According to the Tucson Association of REALTORS® February Scorecard released on Monday, Tucson is still in the “lackluster recovery” category. University of Arizona economist, Dr. George Hammond, one of the keynote speakers at the recent TAR Forecast told the crowd, “Our economy is struggling, we continue to battle head-winds.”
To view the Scorecard, click here.
Hammond noted that Tucson’s struggle is compounded by the fact that the Tucson is reliant on federal government jobs. According to the Scorecard, “The Phoenix job base is diversified and only relies on military-related jobs for 1.9% of its GDP. The national level is 3.8% of GDP; for Tucson, it’s 7.7%.”
For some time now, operatives in the DM-50, Senator Jeff Flake, former State Senator Frank Antenori, and failed congressional candidate Shelly Kais, among others, muted Tucson’s reaction to the news that the Air Force was fighting to mothball the A-10, by making baseless promises that new missions would replace the Warthog and Davis-Monthan would survive. Martha McSally used the situation to blow her own horn rather than rally support for the plane during the General Election.
As a result, during a critical time, Tucson remained silent. That silence sent a message that was loud and clear to the Air Force.
Last week, the ADI reported that in fact recent Air Force documents show clearly that the Air Force has no plans to bring new missions to the base in a timeframe that would spare it for a BRAC (base closing).
According to sources, a sizeable number of DM crews have already received orders to relocate and begin serving on F-35crews. While F-35 will not be fully operational until 2023, the Air Force must pull crews off of the A-10 in order to ensure its demise. The Air Force must also perpetuate the illusion that the F-35 is ready for duty.
The efforts to mute the community’ support for the A-10 has left Tucson vulnerable.
Last week, Senator John McCain and now-Congressman Martha McSally came out and called for the Air Force to save the plane.
The residents of Tucson can either work to save the plane or hope that those who had lulled them into silence before have been working behind the sense on a Plan B.
As it stands, Dr. Hammond said at the TAR Forecast, that recovery is “a long way out because Tucson is digging out of a hole that is twice as deep.”
That hole will be the size of the Grand Canyon if the community allows the A-10 to be parked at AMARC.
