TABOR

The Center on Budget on Policy Priorities, A D.C. think tank, published a report on September 12, 2005, entitled "A State of Decline: What A TABOR Would Mean for Kansas". A 'TABOR' is a proposed constitutional amendment to limit state government expenditures. The report illustrates the potential impact and magnitude a TABOR would have on Kansas. You can find it at http://www.cbpp.org under "New From the Center" (top right).

The TABOR proposal is like a corporate poison pill that boards adopt to frustrate take-over attempts. Even if the pols who propose it are long gone from political favor, it's in the constitution and difficult to remove, like the ban on gay marriage. Some might say this is a good thing, but why would a politician prevent themselves from being able to represent their constituents effectively? TABOR may sound like a good deal to people who don't want to pay taxes to support government spending approved by duly elected representatives of the people. But, in emergencies it would be a Denver boot on legitimate action by government to meet the needs of the public. That's scary.

Almost no one likes to pay taxes, but everyone likes the safety and benefits from the collective actions of government that are supported by taxes. The pols who like TABOR are the ones who basically don't like government. Is it greed, avarice, or parsimony that motivates the TABORites? Perhaps, it's just misguided conservatism, like pushing the envelope to achieve the ultimate no-tax-increase pledge.

We'll be watching the TABOR proposal as time goes on.