Karl Marx, co-author of The Communist Manifesto, once wrote “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce.” We’re watching a version of this play out at the Colorado State Capitol
Like thousands of enlightened technocrats who came before them, Colorado’s progressive legislators believe that they are uniquely endowed to once and for all fix structural flaws in the state’s budget and finally bring “fairness” and “equality” to Colorado.
If they could only eliminate the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR, heavily tax the rich, and preserve their preferred special interest tax breaks, then Colorado would have heaven on Earth.
Really, this farcical display will only serve to destroy Colorado’s economy—and for what?
Tax Breaks for Special People
Days after the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) received an updated revenue and economic forecast revising Colorado’s estimated budget shortfall to almost $1.5 billion, legislators doubled down on bad policy, passing House Bill-1289 out the Finance Committee.
HB 1289 is one of the federal decoupling tax measures that columnist Mike Rosen dubbed the “Four Big Ugly Bills”.
Out of a 70-page mess of tax break adjustments, one absurd segment even got the attention of other Democrats.
Rep. Bob Marshall from Douglas County, who earlier in the session was astounded that his colleagues chose to maintain funding for the Colorado Office of Film, Television, and Media in the midst of a hefty budget gap, was also left flabbergasted at HB-1289.
The bill would expand electric vehicle (EV) and Ebike tax credits, which disproportionately give tax breaks to wealthier Coloradans, and would do so regardless of the state having a TABOR surplus from which to cover the cost of the credits.
So, even in a year like this one, where the legislature’s revenue is not even expected to hit the current TABOR revenue limit, Coloradans would still be required to subsidize EVs and Ebikes for rich people.
Delusion at Treasury
In a moment of déjà vu, right after the budget shortfall was revised to $1.5 billion, vice-chair of the JBC–and candidate for state treasurer–Jeff Bridges, along with current treasurer Dave Young, and treasurer candidate Brianna Titone, all appeared on a ProgressNow Colorado social media post to deflect blame and gaslight about Senate Bill-135 and the progressive income tax, two ongoing efforts to fulfill the “farce” element of Karl Marx’s quote.
Some of their claims deserve special attention.
For example, they claimed that TABOR is the primary reason why the legislature is being “forced” to make cuts this year.
As a general rule, our current and potential treasurers should probably not lie to Coloradans’ faces when basic budget information is public and so easily accessible.
Actually, the state budget is still expected to grow this year, regardless of what lawmakers ultimately trim to fill the budget hole. But what is even more obvious is that tax collections are expected to be below the TABOR revenue limit.
The lack of overcollected revenue that would otherwise be refunded back to taxpayers means TABOR is not limiting the budget in the slightest.
And thanks to Independence Institute research, we know that TABOR has not actually limited much growth of Colorado’s government anyway.
The deceit of this claim becomes even more revealing considering that the chief economist at the legislature, Greg Sobetski, recently predicted that the JBC would again use mostly one-time funds to shore up this year’s budget deficit.
To those paying attention, Coloradans were already told last year that all the one-time budget fixes had been exhausted, hence the urgency to impose tax hikes in the form of SB-135 and a progressive tax this year.
Colorado’s gold dome central planners really think they are the smartest people in the room. They claim to make policy decisions using a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet.”
Really, they use a scalpel when carving out favors for special interests and a hatchet when increasing taxes on the rest of us.
