In a video appearance before the Western States Transportation Alliance, Congresswoman Betsy Markey “spends the whole beginning of this greeting talking about potential taxes to pay for spending in a surface transportation bill” reports Who Said You Said, which posted the video.

Markey’s implication that taxpayers aren’t sending enough of their money to Washington begs a couple of questions. First, what has Washington been doing with the money it already has? Let me answer that in part.  A new project of mine, Mothers Against Debt (check out MAD on FaceBook too), reported that the Federal Highway Administration gave Arizona $1.25 million to build special squirrel bridges “so they don’t end up on the menu at the road kill cafe.”

Second, the federal government will spend roughly $3.7 trillion this fiscal year. If infrastructure is a proper function of government, why isn’t Washington prioritizing its budget so that infrastructure gets funded appropriately?  Let me answer that one too, because roads and bridges aren’t a priority for those currently in power.

So let’s clarify all this.  Squirrels are a higher priority than drivers and taxpayers. No wonder our children’s national debt is more than $13 trillion.

It seems that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Democrat gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper can’t get along.

First Mayor Hickenlooper embraced global warming and former Green Jobs Czar Van Jones, while Candidate Hick doesn’t share the same enthusiasm for either.

Candidate Hick criticized Governor Bill Ritter’s new oil and gas regulations until part of his Mayor Hick base — the Eco-Left — got mad. Now he is backtracking. Oh, wait, Hick’s clarifying.

And now, Todd Shepherd of Complete Colorado reveals that Mayor Hick supported the proposed “crash tax” for any visitor who has an at-fault accident within the city limits of Denver:

Hickenlooper’s office again defended the idea, this time through spokesman Eric Brown, and this time a little more forcefully. “We support it. This ordinance follows through on part of the 2010 budget presented to and approved by City Council last year,” Brown told the Denver Daily News.

Yet Candidate Hick has a different take as Todd summarizes:

“We support it,” the Mayor’s office said unequivocally.  And even though John Hickenlooper sees a horrible economic injustice of the fact that good drivers subsidize the accident response costs for bad drivers, and even though he needed to right the injustice of other kids in the sandbox not playing fair (never mind the fact THOSE districts may have been concerned about the injustice of good drivers subsidizing the bad), the Mayor still says, “I don’t think we’re terribly wedded to it one way or the other.”

Hick also says, if he is elected Governor, he will sign legislation banning crash taxes.

Let’s get this straight.  Mayor Hick wants the crash tax because Denver spent too much of your money and need the cash to help plug the $100 million budget shortfall.  Candidate Hick knows the crash tax wars won’t play well statewide on the campaign trail so he isn’t “wedded to it one way or the other.” And he would be willing to ban them if elected.

Confused? Understandable.  So is Hick.

A little noticed article in the Fort Collins Coloradoan raises some big questions.  The newspaper reports that bills introduced into both the House and Senate would provide tax cuts for small breweries such as the Fort Collins Brewery and New Belgium Brewing Company.  The purpose of both pieces of legislation is too make the breweries more competitive with larger breweries and to create jobs:

Paul Gatza, director of the Boulder-based Brewers Association, said research conducted at Harvard indicates that the bill would create 2,700 jobs in the first 12 to 18 months and an additional 375 for the next four years for the nation’s breweries.

‘A company the size of New Belgium could save around 12 percent on its annual federal excise bill every year,’ Gatza said. ‘For everyone else in the Fort Collins region, it would mean a 50 percent cut on federal excise tax.’

Congresswoman Betsy Markey, whose district includes both the Fort Collins Brewery and New Belgium Brewing Company , is a co-sponsor of the House bill.

Now for the rest of the story…

Does Markey’s support for tax cuts signal a change in economic and political philosophy?  Could the woman who voted yes on Cap and Trade and ObamaCare, two enormous tax increases, suddenly realize that tax cuts actually spur economic activity and create jobs? Color me skeptical.

