Mount Virtus

With a little shameless self-promotion, I tie it all together on the longest day of the calendar year.

First, news broke earlier this week that Gov. Bill Ritter has done the inevitable, by agreeing to appeal a district court ruling that came to the clear and appropriate conclusion that Ritter erred in raising school property taxes without voter permission. Sure, I could link to lots of articles that highlight this news, but only the one in the Denver Daily News quotes the author of this blog:

“I believe the district court judge did the right thing by recognizing that Colorado voters should be asked before they endure a tax increase,” said Ben DeGrow, a policy analyst at the Independence Institute. “It’s simply a matter of honoring the state constitution.”

Don’t take my word for it. The Attorney General came to the same conclusion. The only response from the governor’s spokesman?:

But Ritter’s office believes the case is more complex than how the Independence Institute sees it.

“It’s a complex case,” said Evan Dreyer, Ritter’s spokesman. “The supreme court is a more proper venue for a full airing on a constitutional issue like this.” [Link Added]

With supreme court decisions like the one highlighted in my op-ed in today’s Greeley Tribune, you can understand the confidence of our Democrat governor:

Teachers unions and other labor groups do not deserve special treatment under our state’s election laws, even if some judges seem determined to give it to them.

On May 19, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that unions could spend member dues money to provide free services to partisan political campaigns.

My reasoning in the op-ed is better developed, but the conclusion is roughly the same as my initial reaction to the outrageous 5-2 ruling in Rutt v Poudre Education Association:

The state supreme court has just sent a clear signal that it’s okay for Big Labor to coordinate with (overwhelmingly Democrat) political candidates, allowing their campaigns to outsource the cost of electioneering activities to be covered by general union dues collected from members.

More clearly than ever, unions are on the advance in Colorado - and this time at the expense of fair elections and individual rights….

The other thing in common between these two issues? Both are intricately tied into the debate about public education, but actually have nothing to do with education per se: Bill Ritter’s “Colorado Children’s Amendment” property tax hike that guarantees no money for schools, and a labor union built around public education tax dollars with a tilted electoral advantage over the taxpayers who fund the system.

Good thing summertime is here, giving opportunity for longer and more sustained outdoor mental health breaks. Speaking of which, thankfully the weekend is almost here.

A couple days ago I had the pleasure of pointing out the defects in Denver Post editorialist Bob Ewegen’s arguments against Right-to-Work. I wrote:

Even more telling than comparisons of static earnings are rates of growth. In both job growth and in overall economic growth, Right-to-Work states have performed better.

I therefore found it interesting that another insightful blogger only last week posted an analysis of new economic growth data. Here’s the chart Will Franklin produced showing just how much Right-to-Work states outperform states that allow union coercion:

Combined with the other flaws in Bob Ewegen’s argument, this interesting find only makes the case for Right-to-Work look even stronger.

From KRDO in Colorado Springs:

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter has notified prosecutors that more spending violations have been uncovered from his 2006 campaign, and that a former aide has written his campaign a check for $10,340 to correct the problem.

Sure, it’s not as much as the $200,000+ illegally spent out of Bill Ritter’s inaugural fund that got him into hot water in the first place. But every time another one of these campaign violations trickles out - or word spreads that a computer with key facts pertaining to the investigation conveniently disappeared - it further calls into question the governor’s leadership.

If Bill Ritter can’t provide oversight to his own campaign funds, how can he provide oversight to the state budget and taxpayers’ money?

In his weekend column, liberal Denver Post editorialist Bob Ewegen carried the water for Big Labor leaders who are working to undermine Colorado’s Right-to-Work initiative. Once you move past his weak attempt at irony, you find problems with the facts he chose to use to make his case:

If you’re lucky enough to find a job at all, the only right the Coors plan gives you is the right to work for less. Quite a bit less, actually. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that an average worker in the 22 states with right-to-work laws earns about $7,131 a year less than workers in free bargaining states ($30,656 versus $37,787). Nationwide, union members earn $9,308 a year more than non-union workers, $41,652 versus $32,344.

