Recently, I spent two sessions of a conference with nine people from Colorado. I asked their opinions on the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Besides a resounding ‘vote no,’ I heard about how much ground Colorado has lost since TABOR became real for them.

They’ve lost services for seniors and low-income folks: health screenings, heating assistance, transportation assistance; services for children: health screenings, medical care, services for handicapped and disadvantaged youth, school activities, after-school programs; infrastructure quality – roads, bridges, etc.

Small towns and rural areas were hit hardest. One woman told me her town actually lost businesses. The referendum ‘safe-guard’ is actually a big part of the problem. Referendum elections cost money. If the towns do not budget for referendums, and they need to ask for more money, they do not have enough money to hold the referendum vote!

This happened in Colorado. People did not get to vote to increase budgets because the referendums were not held due to lack of funds. TABOR takes away local control of local spending. It will take 10 to 15 years of work to bring back to Colorado citizens the quality of life they had before TABOR, if they can revoke TABOR permanently.

Listen to Colorado. They are real people living with the consequences of TABOR every day. Vote no!

Barbara A. Hammond,

Rumford