RCG Blog Archive

I’m asked this question at least a couple of times every month. My initial answer is usually: don’t do illegal stuff. Then, I elaborate. Each economic development project is different.

The “story” related to economic growth is better understood now than at any time I can remember. People know that many things impact an area’s ability to not just grow, but to grow well.

The following is an opinion piece that appeared in the Arizona Capitol Times. The next few weeks will include much debate about President Trump’s economic plans with a primary focus on tax cuts. The typical question will be: “So, is this good?” The typical answer by policymakers and economists will be either “yes” or “no.” That’s it. Interview over. This doesn’t come close to the bare minimum discussion that is required. Here is my offering of where to start the debate.

People may disagree on individual political issues, but there is no denying we are taking more steps forward than back.

I remain bullish about my home state of Arizona.  However, funding will remain tight for a while longer and we need to be more thoughtful when we tax and spend.

Politics has become very binary (all 1s and 0s). A person is expected to be for something or against. A policy issue is expected to either help the country or cause harm. In reality, many issues are complex and the answer is somewhere in the middle. This is true with the President’s economic plans.

Working closely with economic developers and organizations, the “toolbox of incentives” is brought up regularly.  Most recently, the GPLET incentive (where a city can reduce property taxes on an individual development) has produced many conversations and hours on the phone. The issues concerning this need to be fixed.

There is significant disagreement on tax policy changes and how they affect the economy. The “Left” is spending a lot of time complaining about past actions while the “Right” is arguing that more is always good.

If you’re like me you’re wondering what will happen in 2017 in terms of local politics and economics. It’s best guess stuff at the moment. But, best guess is that Arizona will outperform the U.S. as long as we continue to make economic progress a priority.

Policymakers are often under pressure to spend what is coming in the door. This is true even for the thoughtful ones. It happens at the state, county, and city levels. I have seen a lot of budgets developed over the years, and there is always something “critical” to fund. Here are some things to think about as we move into 2017.