The state has enough tax money to give film subsidies to multi-millionaire film directors like Quentin Tarantino, to give cash to rich guys to buy Teslas, and to give free health insurance to healthy men with jobs. Yet somehow, we don’t have the money to fix our crumbling roads. And now with the Grand Betrayal of Republican leadership in the state senate, our taxes have been raised by over half a billion dollars per year without even asking voters. But, the state still isn’t funding road construction, which, unlike giving cash to filmmakers, is a core function of government.
Our “Fix Our Damn Roads” proposal forces the legislature to do the one thing they seem unwilling to do: re-prioritize spending rather than going around the voters to raise taxes. So far, our proposal has scared away all the competing “transportation” tax increases (and there were a ton of them) from being on this fall’s ballot. So, in that sense, mission accomplished!
But we didn’t file this citizen’s initiative just to play defense. We are committed to bringing it to the voters and getting legislators to do what they are so hesitant to do. I had hoped we could get it on this fall’s ballot. But, with the deadline fast approaching, the reality is that there just isn’t enough time to get all the petitioning done with the margins we need. So, we’ll be re-filing the initiative for the 2018 ballot, which will give us the time we need to get the job done right.
As it turns out, gun training for teachers makes international news. We were proud to help our friends at Coloradans for Civil Liberties put on their first, three-day FASTER training for school employees (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response ). When seconds count, the police are only minutes away. This training helps teachers respond to an active shooter situation while also training them how to use their own guns to save the lives of children. The large response has been immensely positive. Teachers who want to protect kids should have better options than just throwing their bodies in front of bullets. We’re going to make sure they have those options. Look for many more FASTER trainings in Colorado.
The Denver Post is calling for the government to make Denver housing more affordable. Of course, it was governmental policies that helped make housing pricey in the first place. Read my latest for the Post discussing whining Millennials wanting the city to subsidize their hip loft living.
And don’t forget, check out Devil’s Advocate this Friday night at 8:30 p.m. on Colorado Public Television Channel 12!
Think Freedom!
Jon
