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I have to give the governor credit for consistency. When it comes to pursuing the agenda of the left, he knows how to put the pedal to the metal. He talks a good line, too, almost good enough to make a person believe that having the government grab your wallet with both hands while telling you that it knows better than you what to do with your money and your life is the reasonable thing to do.
Yep, all in all, Boss Ritter is a pretty good example of activist government at its most virulent. And you’re going to pay for it, big time. After unionizing the state government with a stroke of his pen, the Governor has decided that we’re all going to help save the planet by “going green.”
Leaving aside the dubious science involved in tagging humans for planetary climate cycles, this decision has very profound financial implications for all of us. Let’s take gasoline, that commodity most necessary for our continued existence and prosperity here in Summit County.
After all, people don’t walk here to ski, and unless I’m mistaken, the rails to Breckenridge were ripped up decades ago. So we have I-70 at its best and worst.
Given that, and all the other driving we do in this scattered state, the Governor has decided that we ought to try reformulated gasoline, to avoid pollution through evaporation.
That will cost about 8 cents more per gallon; calculate the per-year cost of your own personal Governor Ritter Evaporation Tax now. Also in the works is a plan being studied by the Governor’s transportation task force which would funnel about a billion dollars a year of “new money” — that’s fancy talk for new taxes, by the way — into the state Highway Users Tax Fund, earmarked especially for state and local transportation needs.
That will be an additional 13 cent tax per gallon of gas, thanks. You didn’t really believe the Ref C crowd when they told you their pet project wouldn’t be a permanent stake through the heart of TABOR, did you? And since that billion dollars a year doesn’t even amount to half of what the Colorado Department of Transportation says will be needed over the next 28 years, don’t expect this to be the last trip to the trough. Don’t misapprehend. I recognize the necessity for good infrastucture as much as the next guy.
See “walking here to ski,” above. And I realize that if we want maintenance and improvements, we must pay for them. That is one of the proper functions of government. But there’s something fishy about where, and for what, much of these new funds will be spent. Judging from the number of times that light rail lines, light rail stations, feeder services to light rail nodes and similar high-expense, low-use boondoggles are mentioned in the first 100 pages of the 517-page CDOT “Statewide 2030 Corridor Vision” plan, don’t expect much new paving to be spread our way any time soon.
But fear not. Those trendy “New Urbanists” down on the Front Range will be glad to spend your tax dollars on their latest schemes for public transit. And for everyone drooling over the possibilities suggested by the $172 million dollars a year proposed for “strategic” transit — code for light rail to Summit County and elsewhere — forget it.
That sum won’t even pay the interest on the bonds necessary to fund construction of that white elephant. Maybe that’s why the alternative proposed by the transportation task force was $2 billion a year.
Pretty soon we’re going to be talking about real money here. By the way, this new tax is intended to replace the revenue stream currently provided by Senate Bill 1 of 1997 and House Bill 1310 of 2002, which provided CDOT with $272 million this year.
Apparently, this funding mechanism had the fatal flaw of being sensitive to the state’s economic condition; during the last recession, funds tapered off as growth slowed. Rest assured, the new tax won’t let that happen again.
And the $272 million which will probably be raised by the old mechanism next year? If you believe that will be counted as part of the billion buck boost, well ... that’s just cute. Credulous, but cute. Instead, it will reportedly be transferred to the higher education segment of the budget, together with the $59 million of “new money” — remember the code — that Governor Ritter has already requested.
Neat, huh? Incidentally, all these “enhancements” and shuffling will result in an overall increase of more than six percent in the state budget. Hands up, all of you who got a 6 percent raise this year. I see ... something to keep in mind when the Governor comes up with even more ways to spend your money better than you ever could, next year.
<i>Summit County resident Morgan Liddick pens a Tuesday column. E-mail him at mcliddick@hotmail.com. Also, comment on this column at www.summitdaily.com.<;/i>
Yep, all in all, Boss Ritter is a pretty good example of activist government at its most virulent. And you’re going to pay for it, big time. After unionizing the state government with a stroke of his pen, the Governor has decided that we’re all going to help save the planet by “going green.”
Leaving aside the dubious science involved in tagging humans for planetary climate cycles, this decision has very profound financial implications for all of us. Let’s take gasoline, that commodity most necessary for our continued existence and prosperity here in Summit County.
After all, people don’t walk here to ski, and unless I’m mistaken, the rails to Breckenridge were ripped up decades ago. So we have I-70 at its best and worst.
Given that, and all the other driving we do in this scattered state, the Governor has decided that we ought to try reformulated gasoline, to avoid pollution through evaporation.
That will cost about 8 cents more per gallon; calculate the per-year cost of your own personal Governor Ritter Evaporation Tax now. Also in the works is a plan being studied by the Governor’s transportation task force which would funnel about a billion dollars a year of “new money” — that’s fancy talk for new taxes, by the way — into the state Highway Users Tax Fund, earmarked especially for state and local transportation needs.
That will be an additional 13 cent tax per gallon of gas, thanks. You didn’t really believe the Ref C crowd when they told you their pet project wouldn’t be a permanent stake through the heart of TABOR, did you? And since that billion dollars a year doesn’t even amount to half of what the Colorado Department of Transportation says will be needed over the next 28 years, don’t expect this to be the last trip to the trough. Don’t misapprehend. I recognize the necessity for good infrastucture as much as the next guy.
See “walking here to ski,” above. And I realize that if we want maintenance and improvements, we must pay for them. That is one of the proper functions of government. But there’s something fishy about where, and for what, much of these new funds will be spent. Judging from the number of times that light rail lines, light rail stations, feeder services to light rail nodes and similar high-expense, low-use boondoggles are mentioned in the first 100 pages of the 517-page CDOT “Statewide 2030 Corridor Vision” plan, don’t expect much new paving to be spread our way any time soon.
But fear not. Those trendy “New Urbanists” down on the Front Range will be glad to spend your tax dollars on their latest schemes for public transit. And for everyone drooling over the possibilities suggested by the $172 million dollars a year proposed for “strategic” transit — code for light rail to Summit County and elsewhere — forget it.
That sum won’t even pay the interest on the bonds necessary to fund construction of that white elephant. Maybe that’s why the alternative proposed by the transportation task force was $2 billion a year.
Pretty soon we’re going to be talking about real money here. By the way, this new tax is intended to replace the revenue stream currently provided by Senate Bill 1 of 1997 and House Bill 1310 of 2002, which provided CDOT with $272 million this year.
Apparently, this funding mechanism had the fatal flaw of being sensitive to the state’s economic condition; during the last recession, funds tapered off as growth slowed. Rest assured, the new tax won’t let that happen again.
And the $272 million which will probably be raised by the old mechanism next year? If you believe that will be counted as part of the billion buck boost, well ... that’s just cute. Credulous, but cute. Instead, it will reportedly be transferred to the higher education segment of the budget, together with the $59 million of “new money” — remember the code — that Governor Ritter has already requested.
Neat, huh? Incidentally, all these “enhancements” and shuffling will result in an overall increase of more than six percent in the state budget. Hands up, all of you who got a 6 percent raise this year. I see ... something to keep in mind when the Governor comes up with even more ways to spend your money better than you ever could, next year.
<i>Summit County resident Morgan Liddick pens a Tuesday column. E-mail him at mcliddick@hotmail.com. Also, comment on this column at www.summitdaily.com.<;/i>
