🍔 Cold Cheeseburgers vs. Hot Semiconductors: Tucson's $2.3M Subsidy Showdown
DeSimone questions Rio Nuevo's priorities as Phoenix lands $100B tech investment
Based on the Wake Up Live with Chris DeSimone for 3/6/25.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
Tucson's most popular morning show host Chris DeSimone is upset 😕 because our city isn't getting as many good businesses 🏢 and jobs 💼 as other Arizona cities. While Phoenix is getting a huge computer chip factory 💻 worth $100 billion 💰, Tucson leaders are spending $2.3 million 💵 to bring in a burger 🍔 restaurant from Scottsdale. The show also talked about how Tucson's biggest school district 🏫 is losing thousands of students 👶 each year, while smaller school districts are doing a better job managing their money 💵. Even Yuma might be getting a spaceport 🚀 while Tucson's space plans haven't worked out. Guests on the show included a congressman 👨⚖️, an energy expert ⚡, and a Red Cross volunteer ❤️ who all shared different ideas 💡 about how to make Tucson better.
🗝️ Takeaways
🏙️ While Phoenix secured a $100 billion semiconductor manufacturing investment, Tucson celebrated Rio Nuevo by allocating $2.3 million to a Scottsdale-based restaurant chain
📉 TUSD enrollment has collapsed from 60,000 to 38,000 students since 2020, losing approximately 1,000 students annually
💰 Despite school districts receiving $500 million more overall, the percentage spent on actual classroom instruction decreased
🚀 Yuma is positioned to become Arizona's "space city" with legitimate spaceport development, while Tucson's aerospace initiatives have faltered
🏘️ Downtown business owner Hank Amos closed Hi-Fi due to "homeless, drugs, and prostitution" issues, highlighting urban challenges
🗣️ Congressman Schweikert revealed politicians' public personas often differ dramatically from their more reasonable private selves
Wake Up and Smell the Disparities: DeSimone's Deep Dive Into Tucson's Development Doldrums
In the latest installment of "Wake Up Live" with Chris DeSimone, our host served up a piping hot dish of frustration garnished with a side of scathing commentary about Tucson's economic development woes. Between semiconductor billions flowing northward while we celebrate cold cheeseburger investments, this episode painted a portrait of a city seemingly content to watch as its siblings secure the family fortune.
Ah, yes, another day, another dollar—or in Phoenix's case, another hundred billion dollars while we're over here applauding a new restaurant chain. But hey, at least we'll have somewhere to drown our economic sorrows in beer and burgers!
The Tale of Two Cities: Silicon Dreams vs. Greasy Reality
The contrast couldn't have been more stark if it had been painted in neon on A Mountain. DeSimone began by highlighting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's breathtaking $100 billion expansion in North Phoenix—a true economic game-changer that will reshape Arizona's high-tech landscape for decades to come.
Meanwhile, in our humble pueblo? Rio Nuevo proudly announced they're allocating $2.3 million in taxpayer money to bring "Cold Cheeseburgers and Beer" (a Scottsdale-based company) to the former Sears location at Park Place Mall.
"What are we doing?" DeSimone repeatedly asked, his voice rising with each iteration. "We've learned what happens when these out-of-towners come in, get money from Rio Nuevo, and then leave. How many entrepreneurs came from out of town, got Rio Nuevo money, and then left? Chris Bianco, James Beard Award-winning guy—Rio Nuevo, Congress—this was the crowning achievement of downtown. Where are we?"
DeSimone pointed out that what's particularly galling is that local restaurants like Shishkabob House pay taxes that partially fund Rio Nuevo yet receive no assistance while outside businesses get millions in subsidies with questionable returns.
Isn't it fascinating how we always have millions for shiny new projects from out-of-towners, but can't seem to figure out how to support the local businesses that have been here through thick and thin? It's almost as if we're hoping some economic fairy godmother from Scottsdale will wave her magic burger spatula and transform our economic reality.
DeSimone specifically called out Fletcher McCusker (who contributed $10,000 to the Yes on Prop 414 campaign) for the disconnect between supporting increased taxes while simultaneously directing millions to out-of-town businesses: "Rio Nuevo has totally jumped the shark. What's happened is that the city of Tucson is a devolving economic mess, and it reminds me kind of of the empty cities of China. They built all those cities and no one lives there."
