Ronald Reagan said, “the most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

I suggest the second most terrifying words in the English language are:  ”I’m from the government, and I’m doing this for the children.”  When parents hear those words — “it’s for the children” — they should defend their kids and hide their wallets because government is looking for both.

Nowhere has that been more evident than yesterday in Denver at the state capitol where a thin line of fiscal defense, the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), is under siege by the education-industrial complex.  TABOR appropriately limits the growth of government to inflation plus population growth so that government cannot expand more rapidly than the private sector.  And it requires voter approval for all tax increases. The tax-and-spend lobby does not like having to ask voters so it wants to eliminate Colorado taxpayers’ right to vote on any future tax increases for “education.”

The article below is from my friend Nancy Rumfelt who witnessed the assault on the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights when she sat through testimony on HCR 10-1002, which if passed would add the proposal to the ballot this fall.

HCR10-1002 is Educational Trojan Horse for TABOR

Today at the Capital was a hearing on house bill HCR10-1002 that if passed will ask voters in November to decide if TABOR should be thrown under the school bus so the legislature can be given all power, responsibility and authority to raise revenue (taxes) to fund education without any further voter approval.

If voters say yes in November, the bill will allow the legislature to raise revenue for education that will not be subject to voter approval or spending limits and can be used for anything labeled education. There are no safeguards in the bill that will prevent any future legislature from going on a spending spree.

I listened to three hours of testimony at the Capital today most of which was in support of this bill. Supporters truly believe that government is here to help and that education will NEVER have cuts again.

There was much talk of needing to invest in education, but no one could define “invest” or how much.

I applaud State Representative Frank McNulty who tried several times to get someone to define an adequate level of funding for education.  He got no response even after he reminded that legislators are supposed to know and decide the adequate level.

As a Mom of two beautiful teenage girls, I understand parents wanting the best for their kid’s education, but what I don’t understand is bankrupting their kid’s future. Right now, TABOR is the only thing that prevents Colorado lawmakers from jeopardizing all of our kids future.  Supporters of this measure lament that Colorado has one of the strictest revenue limits in the country without understanding that TABOR is what has stopped the state from becoming the next California, New York, New Jersey and so one.

The government, whether state or federal, is like the space creature from the classic movie The Blob – whatever it consumes it destroys and the more it consumes the larger it becomes.

Where is Steve McQueen when you need him?

Nancy Rumfelt

Co-Founder Loveland 912 Project & Accidental Activist

The resolution passed out of the House Education Committee along a party line vote.  It faces a tougher vote in the full House where it needs two-thirds support to pass.

If you are wondering how much this will cost Colorado families, that’s a good question.  No one knows because no one knows how much the legislature would raise taxes. The fiscal note reads “unknown increase.”   Make no mistake, this would mean a lot more money from taxpayers’ pockets.  And it would give the Colorado Education Association, the teachers union, enormous power to raise taxes for members’ benefit.  A recent Denver Post editorial warned of the union’s power to persuade.

The teachers union has far more influence with lawmakers, many of whom depend upon the CEA’s support and manpower during election season.

HCR10-1002 is not for the children, it’s for the school bullies who profit at the expense of our children.  Like Nancy Rumfelt, I’m a mom who is sick of my children being exploited as cash cows for K-12.    The only way to stop it is to defend TABOR at home and promote it at the national level.