Grand Canyon Times

Randy Fahrbach has a quick answer when asked if he supports federal bailouts for states that have overspent their budgets in response to COVID-19.

“No,” Fahrbach.

How about for own state, Arizona?

“No,” he said.

Instead, Fahrbach, a Scottsdale resident, said governments need to do what people and businesses are doing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastation it has caused: Spend less or seek a loan.

“The money would either come from reductions in federal programs or by creating more deficit by the U.S. government borrowing the money,” he said.

Fahrbach said he firmly opposes asking states that are in better shape financially to rescue other states that were not in good fiscal condition before the pandemic. It is not a fair request, in his view.

“No. Most of a state’s revenue comes from taxes or fees they charge for services,” Fahrbach told Grand Canyon Times. “The states that have mostly stayed open or reopened have turned their revenue streams back on by re-energizing the economy. Bankrupt states should be forced to change their policies, cut programs that are wasteful and unnecessary to the basic needs of their citizens. These happen to be Democratic-run states.”

Truth in Accounting, a nonpartisan think tank based in Chicago, recently released an assessment of states’ fiscal conditions.

Alaska topped the list, followed by North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Tennessee, South Dakota, Nebraska, Idaho, Oregon and Iowa.

Truth in Accounting listed these 10 states as most in poor financial shape: New York, Vermont, California, Kentucky, Delaware, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Connecticut, Illinois and New Jersey last.

The onset of the coronavirus exposed the problems in those states, Fahrbach said, and did not directly cause them.

“Fiscal irresponsibility predates the COVID-19 crisis,” he said. “They were already overspending and funding programs not key to the essential needs of their constituents. The COVID crisis just highlighted the fact that they did not have money in the bank accounts to fund through the emergency.

“As Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat, former Obama adviser and mayor of Chicago, once said, 'You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,’” Fahrbach noted.

He’s a former Democrat who is part of what he refers to as the “walkaway movement” that led him to the GOP. Fahrbach, 62, grew up in Brighton, Colorado, and came to Arizona to study at Arizona State University, where he earned a bachelor of arts in English. He also joined the Catholic church.

Fahrbach has never ran for office but has felt compelled to get involved recently. 

“This past year has been my first year to be involved in local politics with the GOP Legislative District 23. I am a precinct committeeman,” he said. “I enjoy talking to my neighborhood about issues that affect us.“

Opportunities present themselves to people all the time, and it is up to them how they react, based on their history, personal views and philosophy. Fahrbach describes himself as a “family guy, meditation geek, reading addict, hiking and biking nut, wannabe singer and guitarist.”

He also has two decades experience building, managing referral and resell partner programs and channel operations, according to LinkedIn. This includes developing integration and service partnerships while helping internal teams adopt, promote and activate software channel programs.

He believes in software as a service (SaaS) has been a key to his success in business.

“I've accomplished this by developing successful partnerships by creating dynamic partner ecosystems, allowing partners to customize their partnership focus to fit their customers’ needs, in an environment that allows for rapid scale, creative interactions and that is simple,” Fahrbach said on LinkedIn.

He uses the same terse style there as he did in responding to a reporter’s questions, advising people to “Work better. Live better. Partner better.”

It’s advice he would offer governments as well. Fahrbach said governments may make political decisions when dealing with their budget issues tied to COVID-19. The outcome is as apparent as it is regrettable.

“They affect current budget shortfalls by having lockdowns to the extreme, affecting small business, cutting tax revenues and creating additional unemployment,” he said.

Fahrbach returned to his succinct responses when asked if he would support candidates who advocated for state bailouts.

“No,” he said.