TABOR did not destroy Colorado
May 12, 2006 by Conservative Culture
Filed under General
During the Gubernatorial campaign, most of the Republican Establishment, and especially Petro supporters, attempted to portray Petro’s opposition to the TEL as a fiscally responsible move. They cited as evidence that a similar bill (the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR) had ruined Colorado’s economy.
Not so, says Colorado Governor Bill Owens. In an open letter to Ohioans, he stated:
As Ohioans debate government spending limits, some may be misled by those who claim Colorado???s spending limit law was so bad that it has been repealed.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Our Tax Payer Bill of Rights (TABOR) is still in place and it still limits government growth to reasonable, prudent levels that allow our state???s public and private sectors to be strong and productive.
Owens went on to refute claims that TABOR had failed, pointing to Colorado’s thriving economy. He also refuted the charge that TABOR had been repealed, noting that voters had left all of TABOR’s formulas in place, and had simply enacted a fix to the bill–a fix that, incidentally, has been included in Ohio’s TEL. (It permits the government to grow faster if the economy also does.)
Owens even gets in a few good-natured jabs at Ohio in the process:
Ohioans need only examine the ultimate opinion poll of where people choose to live and where businesses decide to create well-paying jobs. In the last five years Colorado has grown in population by 8.5%. We have replaced every job lost during the recession that hit our high-tech industries hard. Incomes in Colorado rank 8th nationally and are growing faster than the national average. We easily outpace Ohio in every one of these measures.
Our spending limit is a big reason for our success. If Ohio were to pass its own spending limit, its citizens could share in the same growth, prosperity and freedom we have in Colorado.
Conservatives like Ken Blackwell and Jim Jordan who supported this measure in the primary were few and far between. But it looks like they were right.
Ben Keeler
on Fri, 12th May 2006 5:45 pm
Owens will never be heard except on blogs and it is shame the media will bury news like this.
Daniel J. Mount
on Sat, 13th May 2006 4:57 am
Yes. Just like anywhere else, the media is happy to cover the bad news and bury the good news, cover the criticism and bury the praise.
save the rustbelt
on Sat, 13th May 2006 12:31 pm
The Ohio Republican Party (rumor has it including some from the Blackwell camp) is trying to figure out how to kill the TEL.
If The TEL is on the ballot most local GOP officials are going to have to campaign against it, which will put Blackwell in an ugly position.
Colorado is growing for many reasons, most have nothing to do with TABOR.
What we need is for the Republicans in the General Assembly to act like grownups and get taxing and spending under control. Even that won’t fix our economy, the problems are much more complex than the dittoheads think.
Conservative Culture
on Sat, 13th May 2006 8:10 pm
There will be no killing the TEL. There is discussion going on about how the TEL could be improved without killing the intent of the TEL. There will be a TEL… we will see if there will be an alternative… time will tell. (pun intended… sortof)