Chairman's Blog

We talked in the previous post about "Lavisms" - persistent misrepresentations made by anti-taxpayer hit-woman Iris Lav of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Here's another Lavism and it's a beaut: that kids in Colorado don't get their childhood immunization because of TABOR. Yes, she actually maintains that kids don't get their shots because of TABOR and that Colorado supposedly ranks near last in childhood immunizations.

This claim, however, is based on a willful misinterpretation of something called the National Immunization Survey, which is a telephone survey of the immunization status of children under age 3.

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As I discussed in my previous post, Iris Lav of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is the designated TABOR hit-woman, just like 2006. In fact, whenever taxpayers get out of line anywhere in the country, there you'll find Iris Lav to beat them back into line.

Ms. Lav has produced a video for our opponents that describes Colorado's supposed ruination in considerable detail. In fact, Ms. Lav has variations of the same video that she's used in other states in which TABOR-like measures are on the ballot. That's why in 2006, Ms. Lav visited Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and Oregon as well as Maine. That's why she's currently in Washington State, where a tax-limitation measure is on the ballot there too. In any fight, count on Ms. Lav to work against the taxpayer.

Ms. Lav has repeated the same Colorado misrepresentations so many times that they're coming to be known as "Lavisms".

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Because TABOR opponents lack originality, they tend to repeat the same tired stuff without enthusiasm. The bag of tricks this time is the same as 2006. In fact, it's the same robotic opposition to TABOR we've seen in Colorado and now, again, in Maine.

The talking points are basic and just as lame as 2006: that Colorado is a terrible place where schools are "devastated", roads are crumbling and children lack immunizations.

These talking points are the work of one Iris Lav, an analyst for a left-wing Washington think-tank, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Her assigned task is to bash Colorado. She was the hatchet-woman of choice in 2006 and her misrepresentations are currently being channeled through every politician, bureaucrat and special interest group. It's all rather spooky to hear the same utterances on the lips of every TABOR opponent.

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As we noted in a press release today, Forbes Magazine has recognized Colorado for the economic powerhouse it's become.  In overall business climate, Colorado ranks 4th.  Much more eye-popping, however, are Colorado's prospects for growth and prosperity: an incredible 2nd, up from 4th in the most recent survey.  And this in the middle of a recession.  According to Forbes, Colorado even beats in Maine in overall quality of life.

One of the principle reasons for Colorado's high marks is TABOR, which has moderated the growth of Colorado's government and has allowed its economy to bloom and provide jobs for the million-plus new Colorado residents since 1992.

Our opponents have consistently denigrated Colorado - its economy, its schools and its quality of life. Like robots, they mindlessly repeat two words: "Colorado" and "devastated".  They do it without a shred of evidence and with disregard of the facts. They try to portray Colorado as the all-purpose bogeyman.

But the truth has a way of winning out - even over the self-interested people and groups opposing TABOR.

For more on the Forbes report, see our press release and follow the links contained within.

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All of us working in the TABOR campaign are greatly pleased and grateful to the Maine Merchants Association for throwing their support behind TABORNOW.  It's especially gratifying that they did so after careful consideration and debate.

Main street merchants are far less in thrall to state government than their colleagues in the State Chamber and far more vulnerable to the whims of Augusta - particularly when Augusta decides to impose new sales and services taxes on the retail products that their members overwhelmingly sell.

They are also far more realistic, I think, when they assess the present state of Maine's economy and understand all too well what Maine's collapsing economy means to their long-term prospects.

For more on on the Association's position and deliberations, take a look at the MPBN headline, posted right here on the TABORNOW site.

 

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Did you know that Colorado Springs has two TABORs? They do.

By the early 1990s, spending and taxation were out of control in Colorado, much like Maine today. While the state adopted TABOR in 1992, Colorado Springs was out ahead of the rest of the state and adopted its own TABOR in 1991.

After the state adopted TABOR in 1992, Colorado Springs retained its own local TABOR. And under the city ordinance, the most restrictive TABOR applies in any situation.

Naturally, there are people and groups in Colorado Springs just like Maine's TABOR opponents. They've been working overtime since 1991 to rid Colorado Springs of its dreaded and detested TABOR.

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Our opponents - all with their hands in our pockets - insist that Coloradans are unhappy with TABOR and just want to be rid of it. They seek to create the impression that there's a groundswell of opposition to it. After all, didn't Coloradans "suspend TABOR for five years"? And TABOR is "devastating" the schools.

Actually, TABOR is still Colorado law - including its tax and spending limitations.

Of more interest to the discussion is what happened in Colorado during the 2008 election. It seems that Colorado's education lobby put Amendment 59 on the ballot that would have removed education funding from TABOR spending limits altogether. And guess what happened?

Colorado voters rejected it 55% to 45%. But, hey, those people in Colorado - they really hate TABOR.

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On the campaign trail, I frequently observe that TABOR isn't about the obscure details of taxation and budgeting. Not at all. At its most basic, TABOR is about our children and grandchildren and their ability to live and work and raise their families in Maine. That's not happening now because our young people are fleeing the state.

Their departure is accelerating Maine's demographic collapse, which is assuming proportions only seen in places like Russia, where I travel on business from time to time.

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In a press release today, we commented on the proposal by Education Commissioner Susan Gendron to shortchange our kid's classroom time rather than freeze salaries or reduce unnecessary positions in Maine schools.

Yet, according to the Maine Development Foundation, as the number of children in our schools has gone down, the number of employees in our schools has gone up, particularly non-teaching employees.

Since 1979, the number of students has declined by 16%, following a downward demographic trend that's now accelerating in our 1st and 2nd grade population.

Yet, during the same period, we've seen the number of employees dramatically increase. A simple MDF graph tells the story.

It's not a pretty picture, yet Commissioner Gendron would rather hurt our kids than address our top-heavy schools. This is the type of upside-down thinking that passes for policy in Augusta.

And it's just one more reason why Maine voters need to intervene by passing TABOR.

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It's nice to know what TABOR opponents really think. Mark Gray and the Maine Education Association were a little too candid in a downloadable handout comparing TABOR to a "horror movie" and a "slasher film" while predicting that the sky would fall if TABOR passes.

Apparently, the MEA thought better of Mr. Gray's hysterical predictions, because they recently dropped the handout from the MEA website.

However, we can see that other union groups still link to the handout. If you'd like to take a look, go here. For a look at the link, go here.

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