Making sense of Arizona cents

In this week’s issue of The Arizona 100, the Arizona Office of Tourism notes record spending by visitors in 2017. This got me to thinking about how these – and other dollars – are spent.

According to the State Spending Database, Arizona governments ranked 41st in total spending per resident. Per resident, it spends 67 percent less than the top state, Alaska ($24,040 per resident), and 15 percent more than Idaho ($6,790), the lowest.

Conversely, we rank toward the top in spending on schools for the blind, visually impaired and deaf; adult, special and vocational education; and veteran’s services.

– Abbie S. Fink, HMA Public Relations