AFP: Upcoming events for AZ taxpayers and tea partiers

Dear Arizona Taxpayer, There are many events of interest to Arizona Taxpayers and Tea Partiers this month, and you can find most of them here: http://tinyurl.com/2466rog Below are some of the highlights: January 19 – Education Revolution Town Hall (Phoenix) with Dick Morris and Mike Gallagher, part of the National School Choice Week celebration January 19 – Protest against the proposed water rate hike by the Phoenix City Council January 25 – Screening of the school choice movie The Cartel, and Q&A afterwards with director Bob Bowdon (Phoenix) January 28-29 – AFP Foundation’s RightOnline new media grassroots activist training conference (San Diego). Rooms in the AFPF room block are available. Learn more at http://bit.ly/SanDiegoRO And be sure to mark your calendars…  The Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity has secured the House and Senate lawns at the Arizona Capitol for a giant Feet to the Fire Tea Party, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm on the evening of April 15, 2011.  On Tax Day in 2009, we brought a crowd of over 7,000 people to the Arizona Capitol.   Our goal was to let fed-up Tea Partiers know that the Arizona Legislature actually does have a core of solid fiscal conservatives.  Thanks in large part to local Tea Party groups around the state, the Legislature now has even more conservatives.  But we cannot simply trust them to do the right thing.  On Tax Day in 2011, we must hold their Feet to the Fire.  AFP-Arizona has very specific reform goals for state government.  Here are the big ones: •  By April 15, we expect that the Arizona Legislature will have referred to the 2012 ballot a proposition to lower the state government’s constitutional spending limit from 7.41 percent of state personal income to no more than 6.4 percent.   •  By April 15, we expect that the Arizona Legislature and Governor Brewer will cut at least $2 billion in baseline spending from the Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012 budgets. •  By April 15, we expect that the Arizona Legislature and Governor will push back against federal ObamaCare mandates on Medicaid spending. •  By April 15, we expect that the Arizona Legislature and Governor will cut K-12 administration and capital spending, while preserving jobs for classroom teachers.  We expect the Legislature and Governor to stand up for children, parents, and teachers, and stand against the Arizona Education Association, the Arizona Association of School Business Officials, the Arizona School Boards Association, and other K-12 spending lobbies. •  By April 15, we expect that the Arizona Legislature and Governor will pass a pro-growth tax cut package, WITHOUT corporate-welfare handouts for politically favored companies and industries. •  By April 15, we expect that the Arizona Legislature and Governor will produce balanced budget plans for Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012 that do NOT include tax hikes, fee increases, or burden shifts to local governments. If our Legislators and Governor have successfully achieved these goals, AFP-Arizona and allied Tea Party organizations will pledge to support them in the tough battles they face against the leftist media and the spending lobbies.  If our Legislators and Governor have not achieved these goals, we will be there to ask them WHY, and to ensure that these goals are achieved by the end of the legislative session.  We will hold their Feet to the Fire. For an overview of AFP-Arizona’s 2011 Legislative Policy Plan, go to www.aztaxpayers.org and scroll down on the left under “What’s New.” (The above lists of policy goals are not exhaustive.  We strongly encourage our allies in local Tea Party organizations to make their own policy goals known to our Governor and Legislators, and to reiterate their expectations at the Feet to the Fire event on April 15.) Be sure to check back for event updates here:  http://tinyurl.com/2466rog Or, you can go to our home page, www.aztaxpayers.org, and look for our events list on the left side of the page, under “What’s New.” For Liberty, Tom Tom Jenney Arizona Director Americans for Prosperity www.aztaxpayers.org