Author: Michael Fields
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Perspective: Some priorities for our lawmakers
When legislators return to work at the Capitol this week, the question — as always — will be: Will they finally focus on issues that matter to people’s everyday lives? Polling and the results of recent ballot measures highlight the main concerns citizens wish legislators would deal with. These include common-sense solutions to growing problems…
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Perspective: Don’t pass the buck for our busted budget
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Just three years ago, Coloradans were receiving $750 TABOR refund checks in the mail because the state had a surplus of $3.6 billion. Now, legislators are being called back to the Capitol for a special session to deal with a $783 million deficit. The contrast…
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Perspective: Don’t pass the buck for our busted budget
Just three years ago, Coloradans were receiving $750 TABOR refund checks in the mail because the state had a surplus of $3.6 billion. Now, legislators are being called back to the Capitol for a special session to deal with a $783 million deficit. The contrast couldn’t be starker. The good news is that the budget…
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GUEST OPINION: The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights is ‘here to stay’
Once again, TABOR is under attack. This time, liberal politicians aren’t pretending to hide the ball. Instead, they’re openly berating the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights on the House and Senate floors, every chance they get. Denver state Rep. Sean Camacho is even sponsoring a resolution to force the state legislature into a lawsuit to try…
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GUEST OPINION: ‘If politicians wont do it, the people still can’
Grassroots Coloradans made their voices heard in 2024. The year was marked by voters across the political spectrum demanding commonsense reforms to address real-world problems — including sky-high property taxes and soaring crime rates — that the far-left Legislature wanted to duck. It was a reminder to elected officials that the people are ultimately in…
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PERSPECTIVE: A cut, a cap — a big win
Score one for Colorado taxpayers. Homeowners struggling with property tax bills were the big winners at the State Capitol, as a new state law — passed in the recently concluded special legislative session — cuts and caps property taxes, providing a permanent fix to our state’s property tax crisis. This was the result of an…
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Why we need ‘The Citizens’ Tax Cut’
It’s become an annual end-of-session ritual at the state Capitol. Lawmakers trumpet yet another “solution” to Colorado’s property tax crisis that is quickly shown to be high on rhetoric and low on lasting relief for beleaguered taxpayers. This year is no exception. With the clock ticking down on this year’s session, legislators and Gov. Jared…
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PERSPECTIVE: The agenda Colorado needs in 2024
Building a better Colorado in 2024 requires placing the policy priorities on the needs of taxpayers, parents, and local communities, with the goal of reigniting the state’s economy and keeping government in check. This is at the heart of Advance Colorado’s legislative policy agenda on fiscal policy, crime and education. As a new legislative session…
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And now, it’s time for real property-tax relief
The defeat of the flawed and deceptive Proposition HH was good news for Colorado taxpayers for two reasons: It saved us from a massive expansion of state government, and it opens the door for simple, common-sense solutions to provide real property tax relief for Coloradans. The fatal flaw in HH that voters wisely spotted was…
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PERSPECTIVE: The citizens initiative sabotaged
One of the worst things a government can do to a free people is force them to speak. Free speech is the right to say what you believe, but also the right to not say things you don’t believe. The government should never be in the business of compelled speech — and especially not when…