These facts aren’t in dispute. To be fair, however, there is considerable controversy among labor economists about whether right-to-work laws cause low wages or whether economic backwaters are more likely to pass anti-union laws. Probably, the truth is a mixture of both.

Right-to-work states have a poverty rate of 13.5 percent, compared with 12.2 percent in free bargaining states. The infant mortality rate is 7.94 percent higher and the uninsured population rate is 15 percent higher on average in right-to-work states. And they spend $1,680 less per pupil in elementary and secondary school.

Well, Bob Ewegen’s recitation overlooks some key points, among them:
Read the rest of this entry »

Jason Janz - a personal acquaintance I met through his launching and running the successful Christian website Sharper Iron - wrote a Speakout published in today’s Rocky Mountain News about Denver’s upcoming Juneteenth celebration:

I am not African-American and I am going to Juneteenth. In fact, I believe that people of all ethnicities should attend if they are able. Why? Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom and equality, values that every American should embrace. Just because the peak of the civil rights movement has passed does not mean that racial tension in our community is gone. There is still much work to do. By standing next to the African-American community, you are showing solidarity with them as a partner for peace and harmony in our city.

I also believe that celebrating another culture will enrich your life. Learning about another culture will teach you much about your own. You cannot fully understand your own culture unless you understand others. Saturday will be a study for you in similarities and differences. You will see commonalities that show that all people are more alike than different. At the same time, you will see the differences between your culture and African-American culture as unique gifts from God to make this city a beautiful place to live and work.

Jason and his family left their more comfortable place in a suburban church ministry to start the multi-ethnic Providence Bible Church. If you are a Christian believer, please consider supporting the Janz family and their labor of love with your prayers. Or maybe you can join them at this Saturday’s Juneteenth celebration.

Joshua Sharf yesterday had the mild misfortune of having to endure our Independence Institute’s candidate briefing. Glad to know my highly-compressed 15-minute presentation on school finance and teacher quality only came across as “slightly incoherent,” and that Joshua seems to have had a good time.

In a column for the Sterling Journal-Advocate, newly elected Republican National Committeeman Mark Hillman (be ready to be greeted by his smiling face) asks the nagging question on the minds of many Colorado taxpayers:

Is it typical political spin or something more tangible that makes Gov. Bill Ritter so incredibly confident that the Colorado Supreme Court will vindicate his strategy to raise your property taxes without your permission?

If you get a chance, read the whole thing.

Last week I similarly asked what Bill Ritter knows about the court’s coming ruling that makes him so confident to wager taxpayer money on the previous ruling being overturned. I’ll second Mark Hillman’s question, but I’m not very confident the governor is going to give an answer.

Gov. Bill Ritter’s November 2007 executive order at last has successfully completed the loop in unionizing state government in a very un-democratic fashion. Today’s Denver Post reports:

At least 22,500 secretaries, prison guards and other state employees will soon fall under a union contract following a vote tallied Wednesday, though the majority of eligible workers didn’t cast a ballot….

About 6,900 state workers from a pool of 22,500 who were eligible participated in the election, which gave them a choice between Colorado WINS [editorial comment: "Big Labor WINS, Colorado LOSES"] or no union representation. Of those, 5,481 supported the union.

That’s right. Fewer than one-quarter of eligible state employees voted to be unionized. This is a smaller number than the 30 percent who signed the union petition cards to hold the election in the first place!

Labor guru Mike Antonucci opts for the biting, cynical approach to characterizing the election returns:

In favor of unionizing - 5,481 (24.4%)

Against unionizing - 1,419 (6.3%)

Don’t give a crap - 15,600 (69.3%)

“Backroom” Bill Ritter opened the door to unionizing state employees without any sort of public debate, submitting a Friday afternoon executive order. More than six months later, the big election of state employees takes place, and at first glance it appears that most of them “don’t give a crap.”

We can only hope that Ritter lives up to his promise not to impose agency fees on non-union workers, because they might start caring then. Regardless of whether he holds to that promise or not, more and more Colorado taxpayers should start caring as the price of government services goes up.

