Editor’s note: Click on links to see video clips from the event.
Using a powerpoint presentation and her own personal experience working with Latino governmental leaders nationwide, Coconino County Treasurer Sarah Benatar made a powerful case that local leaders and residents should be prepared for a number of local impacts coming out of the Trump Administrations funding cuts to governmental programs nationwide.
Benatar made her remarks on April 21, 2025 at the Indivisible Northern AZ Community Gathering in Flagstaff.
She started her presentation with the impact Trump’s Tarriff Tax will have on local government and consumers. Quoting former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, “It’s the worst self-inflicted wound that I have ever seen.”
In her power point she said: “The real damage has already been done. This back-and-forth has shaken confidence in the U.S., left lingering uncertainty, created volatility in the markets, and left the world rattled.”
“Who do you think is being impacted by this?,” she asked. “US! Yes!,” adding that everyone in America will be impacted by these Tariff increases.
In other quotes provided by Indivisible Northern AZ:
Jobs and revenues lost, tourism cratering, loss of funding for local nonprofit organizations and a high chance of recession, these are some of the impacts of Trump policies are having locally and worldwide, Benatar said.
“It’s not a pretty picture,” she said, pointing out that most tourists to northern Arizona come from Canada and Mexico, two countries that Trump has gone out of his way to threaten.
“Foreign investors are not looking at us the way they used to,” she said.
“We need concrete stories of what this fiscally means,” Benatar said, inviting the public to share their stories. “The Republicans and Trump do not care about fiscal policy or working people ….We need to stop being shy of talking about fiscal impacts.”
She said if we don’t do something now we are going to be stuck with these policies and their impacts for at least the next decade.
Benatar also quoted former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen:
“We had a well-functioning economy & Trump has taken a wrecking ball to it.”
She also noted that former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers puts the chance of a recession at six out of ten.
Benatar suggested that we follow Americans for Responsible Growth to see how state treasurers and financial officers are fighting for taxpayers.
