Democrat Governor Bill Ritter is in the process of appealing his illegal tax rate freeze to the State Supreme Court. Independence Institute President Jon Caldara penned an op-ed piece in last Friday’s Denver Post recounting the facts in the case.
Last year, on the west steps of the
State Capitol, with children surrounding him as theatrical props, [ Bill ] Ritter
signed Senate Bill 199, which included what he euphemistically called the
"Children's Amendment." In classic political bait-and-switch,
"Children's Amendment" does not guarantee a single penny to education
or to children.
SB 199 — the "for the
kids" property mill levy freeze, which lets the state legislature spend
almost $4 billion more in its first decade alone — has no requirement that any
of the money be spent on children. Although a fraction of its first year's haul
of nearly $118 million was put toward pre-kindergarten kids, there is no
guarantee that future legislatures will give kids even that much.
Again, politicians used children as human shields in the public relations war to increase their tax take. But this time, the court rightly declared their act unconstitutional.
Stating that something is “for the children” is a good way to replace rational policy arguments with emotional ones.
Gov. [ Bill ] Ritter, going against the advice of the state's attorney general, was so confident that this fine-print loophole was solid his spokesman claimed [ the Independence Institute’s ] lawsuit was a "tasteless stunt." SB 199 has been declared unconstitutional, and now the governor is equally confident that the Colorado Supreme Court will reverse that ruling: He said he plans to act and budget as if he already won the appeal.
A friend once defined “chutzpah” as a boy who killed his parents, then begged for mercy from the court since he was an orphan. Bill Ritter’s antics seek to redefine that term.
by Civil Sense
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