Colorado — which voted for George W Bush twice — is controlled by Democrats in Denver.
The Dem Governor is a chap named Jared Polis.
Dem Governor Jared Polis of Colorado
The Colorado Senate is composed of 35 Senators of whom 23 are Dems and 12 Reps.
The Colorado House of Representatives is composed of 65 members of whom 46 are Dems and 19 are Reps.
In addition, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State are both Dems.
When a single party controls a state’s legislature and governor, it is called a trifecta; when a single party controls the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state positions it is called a triplex.
Colorado is both a Dem trifecta and a Dem triplex. The Dems control everything in Colorado.
OK, Big Red Car, so WTF, what’s the bloody story?
Sorry, dear reader.
The story is this: there is a proposition on the next ballot — Proposition HH — Property Tax Changes and Revenue Change Measure — which purports to seek a referendum in November 2023 for Coloradans to vote on two specific policy matters:
1. The first matter is a change to the property tax assessment growth rate that is projected to save the average Colorado homeowner approximately $4,600 through 2032.
2. The second matter is a provision to allow state government to increase spending as much as 25% annually. Right now there is a cap on what Colorado government can spend.
The proponents of this second issue mumble it will only cost Coloradans $5,100 over the next nine years — corresponding with the same 2032 as noted in #1 above. Read on as this is not the whole story.
So what, Big Red Car?
Ahh, dear reader, it’s all a head fake. Let me lay it out for y’all.
1. Many moons ago, long before the Dem trifecta and Dem triplex, the Republicans who controlled the joint passed something in 1992 called the Taxpayer Bill of Rights — TABOR — that prevented the kind of wholesale government spending increase contemplated by Prop HH.
As a result, Colorado operates with an excess of revenues over spending.
2. This referendum, if passed, will cost Colorado more than $29,000,000,000 by 2040. It is a huuuuuuuuuuge increase in Colorado state spending. This action effectively eviscerates the protections — the spending cap — voted into law under TABOR.
Nowhere in the referendum language is this matter mentioned.
3. This new spending will also eliminate a wonderful feature of current Colorado governance, the annual rebate of the excess of revenues versus spending. This payment will be $800 in 2023 to every taxpayer.
Under Prop HH, there will be NO excess and there will, therefore, be NO annual rebate. Boom!
Nobody can be that sneaky, Big Red Car, can they?
Yes, they can, dear reader. The General Assembly (controlled by Dems) passed this law on the last day of the session thereby avoiding public debate, media attention, and public scrutiny.
Bottom line it, Big Red Car
The Dems at every level are tax and tax and spend and spend politicians and the Dems in Colorado will do anything to get around and run rough shod over spending limitations of any kind.
I offer as Exhibit No. 1 for the prosecution the sneaky, underhanded actions of the Colorado General Assembly and Governor in regard to Proposition HH The Property Tax Changes and Revenue Change Measure.
There is, however, one legal hurdle to overcome — Colorado law requires that any referendum proposition be limited to a single issue and Prop HH (in the view of its critics) is actually two issues rather than a single issue. The courts will have to resolve this.
But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car!
The Dems will spend the country into the grave and then enact a death tax and a burial fee.
Be kind to yourself and to somebody else.