Conservative Colorado soccer Mom warns: Don't make our mistake

Kristie Hargrove calls herself a "typical soccer Mom," who is a "fiscally conservative Republican" that would have supported the Colorado tax cap passed in 1992 if she had been living there then. She and her family moved to Crested Butte in 1993 and by 2003, the state had gone drastically down hill.

"My daughter came home from school and said, I'm just freezing'' Hargrove recalled at a briefing in House Democratic Leader . The school board had decided that in order to save money, thermostats would be lowered significantly and students would just have to wear their jackers. Hargrove, a bookkeeper for her family building contracting company, demanded to see the books. "There was no money but we didn't know why."

After further investigation, she realized that the 10-year-old constitutional amendment, known as the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights known as TABOR which imposed strict limits on Colorado state and local spending meant that the legislature was forced to scale back dramatically school money. "I'm just your average citizen that goes and votes,'' she said. She thought that when she elected legislators, she could hold them accountable for decisions they made. But the TABOR proposal, written into the constitution, "has taken it out of their hands.''

"The sound bite is so easy: 'Just say no, it's your dough','' she said. "It's been devastating for us.'' To get out from under the cap, she said, local government "de-bruced" -- that's the jargon they use referring to the author of the TABOR idea, Bruce xxx. Local governments voted to exceed the caps, then raised fees and property taxes and created special taxing districts to pay for needs.

Overtime, the services that were traditionally paid by the state became the job of local governments and inequities prevail. Parents in wealthy school districts pay up to $900 in fees to have their kids play sports. Those luxuries are not as available in low income districts, she said.

Hargrove's visit to Tallahassee was paid for by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington-based think tank that advocates for low and moderate income familes. She will testify before the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission to urge them not to make the same mistake. "I can't understand why anybody would put that kind of fiscal constraint into the Constitution,'' she said.

Comments

[Tom]

"I can't understand why anybody would put that kind of fiscal constraint into the Constitution,''

Because if you don't they will spend like drunken sailors, that has already happened here! The cap can always been adjusted, and the lessons from other TABOR amendments have been factored into this bill.
I was wondering why a Colorado "typical soccer Mom," would travel and be concerned about FL until I read further!
Hargrove's visit to Tallahassee was paid for by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington-based think tank that advocates for low and moderate income familes. Which makes her a lobbyist, financed by a special interest. Very clever but now I understand her motivation!!!!!!