David Schweikert: Congress, Chaos, and Community Challenges
Congressman David Schweikert made a video appearance—looking surprisingly dapper as he put on a tie during the broadcast—discussing the recent Trump congressional address and the theatrical interruptions by Democrats like Representative Al Green.
"One of the things that happened on the Republican side is the free market, you know, freaks... those who are very fixated on the Republican Party being the party of markets, and those things has pretty much faded away," Schweikert observed. "The old days when the US Chamber of Commerce was a big gun in Republican politics, they disappeared almost a decade ago."
Nothing says “free markets” like tariffs!
Their conversation ventured into the fascinating disconnect between politicians' public and private personas. Schweikert noted that many representatives who appear combative on camera are actually reasonable and intelligent in person:
"The person you see on television is not the person that an idiot like me ends up working with or negotiating with," Schweikert explained. "I used to get to sit almost next to Maxine Waters... The person you see on television, you know, the finger waving, the accent, this, that—that's not the same person you have a conversation with. Her, you know, she lives in a multi-multi-million dollar house, her husband's a banker... The crazy thing is she was actually much smarter than you might have thought."
Imagine that—the people who play cartoonish villains on TV are complex human beings capable of nuanced thought. Who would have guessed that the professional wrestling spectacle of modern politics might be—gasp—somewhat performative?
The conversation then turned to the challenges facing the Republican Party, particularly at the local level, where meetings often devolve into procedural arguments rather than actionable strategy:
"Our LD meeting had like a hundred people in it and we're just talking and fussing, but no one had any interest in actually going into the neighborhood that night... My wife walks across the street to the McDonald's that's in the parking lot. There's like 15 Democrats holding their district meeting at the McDonald's. You know what they did? They talked for a couple minutes and she watched them, they handed out clipboards, and they went out and walked in the neighborhood. Who actually moved that district more?"
There's nothing quite like watching a political party debate the punctuation in their bylaws while the opposition is out knocking on doors. It's like arguing about the ideal shade of blue for your boat while it's actively sinking.
Brett Manley: Polysilicon, Politics, and Power Plays
Brett Manley, Executive Director of the Energy Fair Trade Coalition, joined to illuminate the intricate connection between semiconductor manufacturing and solar energy development—both relying heavily on polysilicon production.
"If a solar panel were a car, the engine of that car is the wafer which is made of polysilicon," Manley explained with crystal clarity. "Polysilicon is also the prime ingredient for semiconductor chips. The kind of chips that TSMC makes."
He outlined the challenges of domestic production versus imports from China (particularly from the Xinjiang region with its problematic human rights issues):
"In China, this material comes from the Xinjiang region where they're having the Uyghur genocide issues, which is why it's prohibited from importation in the United States," Manley noted, adding that American production primarily comes from Hemlock in Michigan and Wacker in Tennessee.
When DeSimone asked about government subsidies for green energy and EVs, Manley offered a measured critique:
"You really have kind of two lanes," he explained. "You have the enterprise, large-scale project designed to help the grid lane which is really government projects... And then you have the small... The big mistake I think the Biden administration made was they put a lot of subsidies on the end product, the manufactured product, the panel you see in your house, but they didn't really help all of the components that go into that."
Fascinating how we always seem to subsidize the shiny thing consumers can see rather than the vital supply chain that makes it possible. It's like funding the frosting while ignoring the cake—sure, it looks pretty, but try serving just frosting at your next birthday party.
On electric vehicles versus hybrids, Manley suggested the private sector should lead innovation rather than government mandates: "When the government mandates the technology, any technology... you're really kind of opening up the chance that you made a mistake and you picked the wrong thing."
The Citizen Crusader: Dominic's Devastating Diagnosis
Perhaps the most powerful moment came when DeSimone played a clip of citizen Dominic Meijer addressing the Tucson City Council about Proposition 414. In three minutes, Meijer systematically dismantled the city's spending priorities with the precision of a master surgeon:
"City Manager Thomure called the city's stance on Prop 414 neutral, yet SWAT vehicles and police on overtime were used to promote it," Meijer pointed out. "The voter info pamphlet buried the one and only opposition under pages of Pro 414 arguments. Neutral? Hardly."
