AFP: NO on 204: the AZ grassroots can win this one!

Dear Arizona Taxpayer:Sometimes it's hard for taxpayers and friends of economic freedom to imagine victory when they find themselves up against well-funded liberal interest groups seeking more tax money and greater political power.But we can win, and we have.  In 2010, over the opposition of powerful unions, Arizona citizens passed the Save Our Secret Ballot amendment to the state Constitution. Save Our Secret Ballot was designed to keep the federal government (through “card check” legislation) from forcing workers to unionize without holding secret-ballot elections.Big Labor didn't like that, so Obama's union-dominated National Labor Relations Board sued Arizona. But on September 5, a federal court ruled in favor of Arizona, protecting workers' secret ballots from the bullying power of Big Labor. Right now, the education spending lobby is pushing hard for Prop 204, which would impose a permanent sales tax hike on Arizona families and small businesses.  If they win on November 6, this job-killing tax increase will give Arizona the second highest sales tax rate in America.Of course, this is not Arizona's first rodeo... In 2000, many of our business leaders supported the Prop 301 sales tax hike, because they believed the promises of the education spending lobby: that the new tax would deliver more money to Arizona's classrooms and improve student performance. A decade later, the evidence is in: the tax hike failed to put a greater proportion of money into Arizona's classrooms, and failed to improve student test scores.  Facing the threat of the Prop 204 tax hike, state treasurer and successful entrepreneur Doug Ducey has put together a strong coalition of business and civic organizations to fight the tax, including the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Even proponents of 2010's temporary Prop 100 sales tax increase, such as Governor Jan Brewer, former Intel CEO Craig Barrett, and longtime government relations expert Martin Shultz, have come out against the Prop 204 tax hike. This is not only a good fight -- it's a fight we can win!  But business leaders alone can't win the battle: they need grassroots taxpayer activists to stand with them, to beat the spending interests in the ground game. Please visit VoteNOon204.com to learn more about Prop 204 and to find out how you can volunteer your time and energy to a very good cause.  For more about AFP-Arizona's grassroots actions against Prop 204, contact Bill Fathauer at bfathauer@afphq.org For Liberty, TomTom JenneyArizona DirectorAmericans for Prosperitywww.aztaxpayers.org