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Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Victory in Colorado
Voters in Colorado decided yesterday to pass a temporary suspension of a harmful constitutional amendment (called the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights or TABOR) that had drastically restricted the state's ability to invest in its education and transportation systems since 1992. Since the amendment was passed, the proportion of low-income children who lack health insurance in Colorado rose from 15 percent to 27 percent. Now, the share of low-income individuals in Colorado enrolled in Medicaid is lower than in all but five other states in the nation. Further, in 2000-01, Colorado ranked 49th in expenditures for K-12 education relative to the state’s economy and the state now ranks 48th in its level of taxpayer support of colleges and universities — down from 35th in 1992.
This is a major victory for the people of Colorado and a sharp rebuke of "starve the beast" advocates in Colorado and around the country. A number of other states around the country are currently considering instituting similar TABOR amendments, and hopefully the citizens in those states will hear the message from Colorado - just say NO to TABOR.
Rocky Mountain News: Voters Approve Temporary Halt to TABOR
Posted by Adam Hughes
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