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I know this will shock you, but the system is rigged.

Maybe not in the conspiracy-theory, tinfoil-hat way. In the simple, obvious, right-in-front-of-your-face way: politicians get to play by rules you don’t.

And every now and then they get so brazen about it, you have to stop and admire the hustle.

We Coloradans have been painfully clear for decades: We want our Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). We want government spending limits. And, yes, we want our refunds when government takes too much.

How many times do we have to say no?

1998, Referendum B. No.

2011, Proposition 103. No.

2013, Amendment 66. No.

2019, Proposition CC. No.

2023, Proposition HH. No.

And none of these elections were even close.

At this point, voters aren’t whispering. We’re screaming: live within your means.

Wearing voters down

But like shrill children demanding mommy buy them something, politicians don’t stop asking. Like the kid, they know they can wear you down. Because if they get a “yes” just once, it’s game over. TABOR refunds disappear forever.

And I mean forever.

TABOR originally said they could keep excess revenue for four years and only if we voters approved it. Then the Colorado Supreme Court later clarified “four years” actually means… forever. I guess because “four” and “forever” sound kinda the same.

Good to know words still have meaning and our political elite keep fighting to “protect democracy”

Now comes Senate Bill 135. And you’ll never guess what it does. It ends your TABOR refunds, forever.

But don’t worry. This time it’s “for the kids.” Cue the violins. Quite literally what you’ll read on the ballot says the money will go to education. There is no mention of a penny going anywhere else.

The ballot language the legislators who want your money wrote practically tucks you in at night:

“Shall state investment in K-12 public education increase… increase teacher pay… improve retention… lower class sizes… increase access to career and technical courses, without raising taxes.”

It’s beautiful. Inspiring. Almost makes you want to cry.

It’s also nonsense. Because buried in the fine print of the bill is the part they hope you never notice.

The legislature’s own analysis says this lets the state keep about $1.3 billion extra starting in year one alone.

Want to guess how much goes to education? About $200 million. That’s a mere 15%!

The other 85%? That’s a blank check for the legislature to spend however it wants. You’d never know that from the ballot language they wrote for themselves.

Ballot language double-standard

And here’s where it gets fun.

When politicians refer something to the ballot, they get to write the ballot language you read on Election Day. That is, they get to lie through their teeth.

When we lowly citizens propose something, a group of three unelected people called the Title Board writes what voters read at the voting booth. Again, one set of rules for them, a different set for us.

So I tried an experiment. I took SB-135 and submitted it, word for word, as a citizen’s initiative.

Here’s how the Title Board translated it:

“Shall there be a change… allowing the state to keep and spend… and requiring the state to use a portion… for education… and allowing the state to use the rest of the money for any purpose determined by the legislature?”

Same policy. Totally different honesty level.

So if you vote yes and kiss away your TABOR refunds, education will get a “portion” of it (15%) and the legislature will get “the rest of the money for any purpose.” Their words, not mine.

One version sounds like a gift to schoolchildren. The other sounds like what it actually is — a cash grab.

And then the legislature had the nerve to call this cash grab “without raising taxes.” There’s no such wording in the Title Board’s language.

Which is impressive. If I take more of your money but claim I didn’t, jail time is in my future. When our political elite does it, they’re only encouraged to lie even more next time.

So, go ahead. Vote yes this fall if you like the idea of kissing your TABOR refunds goodbye, forever.

Just know full well it’s not for the kids. It’s for our lawmakers to cover their rear ends after increasing Medicaid enrollment 200% and over-spending the state into a fiscal hole.

Jon Caldara is president of Independence Institute, a free market think in Denver.