Washington, D.C.–Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) this week released the Arizona Piglet Book, a compilation of state budget waste, in conjunction with the Goldwater Institute.

“As Arizona’s budget crisis continues and the state debates increasing taxes, it is the perfect time for CAGW to publish a Piglet Book,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “There are plenty of places in the state budget where wasteful spending can be eliminated without hurting essential services.  Furthermore, there are numerous management issues that could be addressed to save the state even more money.”

The Arizona Piglet Book combines elements of two perennial CAGW publications, the Congressional Pig Book and Prime Cuts, both published annually and dealing with federal government pork and waste.  As part of its on-going examination of waste at every level of government, CAGW has chosen Arizona as the latest state in its Piglet Book series. 

The Arizona Piglet Book recommends $270 million worth of cost reductions, from cutting $15.2 million from the Department of Corrections’ budget to eliminating the $10 million Office of Tourism.  The report concludes that Arizona must take immediate action to ensure a strong fiscal future for taxpayers. 

In addition, Arizona should establish a state Budget Realignment Commission ­­to analyze every nook and cranny of the Arizona budget to cut waste.  With private sector expertise and the help of nonprofit organizations such as the Goldwater Institute, the commission would scrutinize expenditures to ensure that every tax dollar is accounted for and follow up to make sure waste is eliminated.

The Arizona report is now available to the public in PDF format from the CAGW website at:

http://www.cagw.org

For a hard copy, call CAGW at 202-467-5300.

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.