Arizona Wants to Buy Back State Capitol It Inexplicably Sold

[MrScorpio]

State governments have taken a number of different steps to balance their books in recent years. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (remember him?) proposed a new tax on strip clubs, for example, and a Utah state rep. suggested saving $60 million per year by abolishing the 12th grade. But no proposal struck as much metaphorical gold as Arizona's decision to sell off the state capitol (and a whole bunch of other state properties, such as maximum security prisons) for $735 million in 2009. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed off on the deal, and the state now leases the House and Senate chambers from a private real estate company at a considerable long-term cost.

But now, presumably still a little embarrassed by the whole episode, presented with the unfamiliar feeling of cash on hand, and rapidly approaching the state's 100th birthday, Brewer wants the Arizona capitol back in the hands of Arizonans. Here's the Yuma Sun:

The move will cost the state $105 million out of its current budget surplus. Brewer press aide Matthew Benson said the state has the cash.

Benson acknowledged the state actually got only $81 million for the state House, the Senate and the nine-story executive tower that includes Brewer's office when it negotiated a "sale-leaseback" arrangement in 2010...

"Most of our Capitol complex, including the building we gather in today, is not ours,'' Brewer said in her State of the State speech delivered in the House building. "So ... to make all of our Capitol truly ours once again, I'm asking that you send me a bill by Statehood Day that allows me to buy back the Capitol.''

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/01/arizona-wants-buy-back-state-capitol-it-inexplicably-sold

[geckosfeet]

1. State sponsored property flipping.

This whole thing stinks of corruption and cronyism.

[izquierdista]

2. So who books the $24 million profit?

I'm going to go out on a limb and make a wild guess that it's NOT the taxpayer.

[E-Z-B]

3. Idiots.

[tanyev]

6. +1

[Blue_Tires]

4. In a sane world, everyone who was on board with selling the state capitol

only to buy it back less than two years later at a $24 million loss would be in jail...

Jesus fucking Christ I'm getting tired of these teabag asshats who don't know basic math (and the shills who enable them)

oh, and sweet avatar btw

[waddirum]

10. I don't know how they could get any more blatant

It's not even a decent shell-game slight-of-hand. It's just an ugly, clumsy transfer of public wealth to a crony.

I can't get over how crazy Jan talks with pride about the repurchase being for Arizona's 100th anniversary.

[Richardo]

5. "The party of fiscal responsibility" - what a crock of runny shit

The long-term outlook of a mayfly.

[Wait Wut]

7. When she sold the Capitol...

...there wasn't a peep from the teapers. They knew it was a horrible idea, but in our local paper they defended the Queen of Nothing while Dems here were calling for a psych. eval. for our uneducated, puppet Gov.

That woman is an idiot.

[kestrel91316]

8. Whoever arranged for this tidy little scam that earned the buyer

25% profit on its investment in 3 years needs to be taken out and ----.

We can probably find the little weasel, whoever he is, working at that very same company right now as his reward.

[joeybee12]

9. They're idiots...nt

[LynneSin]

11. She makes a box of rocks look like a genius