Last week I highlighted the story of two Adams County commissioners on the take from the owner of a company with $12 million in no-bid county government contracts. I’ve since discovered another local blogger, who has offered some strong, unsolicited advice to commissioners Skip Fischer and Alice Nichol:

Accepting a contribution from the beneficiary of the no-bid contract creates, at the least, an appearance of graft.

If you aren’t going to do your job properly, at the minimum you, should act shocked that it happened, promise to get to the bottom of it and take the appropriate punitive and corrective actions. And make it completely obvious that you do not benefit in any way from the misdeed. Colluding with another Commissioner on stonewalling and keeping the money only make both look worse.

The Commissioner’s Mom’s should have told them this, but I guess we will have to do it for them. At this point resignation AND returning the money would be the only way to restore anyone’s trust. That, and a thorough independent investigation.

The only way to get rid of these fleas is to come clean, don’t you think?

All the more reason for government contracting reform.

One of Colorado’s top state legislative races this year - a very high target on the state Republican party’s list of potential takeovers - is Senate District 19 in north Jefferson County. The race pits Republican businesswoman Libby Szabo against liberal union activist and state school board member Evie Hudak.

Evie Hudak’s perceived strength in this race is the education issue, but if a 1999 commentary she wrote for the Denver Post gives any evidence, she holds a narrow, prejudiced, and uninformed view of one major type of education chosen by parents: homeschooling. Here are some excerpts: Read the rest of this entry »

“Four bucks a gallon”: it’s the catchphrase that hits home all across America. Even putting the best face on it that they can, even federal government officials admit that gasoline prices figure to remain high for the foreseeable future.

Yet on the same day, Democrats on a Congressional committee kill a proposal that would allow the United States to expand its domestic energy supply. I would say they’re stuck on stupid, but it’s far more likely that Nancy Pelosi, Mark Udall, and the Democrats are glad to see gasoline prices high, as they kowtow to radical environmentalist special interest groups.

To top it off, the Democrats’ Presidential candidate Barack Obama makes a ridiculous statement suggesting that rising gasoline prices is a good thing. Obama certainly is struggling to come up with an answer.

On the other hand, Republicans in Congress have come forward with an appealing economic proposal that includes increased domestic energy exploration. But those of us in fly-over country remain skeptical about how serious the GOP is about achieving such reforms. And even if they are serious, it’s not likely they can do much to move the ball forward, especially since the reins of power don’t appear to be theirs for awhile.

Meanwhile, the Republican at the top of the ticket, John McCain, is really struggling to articulate a credible message on the energy issue. Powerline’s John Hinderaker sees an opportunity for the Republican candidate and offers him some sound advice: Will he take it? Don’t hold your breath.

Unless something dramatically changes, the energy issue figures to drive this year’s election. Will Republicans seize or waste the opportunity? Just don’t wager a gallon of gas. It might be worth more than you can afford to lose come November.

Good news from the north. Fort Collins voters have overwhelmingly rejected the costly and ill-advised proposal to mandate collective bargaining and binding arbitration on city employees. Unions are on the move - they have the ear of our Governor “Backroom” Bill Ritter - but the people have spoken out clearly against the expansion of public employee unionism.

Meanwhile, a disturbing sidelight: a Fort Collins blogger points out that the local rag couldn’t bother to report on a local Republican candidate’s outspoken opposition to the measure:

Do you mean to tell me that the Coloradoan doesn’t believe it’s important for the citizens of Fort Collins to know where their candidates stand on public-employee unions? (This is, after all, a major statewide issue as well.)

There’s not a reporter over there on Riverside who even considered attending a press conference or asking some simple follow-up questions? (There was no Coloradoan reporter at the [Matt] Fries press conference.)

Is this neglect? Let’s hope so. Because the alternate explanation - that the Coloradoan is staying silent because they’re afraid of having to get Bob Bacon, John Kefalas and Randy Fisher on the record on this important issue - would be even worse. It would be inexcusable bias. After all, Bacon, Kefalas and Fischer would be forced to either come out against the union or against what in 2006 was 65 percent of the voting public of Fort Collins.

Well, we do have an idea where Bob Bacon may stand.

