Experts debate Prop. 208 and Its impact on Pinal County
by Aaron Dorman | PinalCentral
Pinal Partnership President & CEO Harold Christ; Executive Director Melissa Johnson; Board Chairperson Jordan Rose; and Panelist Sean McCarthy and David Lujan
A clash between educational and economic resources in Arizona may seem incongruous, but Proposition 208, which is currently on the ballot in Arizona, has sparked a debate over its call to increase the tax rate for the state’s wealthiest earners in order to fund teacher pay and other education support services.
On a panel on Friday morning, David Lujan, executive director for the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, and Sean McCarthy, a senior research analyst at Arizona Tax Research Association, sparred over the merits, or lack thereof, of the plan.
During the hour-long discussion, Lujan and McCarthy disagreed over basic facts and what the proposition’s tax would be used for. Lujan said Prop. 208 would help reverse a decades-long trend of divestment in Arizona schools, while McCarthy claimed the proposition would cause businesses and wealthy retirees to steer clear of the state and possibly even prompt current residents to move elsewhere.
