How Arizona Compares

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How Arizona Compares Real Numbers and Hot Topics
Arizona Policy Choices 2005
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How Arizona Compares

• A unique reference on Arizona and metro Phoenix
  and Tucson
• Briefings on 10 public policy areas, including
  77 tables, 9 maps, 13 figures, 49 policy choices,
  and data on 30 Signal Measures for 50 states
• State and metropolitan rankings from widely
  accepted, reliable sources
• Public opinion on how Arizonans think their state
  compares

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One-Stop Source

• Dataserious and fun
• Touchstone from history and issues in todays
  news
• Policy choices on the table now
• Catalyst for discussing Arizonas competitiveness
  
• Platform for talking about Arizonas future

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Many Contributors
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Governor Hunts Challenge

• The 48th star is symbolic of nothing except such
  ideals and realities as Arizonas citizens endow
  it with. It remains for us as Arizonas champions
  and sponsors to make this star represent the best
  things in statehood, and to typify the highest
  ideals in human brotherhood.
• Governor George W.P. Hunt

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How is Arizona doing?

• Just fair is the answer across 50-state and
  metropolitan rankings in crime and punishment,
  health and healthcare, education, business
  futures, families and incomes, government, arts
  and culture, housing, transportation, and
  environment and survey data on how Arizonans
  think their state compares.
• A new sense of the state emerges to spark
  discussion of competitiveness and what Arizonans
  want now.

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Why Just Fair?

• Arizona leads the nation on some aspects of
  business vitality, education, and housing, but
  does not lead overall in any of 10 broad public
  policy areas. Nearly every area has pluses and
  minuses.
• Arizonans do not think their state and major
  metropolitan areas compare favorably on many
  significant issues.

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• Crime and Punishment
• 1st Serious crime
• 9th Per capita justice
• expenditures
• 9th Incarceration rate

Families and Incomes 38th Per capita
personal income 14th Residents below the
poverty level 3rd Birth rate
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Environment 4th Biodiversity 8th Groundwater
withdrawal 49th Per capita energy consumption

• Health and Health Care
• 23rd Overall health
• 10th Residents without health insurance
• 9th Births financed by AHCCCS

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• Education
• 1st Number of charter schools
• 47th Current K-12 spending
• 36th in Per capita academic RD spending

Housing 2nd Housing unit growth 31st
Homeownership 11th Percentage of mobile Homes
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Business Futures 2nd Job growth 17th Milken
Institute Technology Science Index 37th Per
capita GSP
Arts and Culture 1st National monuments 19th
Number of arts-related businesses 26th Per
capita public library circulation
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Transportation 4th Highway traffic
fatalities 17th Travel time to work 20th Annual
miles driven per vehicle

• Government
• 5th Ballot initiatives
• 47th Voter turnout
• 39th Per capita state and local government
  spending

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Arizonans Outlooks

• Compared to other states in the U.S., would you
  say Arizona is better than most, about the same
  as most, or not as good as most on
• Arizonans are more negative than positive in 8
  out of 12 areas
• Greater Phoenix is better than most similar
  cities to 34 of metro residentsTucson is
  better than to 23

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Up Sides and Down in 12 Areas

• Cost of housing 21
• Ability to attract high tech companies 6
• Health of its natural environment 2
• Artistic and cultural opportunities 2
• Financial security of residents -3
• State and local taxes -3
• Health care -22
• Crime rate -24
• Adequacy of overall transportation system -25
• Public schools -27
• Availability of good-paying jobs -27
• Well-being of children in low-income families
  -34
• Net positive to negative compares the percentage
  of better than to not as good as.

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Policy Choices Here and now the policy talk is
about

• Examples
• Creating and attracting high skill jobs
• Developing more options for financial
• aid for higher education
• Expanding health insurance coverage
• Developing the states potential for
  leadership in sustainable technologies

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An Idea of Arizonas Competitiveness
     
More Competitive 2nd Job growth 17th Milken
Institute Technology Science Index 2nd Housing
unit growth 19th Science and engineering
doctorates 3rd Western wilderness areas  
Less Competitive 38th Per capita personal
income 10th Residents without health
insurance 36th Per capita academic RD spending
37th Per capita GSP 46th Strength of traded
sector    
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A New Sense of the State

• The result of looking at many issues and options
  at the same time and in relation to one another
• A feeling of possibility
• Aha moments can help put an end to silo
  thinking

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The Next Question
Is just fair just fine?