Arizona as the model of the future... of teabaggery

Arizona wants to buy back its capitol building

Back in 2009, the Arizona government sold off its capitol building and leased it back. Small government, see. Austerity, see. Balanced budgets, see.

Now it wants to buy the building back, rather than keep shelling out lease payments. Ordinary common sense seems to have triumphed. (After all, owning its own plant and equipment is what any business would do).

Here's the punch line. They sold the building for $81 million. They're buying it back (in this lousy real estate market) for $105 million. That's $24 million dollars transferred directly from the taxpayers to real estate investors.

That's Republican economics for you.