He continued with a devastating comparison: "The Urban Forestry Manager for the One Million Trees Initiative is listed on the city's website as making up to $95,000 annually. That's more than the police officers who risk their lives every single day to keep us safe, whose salary is listed at $65,000 annually."
Nothing says "priorities" quite like paying someone to count trees more than the people who literally put their lives on the line daily. But hey, at least we'll have shade while we're getting mugged!
DeSimone praised Meijer's comprehensive critique, adding his own colorful analogy: "This goes back to who said it recently—it's like giving more money to someone who's addicted to crack. Just kind of an addict who is just not functioning at all. That's what 414 is."
Ed Alexander: Red Cross Relief and Plisken Acres Problems
Ed Alexander, former Wake Up Tucson producer and current Red Cross volunteer, brought both earnestness and humor to the program as he shared updates about disaster relief efforts nationwide.
"We're still working the last two hurricanes down in the southeast," Alexander explained. "North Carolina—the riot is horrible. They got pounded by the hurricane. Then they got pounded by snow. And then they got pounded by FEMA."
Nothing like throwing in a little FEMA shade to brighten up a conversation about natural disasters. Because sometimes the second disaster is the one that shows up with clipboards and promises of help.
Alexander highlighted the benefits of blood donation during National Red Cross Month:
"When you go and donate blood or plasma, you'll get a free A1C reading back," he explained. "Because everyone's got... right under the pre-diabetic line. A lot of us are very, very close, and you don't want to go into stage diabetes."
The conversation took a darkly humorous turn when Alexander, introduced as the "Mayor of Plisken Acres" (his neighborhood in what they described as "the worst part of Tucson"), recounted a driver crashing through his backyard wall:
"Jump the curb. Went through the highlander into the wall. This is your backyard wall," Alexander gestured, building the scene. "He backed out. He's going down the street, and the blocks of the block wall are falling out of the back of each car."
Their banter about Tucson's deteriorating urban conditions included observations of visible homelessness, drug use, and crime—with Alexander quipping, "Let's tax us some more. They'll take care of all that stuff. They're so good at taking care of stuff."
Because clearly, what we need is another tax initiative to solve problems that the previous ten tax initiatives couldn't quite manage to fix. Perhaps if we call this one a "super-duper-extra-special-this-time-we-really-mean-it tax," it'll work differently!
Educational Exodus: Students Voting With Their Feet
DeSimone highlighted the Arizona Auditor General's report on school district spending, noting that while overall spending increased by $500 million to $13.1 billion, instructional spending actually decreased.
The report revealed truly alarming enrollment trends, particularly in TUSD:
TUSD enrollment plummeted from 60,000 students in 2020 to just 38,000 currently
They're losing approximately 1,000 students annually
Amphitheater School District has lost over 1,700 students in five years
Meanwhile, smaller districts like Flowing Wells showed better financial management:
TUSD experienced a $500 per student spending drop
Flowing Wells increased per-student spending by $532 during the same period
Vail School District increased per-student spending by $667
"So remember I just told you, TUSD was a $500 per kid drop in student spending. Little Flowing Wells, the little train that could, they're up $532 in the same time period," DeSimone noted. "So again, TUSD, as Rob Schneider said in the Water Boy, 'you suck again.'"
It takes a special kind of talent to spend more money overall while simultaneously spending less on actual instruction. It's like buying a bigger restaurant while serving smaller portions—technically impressive, practically useless.
Space Race Redux: Tucson's Missed Moonshot
In a particularly painful segment, DeSimone highlighted how even Yuma is poised to surpass Tucson in the space sector:
"Yuma, Arizona, is now going to be kicking our butt in the world of spaceports," DeSimone lamented, contrasting it with Tucson's failed balloon project. "We built a tetherball court right next to Tucson International Airport in their heavy airspace that we were going to tether balloons and float them up into the air from there."
Ah yes, our famous "tetherball court" approach to economic development—a perfect metaphor for Tucson's circular economic strategy that keeps us going around and around without actually moving forward.
