VOTE YES ON REFERENDUMS C&D
Maybe we're not voting for a president or even a senator this time around the polls, but we are betting the bank on higher education and other essential state programs.
In case you've been living under a rock and haven't heard the news, Colorado has a bit of a problem on her hands.
The problem isn't the budget. Rather, it's the lack of one. Colorado, for several reasons, has seen a lack of income and it essentially can't afford to function any more.
That's where you come in.
There is a solution, but it can't happen without you and a yes vote on two ballot measures: Referendums C and D.
Here's the deal: TABOR was cool back in the '90s. It held a tight leash on the politicos, and rightfully so. They tend to have a compulsive spending habit, especially when it's not their own money. However, all good things must come to an end. Colorado's economic boom did. And so, too, must TABOR.
But, that's the genius behind the ballot: it doesn't end TABOR, it only furloughs it for five years so the state can reclaim its losses.
The state has already cut billions. Yeah, that's a "b" as in BILLIONS. You've seen it in the never-ending tuition increases. And another $200 million will have to be cut, not only from higher education, but also from transportation and health care.
Simply, if C and D don't pass, publicly-funded higher education will cease to exist in Colorado by 2015. According to the Bell Policy Action Network, the College Opportunity Fund stipends will drop from the current $2,400 it currently is, to zero by 2015.
We can't let this happen.
Let's say C and D don't pass. You as a taxpayer will receive, on average, a combined total of $450 over the five years C and D would stand. Don't spend that all in one place, like, say, the Auraria Bookstore. Seriously, the refund you'll receive may buy you three textbooks, if you're lucky.
Then again, compared to what you'll have to dish out for tuition, $450 will be nothing more than a blip on the radar.
We urge you to vote yes on Referendum C and D.