House speaker: 'We have to cut back'

Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams said it's "back to the future" for the state budget, and when it comes to revenue, "2009 is 2006."

Adams came to Yuma Friday, and met with local business owners, government officials and others as part of his journey around the state to talk with Arizonans about the state's ongoing budget crisis.
 
He said the state won't regain 2007 levels of revenue until 2012 or 2013.
 
"Now, we have to unwind," Adams said. "We have to cut back."
 
What will help Arizona: a diversified economy. Adams said diversifying the economy would "position Arizona for dynamic economic growth."
 
He said Yuma is in a better position than most other areas because it has a varied amount of industries that include agriculture, the military, manufacturing and construction.
 
"The state of Arizona would do well to imitate Yuma," Adams said.
 
In recent years, he said the state relied on increased revenue from capital gains taxes from the housing and construction boom. And now that those industries are struggling, and revenue is down, the state should take the opportunity to reform spending and cut government waste.
 
Adams called the estimated $3 billion budget shortfall for 2010 "historic," and said that even though California's budget deficit is greater in number, Arizona's is actually worse.
 
"In proportion, our problem is deeper than their problem," Adams said.
 
Adams said the state will receive over an estimated $1.7 billion or $1.8 billion from the Federal government's stimulus package to help with the 2010 budget, but it's still a significant hole to fill.
 
"The choices are truly agonizing," Adams said about the decisions lawmakers face when making cuts.
 
What the state's probably not going to do: raise the sales tax or bring back property taxes.
 
"I don't think that's going very far," Adams said.
 
Adams said an increase in sales tax is "not a silver bullet" because it wouldn't generate enough funds to help solve the budget crisis.
 
Adams said it could generate about $600 million in revenue and put every city in Arizona with a higher sales tax than New York City and Las Vegas.
 
Recovering from the economic crisis is going to require participation from everyone - it's not just a challenge for the Legislature, he said.
 
"(It's a) challenge for the entire state of Arizona," Adams said.