Or could her support for the tax cuts be for a different purpose?  According to the Federal Election Commission, New Belgium founder Jeff Lebesch and CEO Kim Jordan donated $4800 each to her campaign. I’ll let you decide, but at least now you know the rest of the story.

Taxpayers should write a big thank you note to the members of the Douglas County School Board. They had the nerve to say “NO” to the school bullies that defend the education establishment.

The Douglas County School Board won’t use taxpayer dollars to sue taxpayers for more — you guessed it — taxpayer dollars, according to a story from Face the State. The state’s third largest school district won’t join Greeley Evans District 6, the Poudre School District, and 15 others across the state in the Lobato v. Colorado case, a.k.a. “Lobatomy v. Colorado.”

Despite pressure from the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), the Douglas County School Board ultimately sided with Attorney General John Suthers who believes this issue should not be litigated but rather legislated.

Our board has taken a look at it, and we feel that the issue involved is properly dealt with by the elected Legislature, and not the courts, said John Carson, president of the Douglas County School Board.

Even without Douglas County, CASB raided taxpayers’ wallets to the tune of nearly $245,000 to litigate this case.

Thanks to my friends at Complete Colorado for pointing me to this story. You can hear either Todd Shepherd and Justin Longo,of Complete Colorado on my show every Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. on 1310 KFKA for a media wrap up including the most over and under reported news stories of each week as well as stories that could only happen in Boulder.

Cash-strapped Colorado school districts have ponied up nearly $245,000 in taxpayer dollars to fund a class action lawsuit to sue taxpayers for more money for K-12 education according to a recent Face the State article.

The Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) and the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE) are championing the suit, Lobato v. Colorado. In January of this year a letter signed by both organizations (and linked to on Face the State) urged every school district to donate $1 per student to pay for legal expenses.

Greeley Evans School District 6, which suffered an electoral shellacking last November when it asked voters for an enormous mill levy override, acquiesced and gave $17,856 to the cause of demanding more from taxpayers.

The letter also reveals the true intent of the lawsuit: to get rid of the popular Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR).  Talking points that accompanied the letter stated:

…this lawsuit is a powerful lever to move forward fixing the constitutional restrictions that prevent Colorado from adequately funding its public schools. This will be the catalyst for funding reform that has been needed for years.

“Constitutional restrictions” is a code phrase for TABOR.  What the education/industrial complex and those who make their living off it find most annoying is having to ask taxpayers for more money. They would rather just lobby the legislature, where they enjoy a lot of influence, to raise taxes.

Learn more on Monday, when Brad Jones, managing editor of Face the State joins me at 9:30 am on the Amy Oliver Show on News Talk 1310 KFKA.

The article below is from my friend Nancy Rumfelt who witnessed the assault on the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.  There is a feeling that this is the progressive left’s last hurrah so their coalition is trying to ram through the legislature as much as possible and HCR 10-1002 is no exception.

HCR10-1002 is Educational Trojan Horse for TABOR

Today at the Capital was a hearing on house bill HCR10-1002 which if passed will ask voters in November to decide if TABOR should be thrown under the school bus so the legislature can be given all power, responsibility and authority to raise revenue (taxes) to fund education without any further voter approval.

If voters pass in November, the bill will allow the legislature to raise revenue for education that will not be subject to voter approval, any spending limits and can be used for anything labeled education. There are no safeguards in the bill that will prevent any future legislature from going on a spending spree and saying: “oops no money left for the children – guess we will have to raise taxes to buy the lil urchins some school books”. This makes as much sense as when President Obama said we have to spend more to reduce our debt!

I listened to three hours of testimony at the Capital today most of which was in support of this bill and the supporters truly believe that government is here to help and that education will NEVER have cuts again. I am a person who does try to understand differing positions but today even after 3 hours of listening to “their side” I could not find logic to support their beliefs.

There was much talk of needing to invest in education but no one could define invest in what or invest how much, we just need to invest lots of money and passing this measure means education will never do without ever again. I would like to applaud Rep. Frank McNulty who tried several times to get someone, anyone to explain, what is an adequate level of funding for education but no one could answer. When Rep. McNulty pointed out that legislators are expected to know what is adequate you could almost hear everyone’s thoughts of: “well duh you are the all knowing all powerful legislator Gods that takes care of us”.