Something to Ponder: A City at the Crossroads
As Phoenix secures $100 billion semiconductor investments and even Yuma positions itself as Arizona's "space city," we might ask ourselves some uncomfortable questions:
What would it take for Tucson to attract major corporate headquarters and billion-dollar investments? As one listener astutely commented: "What corporate headquarters are located in the Tucson region? Would the mayor of Tucson even support a major corporation moving its headquarters to Tucson?"
Perhaps we need to acknowledge that repeating "we don't want to be Phoenix" like a mantra for decades has worked too well—now we're struggling to be a functional Tucson.
If local businesses like Hi-Fi are closing due to "homelessness, drugs, and prostitution" (according to owner Hank Amos), how can we address these urban challenges without simply throwing more tax money at programs that haven't solved them yet?
Despite these frustrating fiscal follies and development disparities, there's always hope for our desert diamond in the rough. As Tucsonans, we possess a resilient spirit and unique character that continues to shine through adversity. Perhaps what we need isn't just more money from our wallets but more wisdom in how we spend it—and more willingness to learn from the successes of our neighboring communities while preserving what makes Tucson special.
What do you think Tucson needs to turn things around? Can we balance economic growth with preserving our community's character? Is it time to rethink our approach to development incentives? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Quotes:
"What are we doing? I think this is Fletcher McCusker's jump the shark moment for Rio Nuevo. You guys are done." — Chris DeSimone on Rio Nuevo spending $2.3 million to bring Cold Cheeseburgers and Beer to Park Place Mall
"The person you see on television is not the person that an idiot like me ends up working with or negotiating with... It's almost like they're actors." — Congressman David Schweikert on the disconnect between politicians' public and private personas
"In China, this material comes from the Xinjiang region where they're having the Uyghur genocide issues, which is why it's prohibited from importation in the United States." — Brett Manley explaining the ethical complications of polysilicon sourcing
"We closed down Hi-Fi last week because of homeless drugs and prostitution going all around our bar. It's gotten really bad, that bad down there." — Hank Amos, co-owner of Hi-Fi downtown, explaining why they shut down their business
"The Urban Forestry Manager for the One Million Trees Initiative is listed on the city's website as making up to $95,000 annually. That's more than the police officers who risk their lives every single day to keep us safe, whose salary is listed at $65,000 annually." — Dominic Meijer during his public comments at Tucson City Council
"We're becoming the metaphorical car alarm that no one pays attention to, and it may not be the winning message." — Senator John Fetterman criticizing his fellow Democrats' behavior during Trump's speech
People Mentioned:
Chris DeSimone - Host of Wake Up Live, critic of Tucson's economic development approach
"We built a tetherball court right next to Tucson International Airport in their heavy airspace that we were going to tether balloons and float them up into the air from there."
David Schweikert - U.S. Congressman from Arizona
"The data has gotten so good now you maybe only have 20 seats in America that really have a chance of swinging back and forth. We have two of them in Arizona."
Brett Manley - Executive Director of the Energy Fair Trade Coalition
"If a solar panel were a car, the engine of that car is the wafer which is made of polysilicon. Polysilicon is also the prime ingredient for semiconductor chips."
Ed Alexander - Former Wake Up Tucson producer, current Red Cross volunteer, "Mayor of Plisken Acres"
"Jump the curb. Went through the highlander into the wall... He's going down the street and the blocks of the block wall are falling out of the back of each car."
Fletcher McCusker - Chairman of Rio Nuevo
Criticized for contributing "$10,000 to Yes on 414" while also directing "$2.3 million to a Scottsdale company"
Dominic Meijer - Citizen who addressed Tucson City Council about Prop 414
"Tucson's leadership hasn't proven that they can manage funds responsibly. You have failed miserably. We the people have had enough."
Hank Amos - Co-owner of Hi-Fi downtown and Tucson Realty
"We closed down Hi-Fi last week because of homeless drugs and prostitution going all around our bar."
John Fetterman - U.S. Senator who criticized Democrats' behavior during Trump's speech
"We're becoming the metaphorical car alarm that no one pays attention to."
Maxine Waters - U.S. Representative mentioned by Schweikert as an example of someone whose public persona differs from private personality
Described by Schweikert as "actually much smarter than you might have thought"
Al Green - U.S. Representative who interrupted Trump's speech
Described as "shaking his cane like grandpa Simpson" during Trump's congressional address
