Re: “Polis signs budget with $1.2B in cuts<\/a>,” April 29 news story<\/p>\n Kudos to Colorado lawmakers for completing a bipartisan budget this year.<\/p>\n If you do the math, you\u2019ll find that the state budget for 2025-26 resulted in about an 8% increase (not accounting for inflation). If the $1.2 billion in \u201ccuts\u201d were included, the increase would have been over 10%!<\/p>\n The constant negative barrage about TABOR by those who feed at the state tax trough is a long-term campaign aimed at the voters\u2019 perception of what\u2019s needed to effectively run the business of the state of Colorado.<\/p>\n Like any real business or personal household, there are needs vs. wants. This is exactly what TABOR was designed to do: prevent unchecked spending increases and force prioritizing. In the eyes of our lawmakers, every aspect of proposed budgets is \u201ccritical.\u201d\u00a0 So difficult decisions must be made.<\/p>\n I would love to get an 8% increase in my income every year.<\/p>\n Instead of demonizing TABOR, lawmakers need to come up with ways to increase revenue intake when it\u2019s needed. Special referendums (like Referendum C<\/a> in 2005-06) require voter approval to keep tax money for a limited time to be used for a specific need (not the general fund). Write better, specific tax proposals, and we\u2019ll give you the money for what\u2019s needed. Colorado voters recognize lipstick on a pig when they see it. We want good roads, health, safety and education too.<\/p>\n TABOR may need to be \u201ctweaked,\u201d but it works.<\/p>\n \u2014 Ed Picard, Arvada<\/em><\/p>\n In the 1930s, workers at American automobile plants staged sit-ins on the factory floor, risking their personal safety from company security guards, their income by being fired during a period of record-high unemployment, and their personal freedom by being arrested by the police, to protest unfairly low wages and unsafe working conditions. Their actions led to wage-and-hour laws, industrial safety laws, and the right to organize.<\/p>\n In the early 1960s, Black people in the South staged sit-ins at lunch counters and stopped sales, risking their personal safety from angry Whites and their freedoms from White-controlled police agencies. Their actions led to the civil rights laws of the 1960s and the idea that public accommodations are open to all members of the public.<\/p>\n On April 27, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democratic House members staged a sit-in to protest a Republican bill to give tax cuts to billionaires. Their sit-in took place on a Sunday, when the House of Representatives was not in session, outside the Capitol building where any Republican representatives who were there could have easily walked past them. But it sure looked good on social media and will make for great visuals in 15-second political ads in 2026.<\/p>\n When will Congressional Democrats take real steps to find centrist Republicans and stop President Donald Trump\u2019s bold power grab and billionaires\u2019 bold cash grab from the poor before the Democrats become irrelevant?<\/p>\n The way President Trump is acting, there may not be a 2026 election.<\/p>\n \u2014 Peter Gross, Englewood<\/em><\/p>\n Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more. <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online<\/a> or check out our guidelines<\/a> for how to submit by email or mail.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Stop demonizing TABOR Re: “Polis signs budget with $1.2B in cuts,” April 29 news story Kudos to Colorado lawmakers for completing a bipartisan budget this year. If you do the<\/p>\nSit-in not bold enough to stop Trump power moves<\/h4>\n