Colorado Rebukes Norquist & Co.

4:11 pm EST November 2nd, 2005 | Uncategorized | 14 Comments

Supply side “economics” meets reality, and reality wins

Colorado residents have voted to suspend their Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, the strictest government spending limit in the nation, and give up more than $3 billion in tax refunds to help the state bounce back from a recession.

Fiscal conservatives were dismayed at the outcome Tuesday night and worried about its impact on other states considering similar spending limits.

But supporters said Colorado couldn’t afford to vote no, not with higher education, health care and transportation already suffering from millions of dollars in budget cuts.

“It means we can join 49 other states recovering from the recession, we can make up some of the cuts,” said Republican Gov. Bill Owens, who stunned his own party by joining Democrats in crafting the ballot measure.

>> TABOR not good for Missouri, group says
>> So-Called Taxpayers Bill of Rights is Proven Failure
>> Colorado voters suspend landmark limit on government spending

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14 Responses to “Colorado Rebukes Norquist & Co.”

  1. jnfr says:
    November 2, 2005 at 4:11 pm

    I’m in Colorado too, and definitely all kinds of outside-the-state forces ramped up the PR to try and defeat this. I’m proud of my state for consisting supporting education, health care, and transportation issues.

  2. Quaker in a Basement says:
    November 2, 2005 at 4:11 pm

    Several of the anti-government big guns were involved in trying to defeat this measure–at my house, we had several recorded calls from Grover Norquist. Dick Armey was also involved in the campaign to keep the spending limits intact.

    Now that voters have passed the measure to relax the spending limits, the drown-it-in-the-bathtub crowd is brandishing a threat to take it to court.

    So much for “settling it at the ballot box,” eh?

  3. jnfr says:
    November 2, 2005 at 6:11 pm

    Call me crazy if you like, but I don’t mind paying taxes when I know the money is going for something we really need. Colorado has one of the leanest state budgets in the nation, and the money from this Tabor repeal is clearly earmarked for education and infrastructure. I believe that education and infrastructure are things worth paying for, in fact, that they are invaluable investments in our state’s future.

  4. AlexCorrigan says:
    November 2, 2005 at 6:11 pm

    It looks like a case of (some of) the people finally waking up to the self-destructive stupidity of the right wing’s “hooray for me, f–k the rest of you” approach to ‘community.’ Vote count shenanigans notwithstanding, we’ll see how many stupid a–hole holdouts there are in 2006.

  5. Frank_D says:
    November 2, 2005 at 6:11 pm

    So I guess Ward Churchill’s not the only nut in Colorado (the “Tax Me” State)

  6. Semanticleo says:
    November 2, 2005 at 6:11 pm

    “Voodoo Economics” so designated by BUSH I, was one the few truthful facets of the 1980 campaign against RWR .

    It was the beginning of the frontal attack on Social Security which put a crack in it’s veneer (Dems helped a little) and continues unabated and unrepentantly with the junior all-stars of BushCo II.

    Watch all the chicken littles start forecasting, “The Blue Skies are Falling!”

  7. Quaker in a Basement says:
    November 2, 2005 at 7:11 pm

    So I guess Ward Churchill s not the only nut in Colorado (the  Tax Me State)

    Right as usual, Frank. We also have a whole nest of Grover Norquist wannabes over at the Independence Institute. That crowd is as nutty as they come.

  8. Oliver Willis says:
    November 2, 2005 at 7:11 pm

    Yeah, Frank, the majority of the electorate in Colorado is obviously the same as a marginal college professor that only the right cares about.

  9. Frank_D says:
    November 2, 2005 at 9:11 pm

    What do you call who volunteer for tax increases? Besides liberals, of course…

  10. jnfr says:
    November 3, 2005 at 1:11 am

    I call it reality-based. You can’t have services no one pays for. And all urban centers need services.

  11. Quaker in a Basement says:
    November 3, 2005 at 2:11 am

    What do you call who volunteer for tax increases?

    Responsible.

  12. Oliver Willis says:
    November 3, 2005 at 9:11 am

    It’s called a democracy, buddy. I gotta live with George Bush as the president, it ain’t always pretty.

  13. Frank_D says:
    November 3, 2005 at 9:11 am

    The next time taxes are increased, will you be “responsible” for my share?

  14. Quaker in a Basement says:
    November 3, 2005 at 12:11 pm

    The next time taxes are increased, will you be  responsible for my share?

    Nope. I’ll pay my own way and expect you to do the same.