Former congressional titan Dick Armey’s latest attack on Referendum C is almost a parody of the fuzzy math practiced in Washington where Congress added trillions to the federal debt while he postured as a fiscal conservative.
The Post published Armey’s latest anti-tax ruminations on Monday in the belief that even out-of-state lobbyists are entitled to comment on events in Colorado. He offers a tantalizing vision of small government, but a close look reveals that to carry his point, Armey errs on every important fact about our state finances.
Armey claims that “it is not debatable whether Referendum C is a tax hike … .” Well, he’s already debated the governor, so he certainly knows better than that. There is no increase in state taxes. Indeed, the ballot language Coloradans will vote on begins with these words: “Without raising taxes and in order to pay for education, health care, roads, bridges and other strategic transportation projects … shall the state be authorized to retain and spend all state revenues in excess of the constitutional limitation for the next five fiscal years?”
Today, Colorado’s income tax rate is 4.63 percent and its state sales tax is 2.9 percent. If C and D both pass, the income tax will still be 4.63 percent and the sales tax 2.9 percent. How do you increase revenue without raising taxes? The same way they do it in Texas. The economic pie is growing as we recover from the 2001-02 recession.
Oh, by the way, income tax and sales tax cuts already signed by Gov. Owens will save taxpayers more than $6 billion through 2010. Want still another tax cut? Then join Owens in voting for Referendum C, which cuts the income tax to 4.5 percent in 2011, after Colorado’s economy has recovered.
Armey claims the state budget increased by 7 percent this year to “$15.2 billion.” He’s off by $7 billion. Those gross figures include earmarked federal funds and “cash funds” ranging from little Joey’s college tuition to Mary’s fishing licenses. These are user fees, do not support the general state treasury and can’t be diverted from their purposes. Deduct Mesa State tuitions and the like and the state general fund is all of $6.2 billion.
Mike Mauer, the legislature’s chief economist, reports this year’s budget rose 4.2 percent, and even that includes $227 million from the expanded tobacco tax to support health programs. Subtract that and the state budget actually grew 2.5 percent on an “apples to apples” basis.
Finally, Armey claims that “the Democrats who control the House and Senate voted to force the Referendum C tax hike on the people.” Actually, the measure passed with 72 percent of the legislature in support. The GOP sponsors included all the party’s fiscal experts, and all present or former GOP members of the Joint Budget Committee.
Armey’s Washington-style partisanship would airbrush these Republicans out of the picture, but Coloradans can be proud of their vision and political courage.
