TABOR - In Colorado

We here in Wisconsin are debating our own Tax Payer Bill Of Rights (TABOR) amendment. The Colorado experience has been used most vocally by the opponents. This editorial from the WSJ seems to make a pretty strong case for TABOR measures and hits on a number of issues we find ourselves facing with our own RINOs (Republicans In Name Only):

"One measure of how far Mr. Owens has shifted fiscally is the local media coverage, which was quick to note that his proposals are very similar to what tax-and-spend Democratic Legislators have been pushing for years. Mr. Owens has been at politics long enough to know that if you're a Republican being praised in the press for having grown in office, then you've probably surrendered some principle."

Twenty seven states have some spending cap measures. Wisconsin is not one of them. I have said in the past that Wisconsin's problem is not high taxes - it is high spending.

"Not that we think Tabor needs tinkering; the dread ratchet effect is its most important feature and one of the reasons that states like California, Maine, Kansas and Ohio are considering their own version of Tabor. By forcing lawmakers to put the brakes on spending, even after a downturn in the economy, Tabor gives government an incentive to take on self-correcting tasks that aren't in its nature. Selling off excess assets and reforming procedures for procurement and competitive contracting aren't high on a state's list of priorities unless there's a fiscal squeeze. Tabor helps state governments find these efficiencies. Bill Owens used to know that."