Arizona has a new tourism logo, and it only cost the U.S. taxpayer $700,000. Yep, you read that right—$700,000.
That’s the amount spent on a rebranding effort that, according to state tourism director Lisa Urias, was needed to showcase Arizona as more than just a winter escape for snowbirds.
The old Arizona wasn’t diverse enough. Urias and her team apparently spent a year talking with 2,000 people in listening sessions across the state.
Hopefully, $700,000 later, they can sell people on Arizona being “more than a sunshine-laden land of golf courses and resorts.”
What’s most interesting is that this $700,000 splurge came from federal pandemic relief funds. Under the American Rescue Plan, the U.S. Economic Development Administration received $3 billion in funding to address communities harmed by COVID.
Part of this funding—$750 million—went to the EDA’s Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation program, and Arizona received $5,898,898. Therefore, I guess $700,000 on a logo is a drop in the bucket. Your tax dollars at work.
The American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package, passed the full House by a close 219–212 vote, with every Republican and two Democrats voting against it. The Senate modified and passed its version with a razor-thin 50–49 vote.
Alaskan Republican Senator Dan Sullivan missed the vote due to attending his father-in-law’s funeral in Alaska. His spokesperson confirmed that Sullivan opposed the bill. Still, even if he had been present, the outcome wouldn’t have changed, as Vice President Kamala Harris was available to break any tie in favor of the Democrats. Harris only needed to vote “On the Motion to Proceed” not the actual bill.
The final amended bill returned to the House and was passed by a vote of 220–211, again strictly along party lines except for one Democrat, Jared Golden, who joined the Republican opposition. Biden signed the bill in March of 2011.
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