Colorado Democrats Stick It to Taxpayers AND College Students

With Democrats in charge at the State Capitol, we get more reminders than we would like about their party leaders’ priorities: 1) Stick it to the taxpayer on the collection end; and 2) Use personal politics to stick it to certain users of state services on the distribution end. What does this add up to? Average Colorado citizens like you and I get stuck.

This morning’s reminder comes via Rocky Mountain Right, as it appears that statehouse Democrat lawmakers are using their dislike of new University of Colorado president Bruce Benson to undercut the students and faculty on Denver’s Auraria campus. Yes, Auraria funding was arbitrarily revoked, leaving a $120 million science facility construction site uncompleted.

If you recall, during the 2005 Referendum C tax hike election, Coloradans were told college students’ costs would rise if the measure didn’t pass – as the humorous Andrew Ripemoff reminds us:

In an October 6, 2005 Denver Post article, taxpayers were warned that failure to pass Ref. C could result in, (and this is a direct quote): “…possible tuition increases as high as $423 per semester for Colorado residents at the Boulder campus.” That sounds really ominous huh?

But now we know this new 9 1/2 percent tuition hike will mean that a student taking 15 hours of, say, engineering classes at CU-Boulder will see a tuition increase of $482.98 per semester. I see you’re eyes are glazing over, so let me diagram this out for you:

Democrat Talking Points:

Before Ref. C:
“You MUST vote for this. If not, tuition will be raised $423 per semester.”

After Ref. C passes:
“Thanks for your vote, but we’re going to raise tuition $482 per semester anyway.”

Isn’t that funny? You’d pay LESS tuition had Ref. C failed. Don’t you love the irony? Oh, um. Gosh. Sorry. OK, OK. I’m just the messenger. I, I, I can’t breathe. Can you please take your hands off my throat.

Taxpayers pay more. Students pay more. Yet the Democrats’ proposed state budget includes adding 1,334 new employees. Power and patronage are Democrat priorities. Forget the rest of us.