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You鈥檝e likely seen the new television ad from the pro-Proposition 208 campaign. In case you鈥檝e forgotten, Proposition 208 is from 4.5% to 8%–a 77.7% increase.

If you haven鈥檛 been following the back and forth over this initiative, you鈥檙e forgiven if you didn鈥檛 know its central provision amounts to the largest tax increase in Arizona history. The TV ad doesn鈥檛 mention it at all.

Instead, viewers are told that the initiative would restore education funding. Left out of the script is that Proposition 208鈥檚 tax increase on small business would deliver such a shock to state revenues that future education funding would be put at tremendous risk. Also left out is that early childhood, community colleges, and universities are left with peanuts.

Proponents also fail to inform viewers that they are relying on the section of tax code with the greatest volatility, leaving no guarantee for funding from year to year and no way for school districts to budget with any predictability. If voters want to deliver a boost in teachers鈥� contractual pay, they won鈥檛 get it from Proposition 208.

The ad touts Proposition 208鈥檚 accountability requirements, saying that funds would be 鈥渧oter-protected.鈥� That has nothing to do with accountability. It鈥檚 a statement of Arizona鈥檚 existing law that makes it virtually impossible to change a voter-passed initiative. There鈥檚 a reason for this obfuscation. There鈥檚 absolutely no accountability in this initiative. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

The ad promises a lot. Political ads often do. What the ad doesn鈥檛 do is answer how it will deliver.

A political ad urging passage of an initiative that proposes the largest income tax increase in state history that doesn鈥檛 mention the tax increase at all? Unlike the script, that says a lot.

Glenn Hamer is president and CEO of the Arizona 小红帽直播app of Commerce and Industry