After the November 5 election, we explored what went wrong with Proposition CC, which would have allowed the state to keep tax revenues in excess of year-to-year limits established by the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 1992.
Here's how readers explain CC's demise: Says Andrew:
It’s not complicated: Voters don’t trust politicians to spend taxpayers money correctly and how they said they will.Argues Max:
People are tired of Colorado’s shitty government wasting their tax dollars and always wanting more.. that's what happened...duh...Explains Tim:
Well, first of all, TABOR is doing exactly what it is supposed to do: limiting unnecessary spending, forcing the government to save money instead of writing blank checks to contractors. See what Denver has going on at DIA as an example of what happens with blank checks.Notes Steve:
Nothing went wrong. People simply want state government out of their pocket.Counters Nancy:
I think people don’t really understand TABOR and the harm it has and will do to services, etc. in Colorado.Argues Dragos:
The wording was terrible.Concludes KJ:
So we will have shit roads and shit schools. Yay, Colorado!Known as “de-Brucing,” after TABOR architect Douglas Bruce, the measure would have given state budget writers an extra few hundred million dollars to work with in years of healthy economic growth — instead of automatically refunding that money to taxpayers, to the tune of around $50 for a typical single filer.
“If this isn’t the solution, we’re going to keep working on a solution,” House Speaker KC Becker, a Democrat from Boulder and one of the architects of Prop CC, told disappointed supporters at an election-night watch party. “Because it’s not acceptable for the state that has the number-one economy in the country to be doing the worst by its kids, by its students in college, and by our roads.”
Earlier this year, the stars appeared aligned for Prop CC’s challenge to TABOR, a sacred cow for Colorado conservatives and a constant source of frustration for liberals who say it severely limits the state’s ability to invest in education, transportation and more. But the campaign for the measure got a late start, and never really took off.
What do you think about Proposition CC? Let us know in a comment or at [email protected].