Ever since Governor Bill Ritter signed the executive order laying out a welcome mat to unionize state government, I've wondered if and when the Colorado WINS labor organizing coalition would lobby for the Democratic majority in state government to entrench their status through legislation. Given the state of the budget and the tons of political capital Democrats are spilling to push through their series of tax hikes -- one of which is even opposed by Pueblo labor interests -- prospects for comprehensive union legislation have faded dramatically. But Colorado WINS has other means to extend its reach, and grow its dues-paying membership base, inside Colorado government. As Dave Ohmart of Colorado LOSES points out, reluctant state … [Read more...]
Colorado Democrats Dig Themselves Deeper on Dirty Dozen Tax Hikes
At this point, ramming through the Dirty Dozen tax hikes has Colorado Democrats in such political hot water, why not just go ahead and swim in it? That must be the reasoning behind the effort to make things even worse by changing the temporary tax hikes into permanent tax hikes. It used to be about half the bills would eventually reduce the respective tax rates to their current level. Not anymore:Republicans believe that Democrats are using the current budget crisis as an excuse to permanently raise taxes on Colorado families and businesses. “If the tax increases are only meant to help the state fill the budget gap, as Democrats claim, then why aren’t we making them all temporary?” asked Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield. Then … [Read more...]
On TV at 8:30 PM Tonight to Discuss Public School Financial Transparency
Tonight (Friday) at 8:30 PM on Denver's KBDI Channel 12, you can watch me make a guest appearance on Independent Thinking with host Jon Caldara. The topic? Jefferson County Public Schools' new, front-of-the-pack financial transparency website. For more -- including my podcast interview with fellow guest, Jeffco CFO Lorie Gillis, and my new paper on the topic of school financial transparency -- please visit Ed Is Watching. The lonely Friday crowd can make your popcorn in plenty of time for tonight's 8:30 showing. For everyone else, get your TiVos/recorders ready or watch the episode re-air on Monday, 1:30 PM, on KBDI. … [Read more...]
Colo. Senate GOP Unveils Alternative to Tax Hikes without Further K-12 Cuts
Within the past hour Colorado Senate Republicans have unveiled a sensible, taxpayer-friendly alternative to the Democrats' efforts to ram through the "dirty dozen" tax hikes. From the press release:Republicans in the Colorado Senate today unveiled a proposal to reduce government spending as an alternative to the Democrats’ plan to raise taxes on the businesses and citizens of Colorado. “Democrats keep saying that in order to balance the budget ‘everything is on the table,’” said Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud. “Republicans want to make sure that a reduction in government spending is on the table and thoroughly debated before we raise taxes.” The GOP proposal includes a 0.25 percent reduction in state payroll spending for the … [Read more...]
Edgar Antillon Gains Winning Issue from Cherylin Peniston’s Tax Hike Votes
One of the Democrat representatives who voted for 7 of the 8 tax increases that passed the state house Friday is state representative Cherylin Peniston (D-Adams County). Peniston voted for every one of the tax hikes except, strangely, the one on non-essential food containers. To me, House District 35 is a darkhorse race to keep an eye on. Republican challenger Edgar Antillon faces the daunting odds of a district that is 46 percent Democratic to 22 percent Republican, but he's looking to run a focused and energetic campaign to oust Peniston from office. Antillon contacted me yesterday after the votes had been recorded to explain his basic philosophical distinction with the incumbent on these tax hike votes. He emphasized that the … [Read more...]
New Tarrance Poll: Trouble for Colo. Dems Pushing Dirty Dozen Tax Hikes
Yes, the poll is from the McInnis think tank, but if this new Tarrance Group survey (PDF) is anywhere near accurate, it's a dark day for the Colorado Democrats. First, the 65 percent of Colorado voters who believe "that a recession is no time to raise taxes, and that government should reduce spending with a six percent 'across the board' cut to balance the budget" rather than "that taxes and fees should be raised on businesses in order to protect funding for key services like health care, education, and transportation" (chosen by only 25 percent of respondents) breaks down as follows: … [Read more...]
Colorado Democrats Accidentally Turn Tax Hike Into Tax Cut … “D’Oh!”
That's got to be how the Democratic trio of Governor Bill Ritter, Speaker Terrance Carroll, and House Finance Committee Chairman Joel Judd have to be feeling after knowing they accidentally turned one of their tax hike bills into a tax cut and therefore had to kill it. The majority party under the Golden Dome couldn't let a pesky problem like that make it into the light of day. You can't make this stuff up, folks. Yet somehow it escaped even the watchful eye of the Denver Post's "The Spot" blog. Oh, well.... … [Read more...]
Colorado’s Michael Bennet and Mark Udall Vote to Boost My Children’s Debt
Thanks to Americans for Limited Government, brings our attention to something you may have missed, namely a key vote in the U.S. Senate last Thursday:It was also on this day that the Senate voted 60-39 to increase the national debt ceiling by another $1.9 trillion to $14.294 trillion. It is the largest debt ceiling increase in U.S. history — in human history, in fact — totaling even more than the projected federal budget deficit for 2010, which CBO states will be an eye-popping $1.35 trillion.... The vote was straight down party lines, with Senate Democrats enabling the Barack Obama administration to continue the federal spending spree, putting my children and grandchildren deeper in debt. Yes, that means the Appointed One Michael … [Read more...]
Vulnerable Colo. House Democrats Push Through “Dirty Dozen” Tax Hikes
Update, 2/2: Americans for Tax Reform links back here. They have taken a real interest in "educating all those voting in the districts represented by the aforementioned lawmakers as to how they voted on this tax package during the 2010 campaign season." ATR's help is much appreciated. Saturday I highlighted the Democratic House seats in the Colorado state legislature most vulnerable in the upcoming election. Today the House voted (with a 37-27-1 Democratic majority) to approve eight of the "dirty dozen" tax hike bills on: Direct mail (1189); Candy and soft drinks (1191); Software downloads (1192); Online sales (1193); "Non-essential" food containers (1194); Insecticides, pesticides and bull semen (1195); Alternative fuel vehicles (1196); … [Read more...]
Tax Foundation on “Dirty Dozen” Tax Bills: Seven Are Bad and Two Are Good
Update, 2/2: It seems that HB 1198 in particular was too good -- so good, Colorado's legislative Democrats had to kill it. As Government Underground skillfully reports, the Democrats accidentally had a bill drafted that would repeal not only the AMT credit but the AMT itself, and thus are "not even competent enough to raise our taxes as they would like." If it weren't our tax dollars at stake, it would be downright hilarious. I have tried to make the point before -- if inartfully -- that some of the "dirty dozen" tax hikes are worse policy than others. The fact they are being rammed through so quickly with so little deference to the concerns of large numbers of citizens showing up in protest has earned them all the "dirty" … [Read more...]
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