Because TABOR opponents lack originality, they tend to repeat the same tired stuff without enthusiasm. The bag of tricks this time is the same as 2006. In fact, it’s the same robotic opposition to TABOR we’ve seen in Colorado and now, again, in Maine.
The talking points are basic and just as lame as 2006: that Colorado is a terrible place where schools are “devastated”, roads are crumbling and children lack immunizations.
These talking points are the work of one Iris Lav, an analyst for a left-wing Washington think-tank, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Her assigned task is to bash Colorado. She was the hatchet-woman of choice in 2006 and her misrepresentations are currently being channeled through every politician, bureaucrat and special interest group. It’s all rather spooky to hear the same utterances on the lips of every TABOR opponent.
We’ll go into detail in later posts on Ms. Lav’s Colorado-bashing, but the first thing you need to know about her is that she hates prosperity and freedom. And how do I know that? It’s simple: you can tell by her method of analysis.
Lav’s favorite measuring stick is “percentage of personal income”. Let’s think about this one: if you’re prosperous, you score badly. If you’re poor, you score well.
Educationally, Lav says that Colorado is 41st in terms of education spending as a percentage of personal income. This, according to Lav, is bad, even though Colorado spends around $9,000.00 per pupil – slightly below the national average but comfortably within the “normal” range.
But because Coloradans are so prosperous – 2nd in the new Forbes Magazine rankings – they naturally spend a lower proportion of their personal income. This puts them 41st. Yet, one of the nation’s poorest states – New Mexico – ranks 7th, even though it spends less per-pupil than Colorado.
Now, why would Lav adopt a measuring stick that punishes the prosperous? It can only be due to a deep animus against wealth, prosperity and freedom. Based on her analysis, she must really hate Colorado which keeps getting richer all the time.
For more information generally about the Maine Taxpayer Bill of Rights, please visit the TABORNOW website.
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