GOP Governors Fight Tax Limits: Foes of Big Government Blame Crunch on Cuts in Federal Aid

WashPost ^ | 03/27/2005 | T.R. Reid

[cogitator]

Excerpts:

"Midway through his second term, [Colorado Gov. Bill] Owens is working to persuade Coloradans to suspend the limits he championed and let the state government spend $3 billion more in tax money than TABOR would allow. ...

" During the boom years of the 1990s, with population and personal income soaring, the limits worked well. But the economic downturn and the reduction in federal support during the first Bush term proved disastrous for Colorado's finances. The state put off building roads and maintaining infrastructure. It reduced services and raised fees. Spending on higher education fell so sharply that the president of the University of Colorado declared the flagship state school a "private enterprise."

Voters grew increasingly angry and demanded changes from Owens and the Republican-controlled legislature. But GOP leaders refused to act. "So long as I am governor, we will not raise taxes," Owens pledged in 2003.

Last fall, the Democratic Party launched a statewide campaign against the TABOR limits -- and scored a huge victory at the polls. While Bush was easily carrying the state, Democrats took control of the state House and Senate.

[cogitator]

A shorter version of this was posted Sunday but didn't get much discussion -- this is a trend we Republicans should be aware of.

[EagleUSA]

For this and OTHER reasons, I don't refer to myself as a Republican anymore...just a Constitutional Conservative. Much more accurate.

[trebb]

Looks pretty bad for us when the Republican Party degenerates to the lesser of two evils...

[cogitator]

For this and OTHER reasons, I don't refer to myself as a Republican anymore...

You might not refer to yourself that way, but there aren't many voting alternatives.

[monday]

"Looks pretty bad for us when the Republican Party degenerates to the lesser of two evils..."

When it comes to spending, at least on the Federal level, Republicans are the greater of two evils.

[EagleUSA]

You might not refer to yourself that way, but there aren't many voting alternatives.
=====
True -- I will NEVER put a Marxist in the White House!!!

[goldstategop]

There's a never a discussion on how government can live on less. There's always a debate on how much government must extract from the hard-working to satisfy its appetite for boundless growth.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[goldstategop]

There's never a discussion on how government can live on less. There's always a debate on how much government must extract from the hard-working to satisfy its appetite for boundless growth.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)