Arizona’s crumbling infrastructure makes it less competitive. Voters recently rejected taking on more Wall Street debt to fund a variety of projects– including roads. It’s time for Arizona to look at public banking as a means to build infrastructure without taking on debt and without increasing taxes.
Establishment of a public bank at the city, county, regional and/or state level would allow local or state governments to self-fund infrastructure projects– like the Sonoran Corridor (or that commuter train between Tucson and Phoenix that I have been waiting for for 30 years.) Self-financing of infrastructure projects through a public bank would save taxpayers millions of dollars in Wall Street Bank fees. You can learn more about public banking at Arizonans for a New Economy.
This is an excerpt from a talk at the Unitarian Universalists Church of Tucson on Sept. 6, 2015. Pamela Powers Hannley announced her candidacy in this speech.