It’s not like we’re trying to find out what’s really hidden in Area 51. And I understand the secret to a great marriage is…sadly, a secret. There are some things we should be able to know.
We just want taxpayers to know when they’ve been taxed.
I challenged the Democrats in the state legislature to live up to their rhetoric on transparency with their stealth Hospital Provider “Fee,” a secret tax on your hospital stay.
While current law prohibits this “fee” from being a separate line item on hospital billing statements, Senate Bill 38 would’ve removed the ban and allowed hospitals to line item this “fee” on your bill, so you could see just how much your lawmakers are charging you.
House Minority Leader Hugh McKean joined me in our Studio B Bar to talk about why a simple transparency measure is so important.
So, of course, the bill was killed, assassinated really, by Democrats earlier this week. Why don’t the progressives want hospital patients to know how much they’ve been taxed? Hmm.
Speaking of transparency, I sat down with State Representative Tim Geitner about his bill to allow (now get ready for this one) parents to see their kid’s curriculum.
A Tale of Two Cities
Our friends at Truth in Accounting have taken a look at the financial shape of America’s city governments. The punchline is, well, awful.
They add up a city’s assets and liabilities and issue it a fiscal health grade. Unfunded pensions is what cripples most cities. And what of Colorado’s three biggest?
- Aurora earned a strong “B” and the 5th best spot for their fiscal health. They actually have enough assets to cover their liabilities.
- Colorado Springs also earned a “B” and can cover their liabilities.
- Denver, like me in high school, earned a lackluster “C,” with a taxpayer burden of -$4,700 per citizen.
Read all about it HERE.
At Complete Colorado, guest columnist Colleen Hroncich from the Cato Institute explains how some Colorado school districts are trying to stifle school choice.
Meanwhile, columnist Rose Pugliese shows how Governor Polis’ actual agenda is the exact opposite of “affordable.”
And Joshua Sharf takes a look at a bill to regulate catalytic converters that appears to be an expensive environmental mandate masquerading as a theft prevention bill.
Constitution
Rob Natelson, our Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence, retired from his consulting practice recently, in part so he could spend more time in Colorado and at II. Great for us, bad for progressives.
Rob is currently writing a series of essays for The Epoch Times called “How the Supreme Court Rewrote the Constitution.” The series is about how the 1937-1944 Supreme Court disabled most of the Constitution’s limits on the federal government, including its spending, land-ownership, and regulatory powers, and was deeply complicit in the suppression of civil liberties. Those decisions led directly to the out-of-control Washington, D.C. we face today.
The series is being reprinted on the II website. As of this writing, The Epoch Times has published all seven essays and the II website has re-published five.
DO NOT READ THIS LONG JOKE
The population of this country is 327 million.
76 million are retired.
That leaves 251 million to do the work.
There are 48 million people who are permanently disabled.
Which leaves 203 million to do the work
There are 74 million children younger than 6
Which leaves 129 million to do the work
There are 95.2 million children and young adults in school.
Which leaves 33.8 million to do the work.
At any given time, there are roughly 4 million people on vacation
Which leaves 29.8 million to do the work
Of this, there are 15 million employed by the federal government, not including the military.
Leaving 14.8 million to do the work.
2.8 million are in the armed forces, preoccupied with North Korea and the Middle East.
Which leaves 12 million to do the work.
Take from that total the 10.8 million people who work for state and city governments.
And that leaves 1.2 million to do the work.
At any given time there are 188,000 people in hospitals.
Leaving 1,012,000 to do the work.
Now, there are 1,011,998 people in prisons.
That leaves just two people to do the work.
You and me.
And there you are,
Sitting on your ass,
At your computer, reading jokes.
Nice. Real nice.
Think Freedom!
-Jon
