Local opinion: Lower your taxes for future problems by voting no on Props 418, 419

Voting no on RTA Next, Props 418 and 419, gives the taxpayers of Pima County an opportunity to lower their taxes by a half cent for the next 20 years. Here's why that is necessary.

1) The Trump tariffs have taken $1.3 billion from Pima County in the past year. Nearly all the tariffs are actually paid by US taxpayers. Pima County's 1.1 million residents comprise about 3% of the US population. Multiply the 3% times $383 billion and you have about $1.3 billion. If the Supreme Court votes against Trump's tariffs, you won't get your money back. If SCOTUS votes in favor of the Trump tariffs, then at least another $1.3 billion will be siphoned from Pima County taxpayers this year, or about two years of RTA Next tax.

2) The tariffs are playing havoc with planning. By threatening tariffs, especially against US imports from Canada such as aluminum, steel, and soft woods for building, Trump is increasing the cost of construction, including roads. The proposed half-cent sales tax will not be able to repair the financial damage Trump is doing to local building and construction costs.

3) Trump is devaluing the dollar making imports more expensive. Trump's economic policy dropped the value of the dollar 10% last year. With farmers countrywide suffering from tariffs, Trump is continuing to devalue the dollar to make exports cheaper. This policy is failing. Note soybean prices and China's 5th straight month of a soybean boycott by China per a January 17, 2026, article in Forbes magazine.

4) Higher interest costs from Trump's financial policies in the next 20 years will shrink the benefits of the tax. Between 2006 and 2026 inflation was nearly 60% or about a 2% average on the Fed fund rate. With a higher Fed fund rate, even a 3% average, using the rule of 72 for compound interest, will decrease the value of the $2.6 billion estimate in 2046 dollars to about $1.4 billion in 2026 dollars to use toward roads.

Because of the lack of planning for inflation, Tucson did not receive all projects promised in the 2006 RTA. In addition, according to the Star, City manager Tim Thomure says Tucson will put in 65% toward the tax, but only receive 55% of the benefits. Once again under RTA Next, Tucson would be the milk cow for non-Tucson projects.

5) Social Security will need to lower payments by 20% starting in 2034, only 8 years into the 20-year timeline of the proposed RTA Next. With Republicans solidly against Social Security for the past 90 years, and with the average benefit being about $2500 a month by 2034, the average Pima County Social Security recipient will lose $6000 a year in benefits starting in 8 years. Multiply that by tens of thousands of Pima County SSI recipients and that's over $100,000,000 not circulating in the local economy within 10 years. Millions in possible RTA Next revenue will be lost.

Finally, in the desert roads are not a priority above water. With nearly one million acre-feet in proposed immediate cuts to Arizona's 1.4 million AF allocation of Colorado River water, and with future allocations even less, any money should be allocated to recycled water plants. Tucson Water has an $80 million plan for a recycled water plant that would produce 5,400 AF of recycled water to be available in the early 2030s. Pima County Wastewater and all local water providers need to put a half-cent sales tax toward another ten recycled water plants to be producing by the mid 2030s. Otherwise, the economic, political and cultural shock to Pima County in the next ten years due the lack of reliable water availability will be enormous. The future is not water at $300 an AF, but $3000 per AF. The CAP was built to just reach "safe yield". That promise is gone.

Tucson can't afford Props 418 and 419. We need to prioritize water over asphalt. The RTA was a 20th century fix to a 21st century problem. We can't afford that mistake again. Bigger problems lie ahead. Vote no on Prop 418 and 419.