In some ways living in Phoenix makes me feel like a kid again. Growing up in an agricultural valley in Northern California where rugged ranchers and stoic individualists abounded prepared me well for AZ. Gun racks hanging on truck cabs don’t even phase me. But even more than that, it is the sense of something happening– of being on the cutting edge of major changes. California always had to deal with problems and opportunities before the rest of the country, whether immigration, growth, or the new economy. Arizona in the 2000′s is right there where it’s all happening. Over on the East Coast, there’s a lot of talk, but most of the implementation happens elsewhere.
Immigration is up front and personal in Phoenix, which is a major hub for people arriving overland from central and south america. We have an infamous sherriff on a major round-up mission of “illegals.” We have a new law that makes business owners very antsy, because it can shut them down permanently if they knowingly hire workers with false or no documentation. There are grim predictions of the economy collapsing as the labor supply dries up. Which goes to show that immigration reform is a non-partisan issue– businesses who need employees will be holding hands with the human rights activists, singing kumbyah in no time.
And, as one of the sunniest habitable areas on the planet, Arizona is trying to become a major generator of cheap, efficient solar power– currently we have plans to build the largest thermal solar plant in the world. For over two decades, it’s also been one of the two fastest-growing states. Arizona has to deal with urban sprawl, pollution, and resource managment more or less by the seat of its pants and the hair on its chinny-chin chin. Where will all these people live, work, and dump their garbage? Where will they get water? How do we get them to stop driving 60 miles round trip to work? We have one of the worst K-12 public education systems around, making Phoenix a magnet for experimental schools and programs. And the growing population is taxing the resources of the health care system.
With construction as one of the biggest industries in the state, we are taking a major hit in the economy, resulting in legislative deadlock on the budget for next year. Everything domestic issue that the presidential candidates bring up– energy, education, economy, health care, immigration– is the stuff I experience in rush hour and allergies and personal stories every day. It’s kinda fun in a way.
