You’ve seen the signs. You’ve probably seen the multi-million dollar TV advertising campaign. By now, you’re probably asking yourself,would voting for 60, 61, and 101 “kill jobs?”
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain
According to public reports, Coloradans for Responsible Reform have raised close to $7 MILLION to oppose these measures. That’s quite a bit of cash. So the question becomes… just who is funding the opposition? Turns out that 99.9% of their funding is coming from large corporations and groups who use the state to further line their wallets. Only 0.1% of their donations have come from private individuals. Many of these groups have donated several hundred thousand dollars to protect their special interests.
True or False?
The following are the three soundbites from the homepage of the Coloradans for Responsible Reform website:
1) “Amendment 61 shuts down our ability to build or expand our roads, schools, water facilities… all of our infrastructure.”
FALSE – the current economic crisis was caused by reckless borrowing. Colorado state debt has TRIPLED in the last 10 years and debt repayment costs have doubled… all without voter approval. The state is already disallowed from borrowing per the state constitution, however politicians have used clever re-wording to skirt the law. This amendment restores the constitution and voter control by requiring a balanced budget – no deficit spending in any form. Further, the amendment only affects that state and does still allow some borrowing by local government entities. The great depression, the current economic crises, and indeed all major financial catastrophes were derived from irresponsible borrowing. Do your part to protect against this destruction and vote YES on 61!
2) “Amendment 60 cuts school funding by more than a billion dollars a year”
FALSE – and completely specious conjecture. In fact school funding is directly addressed in the amendment and BY LAW there could be no cuts in school funding! The state has raised property taxes 183% since 1992 and seniors have been severely impacted by recent tax hikes. These tax increases have been implemented without voter approval. This amendment gives power back to voters to decide on their property taxes directly.
3) “Proposition 101 eliminates a major funding source for road and bridge construction across the state.”
False – the ‘fees’ assessed are not used to pay for these services. Politicians have levied an accelerating range of “fees” on Coloradans so that they could circumvent the requirement to obtain voter approval for what amounts to a tax increase. If the state cannot divert other revenues to cover the costs of road and bridge construction, it should ask the voters to decide on a tax increase – per our constitution!
Do 60 61 and 101 Kill Jobs?
No. This is merely a clever marketing message… no one wants to vote to “kill jobs.” These ballot issues ensure the long term stability of the state by requiring the state to operate in a fiscally responsible manner. It is a difficult battle, as the corporations which comprise the opposition have raised millions of dollars to confuse voters, while the supporters have very limited funds (a mere few thousand dollars) and are generally volunteers and individuals who simply care about the long term health of our state. Keep politicians responsible. Keep voters in charge. Keep corporations off of government welfare. Protect local business and local jobs… Vote YES on 60, 61, and 101.
Read more at CO Tax Reforms.
