Northern Colorado Gazette

Colorado voters are being called by computers; a well-produced recording “informs” the listener about proposition 103 on the ballot this voting season. The audio production of this computer call is so well produced that it carefully avoids any language that would reveal the truth of the consequences of this huge tax increase. In fact, the audio recording never mentions this proposition is the largest tax increase in the history of Colorado. The pleasant female voice attempts to deceive the listener into believing that prop. 103 is more like a tax decrease. A clever misdirection or just plain lying; the supporters of these robocalls are intent on taking advantage of the growing number of uninformed and uneducated who will be voting only because of the mail-in ballot; the next step toward the end of American democracy.

To understand the reality of prop. 103 is to realize it is not at all a guaranteed  increase for education funding as the robot calls suggest. According to an analysis of the language of the proposition by the Colorado issue committee, “Too Taxing For Colorado,’ this is a petition to raise personal and business income taxes and increase sales taxes. “Too Taxing For Colorado” estimates that the increased taxes proposed by prop. 103 would cost 30,500 jobs over the initial 5 years of the increased taxes.

Dee Wisor, attorney for the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, which was among the early backers of raising taxes said, “The purpose is to raise revenue…we don’t need to get hung up on fairness.”

Governor Hickenlooper undertook an extensive study of Colorado’s economy in his Economic Tour. In January in Loveland the Governor said, “Except for a couple of neighborhoods in Boulder, there’s no appetite for taxes anywhere, all over the state…” The Denver Post editorial on July 24, 2011 suggested “… the governor is smart to steer clear of tax hikes.”

The governor is on record saying it is a bad idea!

So who is paying for the campaign to raise taxes? Rollie Heath, a senator from Boulder, announced the campaign and is backing it; unions are paying for it. Since Heath’s fellow legislators – even the Democrats – would not agree to the tax increase, the campaign paid for workers to gather signatures to get the issue on the mail-in ballots.

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Tags: ballot, Boulder, campaign, case, Colorado, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, Dee Wisor, Denver Post, Economic Tour, end, governor, Governor Hickenlooper, issue, July, language, Loveland, mail, Rollie Heath, tax, voting