The people of Arizona kept their upper lips stiff when officials mortgaged off the state’s executive office tower and a “Daily Show” crew rolled into town to chronicle the transaction in mocking tones. They remained calm as lawmakers pondered privatizing death row.
But then the state took away their toilets, and residents began to revolt.
“Why don’t they charge a quarter or something?’” said Connie Lucas, who lives in Pine, Ariz., about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from here. “There was one rest stop between here and Phoenix, and we really needed it.”
Arizona has the largest budget gap in the country when measured as a percentage of its overall budget, and the state Department of Transportation was $100 million in the red last fall when it decided to close 13 of the state’s 18 highway rest stops.
[blockquote]More than $500 million of the transportation budget was recently diverted to the state’s general fund[/blockquote]
I don’t know for sure but this is probably money generated by motorist license fees, gas taxes etc. Can a state just move designated funds into the general fund? Collateral damage will ensue. The state will have to spend additional money to pick up trucker bombs.