Even the editorial boards of smaller Colorado newspapers, in places that are hardly bastion of rock-ribbed conservatism, are assailing Gov. Bill Ritter for his property tax hike. From an editorial in today’s Vail Daily:

Thanks to the state’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR), which stunts the growth of property taxes, those of us who own property in Eagle County shouldn’t expect to see our taxes skyrocket at the same rate as our property values without voter approval.

This year, however, taxpayers’ rights were usurped by Gov. Bill Ritter’s decision to freeze the statewide school district property tax rate. Because Eagle County has enjoyed a significant rise in property values — an average of about 40 percent countywide in the last two years — property owners here saw a spike in their property tax bills.

Not only was Ritter’s move a clear violation of the TABOR Amendment because it effectively raised taxes without voter approval, it didn’t benefit many of the state’s school districts. Funding for the Eagle County School District pretty much stayed the same. That’s because the state determines the amount of money each school district receives every year, then fills in what the districts can’t cover themselves.

What the mill levy freeze did is transfer the burden of funding Eagle County schools to local taxpayers and out of the state’s budget. The result? We paid $8 million more in property taxes to the school district. Meanwhile, the state’s contribution to Eagle County schools dropped by about $8 million.

But it’s for the children, right? The editorial goes on to explain that all Bill Ritter had to do was to ask voters first. Hopefully the Colorado Supreme Court comes down on the side of taxpayers.

It’s not just Democrat Governor Bill Ritter who is presuming to wager more than $100 million in taxpayer funds on his confidence in the state supreme court overturning a decision against his unconstitutional property tax increase. The Grand Junction Free Press reports about the lax attitude of a ranking Democrat incumbent from the Western Slope:

The appeal has not been scheduled, and Democratic Rep. Bernie Buescher of Grand Junction believes it’s too soon to make a plan for a change that may never come.

The article explains that the money collected starts to be spent on July 1. And while Republican lawmakers Rep. Steve King and Sen. Josh Penry want to work quickly to find a prudent solution, Bernie Buescher (pictured) has taken a lackadaisical approach to what to do with taxpayers’ money:

Calling a special session of the Legislature before the Supreme Court appeal is even scheduled would be premature, Buescher said. He speculated the timeline for the court case could be known in the next two weeks.

Buescher said he’s not ruling out finding a solution for dealing with the freeze being deemed unconstitutional May 30, but believes “if the Supreme Court should rule against the governor, the Legislature would have plenty of time to deal with the mill levy freeze.”

“Plenty of time”? I guess it’s “plenty of time” if you consider the money to belong to the government, even though Judge Christine Habas agrees with Attorney General John Suthers that Bill Ritter’s tax hike violates the state constitution. Ritter and the Democrats failed to ask first before collecting additional tax money from property owners, and now they act as if the money is rightfully theirs. How dare we question them!

At the same time, the State Board of Education decides this Thursday whether to appeal the district court decision or to leave Gov. Ritter all alone in defending his unconstitutional property tax hike.

While minority Republican legislators push for pro-active leadership on the property tax funding issue, Gov. Bill Ritter sits on his hands and Bernie Buescher makes excuses. Now you know the reason why Republican challenger Laura Bradford has a decent chance to upset Buescher in this fall’s election.

It sounds like Republican Party ideals are not exactly in their heyday in Montana (H/T Volokh Conspiracy):

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Bob Kelleher wants a “nonviolent revolution” to overthrow the foundation of American government. He favors enormous, FDR-style government work programs to reduce poverty; he wants to nationalize the American oil and gas industries and supports government-run, socialized medicine. He has little nice to say about President Bush or former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot.

Political scientists and the head of the Montana Republican Party say Kelleher, 85, isn’t really a Republican, at all.

And yet, two days ago, Kelleher beat five other, mostly conservative to mainstream GOP candidates to become the Republican who will take on Sen. Max Baucus in the fall.

Since John McCain is a strong favorite to win Montana’s three electoral votes, it looks like there will be a lot of vote-splitting this November in Big Sky Country.

But a socialist as the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate? Maybe one of my Montana conservative friends can fill me in. Craig? Charles?