Understanding the Constitution: the 14th Amendment: Part I
- November 15, 2021
Increasing state spending as population grows assumes that larger populations require more government services. This may not always be the case, but it at least refrains from taxing people simply because they work harder.
READ MOREby Jon Caldara The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights does NOT limit tax and spending. In fact, TABOR allows Colorado governments, all 3,700 of them, to rake in and keep unlimited amounts of money and heap unlimited amounts of debt upon your children. It requires you merely be asked first. That’s it. Ask first. You won’t
READ MOREby Jon Caldara Seeing is believing. So, it’s no wonder many in government prefer to work in the dark. It’s not just that they don’t want us to know what they’re fully doing. They don’t want us to know what we’re fully paying. The reason for this emotional manipulation is clear. If the cost of
READ MORESchool finance is a constant topic of interest in Colorado education discussions. However, the complex nature of school finance means that many do not feel adequately prepared to meaningfully participate in these conversations. In his latest publication, Senior Education Policy Analyst Ross Izard provides the information needed to have honest, accurate discussions of Colorado’s school finance
READ MOREOver two decades have passed since Colorado voters adopted The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights in 1992. TABOR allows government spending to grow each year at the rate of inflation-plus-population. Government can increase faster whenever voters consent. Likewise, tax rates can be increased whenever voters consent. This Issue Paper analyzes TABOR’s effect on state government spending and taxes by examining three decades: The 1983-92 pre-TABOR decade; the first decade of TABOR, 1993-2002; and the second decade, 2003-12. The final decade included the largest tax increase in Colorado history, enacted as Referendum C in 2005. Decade-2 was also marked by increasing efforts to evade TABOR by defining nearly 60% of the state budget as “exempt” from TABOR.
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