Roads and buses aren't free, ya' know
Published in the Boulder Daily Camera, 10/29/18
Twenty-six years ago, Coloradans voted the Taxpayers Bill of Rights — TABOR — into the state Constitution. TABOR did something revolutionary — it handed the power of funding the government purse to the people. Under TABOR, state and local governments cannot raise taxes without explicit approval of the voters whose taxes will be raised.
At the time TABOR passed, many Coloradans expressed concern that, in the end, none of us really wants to pay taxes, and getting us to agree on paying additional taxes might just reveal what skinflints we collectively are when any tax request didn't satisfy some particular parochial interest of ours. Would we cheapskate selfish voters ever vote for taxes to fund the good work in government that our society needs?
Twenty-six years of experience have demonstrated that we Coloradans are generally willing to tax ourselves to pay for good government. The portion of our collective personal incomes that we pay for state and local taxes sits at 8.1 percent putting us in the middle range for all states. We aren't afraid to tax ourselves when we think it's for a good cause, but our elected leaders have to make the case to the voters, not just amongst themselves.
Which brings us to this moment, where our government leaders are asking us for a rather large tax increase — a 0.62 percent increase in the state sales tax for 20 years — to fund our state and local transportation infrastructure. That is what Proposition 110 — Let's Go, Colorado — is all about.
If passed, Proposition 110 will raise about $750 million in 2019 and likely increase over time as the Colorado economy grows. Forty-five percent of the total funds will be spent on state highways, 40 percent will be given to city and county governments to spend on projects they deem worthwhile, and 15 percent will go to "multimodal" transit that includes stuff like bike paths and public transit. Boulder County is projected to receive about $370 million over the next 20 years. It's real money and will have real impact on Colorado and Boulder transportation infrastructure.
So, prudent citizens, do we really need this, or is this just another government folly? We can stop this if we want to, but do we want to?
First, who out there thinks that Colorado roads are in great shape today? Maybe our vision is a bit skewed here in Boulder County, where our county commissioners have been intentionally starving our road maintenance budget for years. But, travel anywhere in Colorado and you'll see plenty of places where bridges need repair and roads need maintenance.
But, maybe the bigger question is whether today's transportation infrastructure can sufficiently adapt over the next 20 years to accommodate our growing and increasingly prosperous population. In the past 20 years, Colorado's population has grown from 4.12 million to 5.61 million. To dream that people will stop moving to Colorado anytime soon is delusional. Assuming the same growth rate going forward, we will have nearly 2 million more Coloradans in 20 years who will also want to get out and about in our beautiful state. If you drive much around the Front Range, you know what this means — whether you're coming from Longmont to work in Boulder or want to go skiing at Vail some Saturday, Los Angeles traffic jams, here we come.
It's nuts to think that a state as dynamic as Colorado can continue to grow and prosper without a significant investment in transportation infrastructure. And, thanks to TABOR, our government is already lean. Contrary to much wishful thinking, there are no big piles of money we can raid to get the levels of funding we need for transportation.
Sure, there's something in Proposition 110 for everyone to dislike. If you don't ride the bus, Proposition 110 promises too much to public transit. If you want everybody to ride a bike or bus, it's not enough. We'll still have the same clowns in government that refused to widen Arapahoe Road, so why should we think these taxes will make our commutes easier someday? Shouldn't we fund transportation through a gas tax rather than sales tax?
But, fellow citizens, thanks to TABOR, we the people are the governing body for taxes and our future depends on our ability to govern responsibly. More often than not in politics, this means we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We need transportation infrastructure investment and we need it to begin now. Thank TABOR for giving the power to the people as you use it wisely to support Proposition 110.
Twenty-six years ago, Coloradans voted the Taxpayers Bill of Rights — TABOR — into the state Constitution. TABOR did something revolutionary — it handed the power of funding the government purse to the people. Under TABOR, state and local governments cannot raise taxes without explicit approval of the voters whose taxes will be raised.
At the time TABOR passed, many Coloradans expressed concern that, in the end, none of us really wants to pay taxes, and getting us to agree on paying additional taxes might just reveal what skinflints we collectively are when any tax request didn't satisfy some particular parochial interest of ours. Would we cheapskate selfish voters ever vote for taxes to fund the good work in government that our society needs?
Twenty-six years of experience have demonstrated that we Coloradans are generally willing to tax ourselves to pay for good government. The portion of our collective personal incomes that we pay for state and local taxes sits at 8.1 percent putting us in the middle range for all states. We aren't afraid to tax ourselves when we think it's for a good cause, but our elected leaders have to make the case to the voters, not just amongst themselves.
Which brings us to this moment, where our government leaders are asking us for a rather large tax increase — a 0.62 percent increase in the state sales tax for 20 years — to fund our state and local transportation infrastructure. That is what Proposition 110 — Let's Go, Colorado — is all about.
If passed, Proposition 110 will raise about $750 million in 2019 and likely increase over time as the Colorado economy grows. Forty-five percent of the total funds will be spent on state highways, 40 percent will be given to city and county governments to spend on projects they deem worthwhile, and 15 percent will go to "multimodal" transit that includes stuff like bike paths and public transit. Boulder County is projected to receive about $370 million over the next 20 years. It's real money and will have real impact on Colorado and Boulder transportation infrastructure.
So, prudent citizens, do we really need this, or is this just another government folly? We can stop this if we want to, but do we want to?
First, who out there thinks that Colorado roads are in great shape today? Maybe our vision is a bit skewed here in Boulder County, where our county commissioners have been intentionally starving our road maintenance budget for years. But, travel anywhere in Colorado and you'll see plenty of places where bridges need repair and roads need maintenance.
But, maybe the bigger question is whether today's transportation infrastructure can sufficiently adapt over the next 20 years to accommodate our growing and increasingly prosperous population. In the past 20 years, Colorado's population has grown from 4.12 million to 5.61 million. To dream that people will stop moving to Colorado anytime soon is delusional. Assuming the same growth rate going forward, we will have nearly 2 million more Coloradans in 20 years who will also want to get out and about in our beautiful state. If you drive much around the Front Range, you know what this means — whether you're coming from Longmont to work in Boulder or want to go skiing at Vail some Saturday, Los Angeles traffic jams, here we come.
It's nuts to think that a state as dynamic as Colorado can continue to grow and prosper without a significant investment in transportation infrastructure. And, thanks to TABOR, our government is already lean. Contrary to much wishful thinking, there are no big piles of money we can raid to get the levels of funding we need for transportation.
Sure, there's something in Proposition 110 for everyone to dislike. If you don't ride the bus, Proposition 110 promises too much to public transit. If you want everybody to ride a bike or bus, it's not enough. We'll still have the same clowns in government that refused to widen Arapahoe Road, so why should we think these taxes will make our commutes easier someday? Shouldn't we fund transportation through a gas tax rather than sales tax?
But, fellow citizens, thanks to TABOR, we the people are the governing body for taxes and our future depends on our ability to govern responsibly. More often than not in politics, this means we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. We need transportation infrastructure investment and we need it to begin now. Thank TABOR for giving the power to the people as you use it wisely to support Proposition 110.
