Hall, Tucson • Arts, Culture and the Economy • May 1 – 4, 2011

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