Monthly Archives: June 2020

Jun 17

THREE PUNCHES TO KNOCK DOWN DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM

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THREE PUNCHES TO KNOCK DOWN DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM

@ Waters Edge Winery

June 22nd

 

 

 

 

 

Helen Raleigh and Dr. Paul Prentice will discuss the battle of ideas between Capitalism and Socialism. Join us for this very important conversation.

Tickets are $20 per person, plus a $3 processing fee per ticket.

Click (HERE) to learn more and order tickets:

As the Democratic Socialists become more prominent, both nationally and at our dinner tables, it is very likely you will find yourself debating one. This battle of ideas, Capitalism vs Socialism, is at the very core of the current political discourse. Whichever side wins this battle will determine the fate of the American Experiment. Will we remain a free society, or will we succumb to the siren call of false security provided by government?

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Jun 16

Colorado Legislature gives final approval to a charitable bingo and raffles amendment, cigarette tax increase measure

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FILE - Cigarettes
www.hollandfoto.net / Shutterstock.com

On June 15, the Colorado State Legislature sent two measures to the November 2020 ballot.

One measure would amend the state constitution to require charitable organizations to have existed for three years before obtaining a charitable gaming license instead of the current constitutional requirement of five years. The amendment would allow charitable organizations to hire managers and operators of gaming activities so long as they are not paid more than the minimum wage. Currently, the constitution requires those who operate charitable gaming activities to be a member of the organization working as an unpaid volunteer.

The other measure would increase cigarette taxes and create a new tax on nicotine products such as e-cigarettes. It would dedicate revenues to various health and education programs. The measure requires voter approval under TABOR since it would increase state revenue.

To continue reading this story, please click (HERE):

Jun 11

Initiative backers want voter approval for big state fees; new enterprise bill cited as reason needed

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Initiative backers want voter approval for big state fees; new enterprise bill cited as reason needed

 By Sherrie Peif

TABOR is an amendment to the state Constitution requiring, among other things, that new or increased taxes be approved by voters.

The executive director of Colorado Rising State Action, Michael Fields, said Initiative 295, which would go into state statute, is more important now than ever as the state grapples with $3.3 billion in budget cuts and looks to find new sources of revenues.

Senate Bill 20-215 is “a perfect example of them trying to go around TABOR to raise revenue by calling them fees,” Fields said. “Clearly, this is the move they are going to make, raising taxes by calling them fees.”

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Jun 11

Mahaney: Have taxes been raised?

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To quote the Pueblo West district manager as printed in the June 4, 2020 article headed “So Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go?” In sub heading No. 4, the spin starts as “We are continuing to provide the same services as when Pueblo West originated and that is without a mill levy increase since 1971, which doesn’t allow for the cost of inflation of goods and services since 1971.

My “old daddy” once told me, figures don’t lie, but liars can figure. The two points the quote does not explain is that first property taxes have gone up. As the Pueblo County assessor reassess the value of a home the same mill levy generates a higher tax bill. Ask anyone if their property tax bill has gone up in the last two years. Property values tend to track with inflation.

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) was made into law to restrain local government from expanding without taxpayer approval.

To continue reading this letter-to-the-editor, please click (HERE):

Jun 11

Editorial; Legislature plans to bury us in taxes

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Never has one simple fact been so clear. Businesses fund everything. When shut down to slow the spread of COVID-19, the state government went from a nearly $1 billion revenue surplus to a $3 billion shortfall. Shuttered businesses don’t collect sales taxes, and their out-of-work employees don’t pay state income taxes.

Given the sorry state of our economy and state budget, business recovery should be the Legislature’s top priority. To help them recover and survive, lawmakers should reduce the burden of overhead. Give these struggling patients oxygen and support; bill them for it later.

Instead of helping businesses recover and survive, legislators want more money from them immediately. Toward that self-destructive end, Democrats introduced House Bill 1420 on Monday and passed it out of committee Tuesday with the session ending this week.

To continue reading this story, please click (HERE):