As a Mom of two beautiful teenage girls, I understand parents wanting the best for their kid’s education but what I don’t understand is bankrupting their kid’s future. The desire to fund education and to never have to worry about money again blinds them all to the true nature of this bill which is to annihilate TABOR. It is naïve to believe that government will not mismanage general funds and then use education as a justification for raising taxes to back fill the deficit created. Supporters of this measure lament that Colorado has one of the strictest revenue limits in the country without understanding that TABOR is what has stopped the state from becoming the next California, New York, New Jersey and so one.

All one has to do is look to Amendment 23, Ref C, Mill Levy Freeze, Vehicle Tax and know that it is never a good idea to give the government a blank check without requiring the taxpayers to be a co-signer on the account! The government whether state or federal is like the space creature from the classic movie The Blob – whatever it consumes it destroys and the more it consumes the larger it becomes until nothing is left.

Where is Steve McQueen when you need him?

Nancy Rumfelt

Co-Founder Loveland 912 Project & Accidental Activist

The resolution passed out of the House Education Committee along a party line vote.  It faces a tougher vote in the full House where it needs two-thirds support to pass.

If you are wondering how much this will cost Colorado families, that’s a good question.  No one knows because no one knows how much the legislature would raise taxes. The fiscal note reads “unknown increase.”   Make no mistake, this would mean a lot more money from taxpayers’ pockets.  And it  would give the Colorado Education Association, the teachers union, enormous power to raise taxes for members’ benefit.  A recent Denver Post editorial warned of the union’s power to persuade.

The teachers union has far more influence with lawmakers, many of whom depend upon the CEA’s support and manpower during election season.

HCR10-1002 is not for the children, it’s for the school bullies who profit at the expense of our children.  Like Nancy Rumfelt, I’m a mom who is sick of my children being exploited as cash cows for K-12.

So how much did you pay in taxes?  Want to send government a message besides just your check?  Then find a Tea Party near you.  Check out the list below and join in the fun.  I hope to visit Greeley, Loveland and Fort Collins so I can be among friends and promote the Independence Institute’s petition gathering process to defend Colorado from ObamaCare.

I would love to go to a Tax Day Tea Party in Lamar or La Junta.  If you are headed that direction, please follow up with details.

Denver - 10:00 am to 1:00pm
Colorado State Capitol
200 E Colfax
http://www.hearus-now.org/taxday2010.html

Colorado Springs - 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Acacia Park (downtown)
http://www.theconstitutionalisttoday.com/come-to-the-tea-party/

Fort Collins - 5:00pm to 7:00pm
Washington Park
301 Maple Street (behind City Hall)
http://www.NorthernColoradoTeaParty.com

Loveland - 4:00pm to 6:00pm
South Shore of Lake Loveland
http://www.loveland912project.org/home

Estes Park - 11:30am to 1:00pm
Bond Park (downtown)

Grand Junction - 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Lincoln Park (12th and North Ave)

Pueblo - 4:00pm to 6:00pm
Pueblo County Courthouse Steps

Woodland Park/Teller County - 2:00pm to 5:00pm
Lions Park - Gold Hill North
Corner of Hwy 67 X 24

Montrose – 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm
Old Courthouse
South First Street

Montrose (yep, there are 2 in Montrose) - 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Corner of Main & Townsend

Delta (This one is on Saturday, 4/17) 10:00 am- 12:00 Noon
Delta Courthouse

La Junta - 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Santa Fe Plaza
More info: Kathy and Betty - 719.853.6683 or 719.384.2473

Lamar - 4:30pm
In front of Courthouse

Greeley - 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm

Greeley Post Office, West 10th Street

www.greeley912.net

Thanks to Complete Colorado for leading with this story from CNN: 33 states out of money to fund jobless benefits.  Colorado is one of them having borrowed $186 million from the federal government.

