Bruce’s pig in a poke
The Rocky’s recent editorial , “Pay to fix parks with GOCO ‘timeout,’” points out once again no one thoroughly thought through the consequences of the many amendments to Colorado’s Constitution which have gone into effect.
Doug Bruce’s pig in a poke was given a timeout, but even that hasn’t worked well enough to repair the damage it did.
What are the chances Colorado will wise up and just eliminate the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights?
Larry McLaughlin, Aurora
What are the chances Colorado will wise up>>>
We already DID wise up when we passed Tabor. Your letter is an example of why we need it.
We were promised, and too many were fooled into believing it, that the "timeout" as you call it, would be all that was necessary for the fiscal problems in Colorado to be solved. Those of us with more experience with politicians knew better and tried to tell, you, and all those who think government will be frugal, that what was needed was less government, not more money. How much money are we going to give the public schools so good teachers can be paid exactly the same amount as bad ones while administrators with multiple executive assistants line their pockets and housebreak new politicians with the power of their union?
If the parks need fixing, how about we assign the money we waste enforcing the smoking ban to them. (IF the initiative in Denver passes it can be argued that any smoking will be treated as less than jaywalking so why not save the time and money now? Or at least the smokers will have one on the next ballot which will make it so much easier for the little bars to survive again.)
How about we get rid of some of the extra programs like state forms for benefits and other things not federally mandated being printed in languages other than English? Since only citizens and legal residents can apply English should be enough.
I'm sure there will be a lot of other suggestions on how we can STOP wasting money. The only pig here is as a prefix for the word "barrel". It's an old friend of politicians who was getting mighty lean in the past few years but Ref C fattened him right up. Now you go ahead and donate your money to those projects you deem important. You might even ask a few of your political friends to stop whining and take a few classes in basic economics or seventh grade math. I'm sure that would help them understand that their narrow victory over fiscal responsibility was a one time thing. I wasn't sure when it passed, but with each political whine, more people see the greed and foolishness dominating th epolitical mind and peopleactually say they wished they could take back their vote. Even those who still think C was a great idea are saying it won't happen again because it is being used to start projects NOT to pay bills. If that wasn't enough money to balance the budget, maybe we need to make some major changes in the big ticket areas of welfare and education. As I said earlier, I'm sure there are lots of ideas out there.
Just as a question that should be asked, but seems to be off the table, "Where is any result of Referendum C money"? Show me the results. Show me where it went. Show me how it didn't just vaporize into the black hole of bureaucracy.
Posted by clyde on September 3, 2007 01:42 AMlarry you are a moron in the dark. the real pig in the poke are all the politicians who can sell you snake oil and then laugh at you when they come back and ask for more money as the last time they took ref c money they spent it how they wanted. and the amount they told you about was a lot less that the real amount they ended up with and still get today.
Posted by on September 3, 2007 07:10 AMLegislators are like a young child who finds a ten dollar bill in a way. The first thing they do is think of what they can get for themselves and maybe what they can buy for their friends to impress them. What is different is legislators use we the taxpayer's money as if it were free, found money and the amount of this" found money " is millions of dollars but, the thinking is exactly the same.
If we small business owners, who are taxed and regulated to the point of absurdity as it is, were as spendthrift irresponsible as legislators we would all be broke and out of business in a matter of weeks. As it is, any increase in taxes, insurance rates, workman's comp rates, supply prices, in reality, any icreased of any kind in the cost of doing business will force the neighborhood, mom and pop, Bars and Taverns that have,so far, survived the devestating effects of the smoking ban, to close up shop and the effects won't stop there.
In my wife's and myself's case, we are second generation owners, that's over 30 years in business and we are not, along with many others, marginal businesses as tobacco control zealots have suggested. Neither are our vendors.One owner of a business that handles vending machines such as juke boxes, pool tables, dart board games, video games etc has provided me with signed documents proving a 50% reduction in business since the ban went into effect. Another who provides bar food, pizzas, chips, polish sausage, White Castle burgers etc has done the same showing a 27% loss The pool hall, not a bar, where I shoot and also know the owner has done the same.She told me if things don't change in the next three months, She'll have to close after experiencing a 42% loss on average since the ban.
Liquor distributors have told me that many of the bars and taverns they supply are on the verge and they can't understand how they have lasted based on the reduced orders they now put in as compared to pre ban orders. And, believe it or not, taxi cab drivers have told me their bar and tavern business is way down and that effects their over all profit to a large extent and, when combined with high gas prices, many are on the verge of giving up driving for a living and getting a more secure job.
Tobacco control will tell you this is all abunch of lies but, they are the ones who are lying. By including fast food outlets, restaurants, pizza parlors and others that get their profit from food, not beer and liquor, in their statistics, the truth is hidden. When the stats from bars and taverns are seperated out from those general statistics, the truth comes out. We are experiencing 20% to 43% losses.
The proof of this is reflected in the Colorado Department of Revenue statistics for the last six quarters we have secured. and also proves tobacco contrl advocates have lied about the true effects and also to the people. They have spread this propaganda for so many years people believe it, in spite of the truth testfied to by owners, vendors and all the others who experience the trickle down effects of the smoking ban.
I can't imagine why the people would believe any of us or our suppliers would lie about these effects, Even if the insane zealots were right and we are the scum of the earth and would lie about any thing, the DOR reports back us up. And, we are not liars, we are people who have been in business for years, pay our taxes, employ people, support the communities we live in and provide a place where people can enjoy a few beers after work, Vets can converse about their experiences, people can play pool, shoot darts and enjoy their friends. We are, in many ways, neighborhood adult community centers that have provided enjoyment and good times for our patrons for years. I just don't understand why anyone could be so zealous as to want these places to be closed. If the people don't wake up to the truth and reality and, the legislators refuse to recognize freedom of choice is more important than bowing down to the lies and deceptions that would deny it in favor of political expediency and political correctness, then we all will eventually wake up one day to a pristine world in which people have no rights and everything is boring and inane and no fun at all.The only things that will be allowed are those things that don't offend anyone. In other words, nothing.
Posted by Allen Campbell on September 3, 2007 07:48 AM