Two separate debates Tuesday served to clarify Referendum C, the biggest issue on the Nov. 1 ballot, for anyone still scratching their heads over state fiscal reform.
Anti-C twins Joe Stengel and Jon Caldara assured audiences that Colorado’s budget is not in a crisis. Stengel, the House Republican leader, said the state could simply stop buying up unnecessary open space with lottery proceeds and instead funnel that money into higher education. (That’d be unconstitutional, but never mind that.) Plus, he suggested, the state could shutter some state agencies, such as the Department of Local Affairs, which handles emergency management and rural development.
Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, suggested the state could sell some of its buildings to make ends meet. Declare independence from capital assets!
Voters who favor such short-sighted financial Band-Aids will surely want to vote “no” on Nov. 1. The rest of us will want to vote “yes.”
The state already collects enough revenue to sustain a viable government without selling short its programs or selling off its assets. It’s just not allowed to use the funds due to provisions of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
Approving Referendum C will defeat the anti-tax twins’ draconian ideas with no increase in tax rates.