So let’s get this straight — a state that is required to have a balanced budget borrows from the federal government, which is already over $12 trillion in debt.  Colorado’s unemployment rate is rising, but at 7.7 percent it is still lower than the national average of just under 10 percent.  Maybe the state just couldn’t cut those road trips to Beaver Run Resort.

Question is who will pay for it? For taxpayers it doesn’t matter if the money comes from the state or the federal government.  It still comes out of our pocket.

Columnist Peggy Noonan is a master of language and understanding human nature.  Her most recent Wall Street Journal column suggests what we, as average taxpaying Americans, would like to hear from those who played roulette with our money and lost big.

“Let’s be real. This is what happened the past 10 years. You, for political reasons, both Republicans and Democrats, finagled the mortgage system so that people who make, like, zero dollars a year were given mortgages for $600,000 houses. You got to run around and crow about how under your watch everyone became a homeowner. You shook down the taxpayer and hoped for the best.

“Democrats did it because they thought it would make everyone Democrats: ‘Look what I give you!’ Republicans did it because they thought it would make everyone Republicans: ‘I’m a homeowner, I’ve got a stake, don’t raise my property taxes, get off my lawn!’ And Wall Street? We went to town, baby. We bundled the mortgages and sold them to fools, or we held them, called them assets, and made believe everyone would pay their mortgage. As if we cared. We invented financial instruments so complicated no one, even the people who sold them, understood what they were.

“You’re finaglers and we’re finaglers. I play for dollars, you play for votes. In our own ways we’re all thieves. We would be called desperadoes if we weren’t so boring, so utterly banal in our soft-jawed, full-jowled selfishness. If there were any justice, we’d be forced to duel, with the peasants of America holding our cloaks. Only we’d both make sure we missed, wouldn’t we?”

Sadly you won’t find that in the official record because it was never spoken. But Noonan is correct it “would be a kind of breathe of fresh air.”   We’ve got a better chance of proving anthropogenic global warming than hearing that kind of raw honesty.

Here’s what we really heard this week when former Citibank CEO Charles Prince testified in front of the Financial Inquiry Commission and explained why we are experiencing the worst economy since the Great Depression. A commissioner asked Prince if he knew why American homeowners experienced a 30 percent decline in property values, Prince responded:

Yes, we haven’t had such a decline “since the Great Depression.” The reason is before the crash there was “a bubble.” There was too much “easy money.” Then the bubble popped.

With that kind of insight, it is no wonder that Citibank was granted $45 billion in taxpayer bailout funds.  Meanwhile a beautiful and historic home right next to mine has lost nearly 50 percent of its value.

Just about the time I think pompous members of Congress and other elected officials at the state level have done everything possible to infuriate me, I read something like from the CBS News: “Copenhagen Summit Turned Junket?”  

Fifteen Democrat and six Republican members of Congress, their staff and their families spent hundreds of thousands of our dollars going to Copenhagen, including Colorado’s own Diana DeGette who bragged about her taxpayer-funded, all-expenses-paid “junket” in the Denver Post.  She concluded her second “dispatch” with this observation:

At the time of this writing, the final agreement has not yet been approved. It is almost certain that the final binding deal will not be reached in Copenhagen, but we have every reason to believe that we are moving in the right direction.

Thank goodness they don’t have a “final agreement.” It’s one of the few times, I’ve been thankful that wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayers dollars resulted in nothing other than wasted money.

Or I read something like this about our state government: “Go on take a free ride.”  Parole bought more than 60 2009 hybrid sedans in the midst of the “worst recession since the Great Depression.”

Or this: “Road trip to Beaver Run Resort.”  Apparently Colorado spent nearly $300,000 on things like “official functions” and “customer workshops.”

If you really want to get MAD check out the US Debt Clock.

Is anyone really surprised at the anger that launched such movements as Tea Parties and 9.12 Projects or my new group Mothers Against Debt.  Please join MAD.  No dues.  No meetings.  Just a pledge to hold accountable any elected officials who recklessly spend our children’s money pushing them further into debt.  Let me know what you think of the new logo.