In the News Another Point of View By Deb Crago, Director of Economic Development, Kimball, NE (Former Risk Manager – Aravda, CO) Mike Groene's recent article on Initiative 423 tells only part of the story. He, rightly, used the Colorado example to help figure out what this proposed constitutional amendment might mean to Nebraska but he came to the wrong conclusion. Colorado is the only state in the country to have a 423-type measure. In Colorado, it is called "TABOR". Like Initiative 423 it is a rigid limitation on government spending that restricts growth to the rate of inflation and population change. It may sound reasonable but TABOR was bad for Coloradans and 423 will be bad for Nebraskans. Mr. Groene says 423 will cut government but it won't eliminate any services. Colorado found just the opposite. In Colorado, TABOR led to dramatic reductions in education, health care, emergency and other vital services. The service cuts resulted in many local jurisdictions approving increases in local taxes. Even those local increases, however, were not enough to overcome state cuts. Colorado's ranking of support, as a percentage of income, for K-12 education fell from 35th in 1992 to 49th in 2001, and for higher education it dropped from 34th in 1992 to 48th in 2004. Further, health insurance coverage for low-income children moved from 33rd in 1992, to 50th in 2004. As TABOR squeezed resources during the good economic times, education, health care and other vital services were getting cut. When the economy hit the skids, Colorado was in no shape to weather the bad times and services were reduced to dangerous levels. I don't believe this is the kind of outcome Nebraskans want. Mr. Groene's claim that TABOR helped Colorado's economy is just plain bunk. TABOR actually hampered the Colorado economy that had been booming. During the years since TABOR was enacted, Colorado's growth has been average or even slower than its neighboring states. Nebraska's average annual job growth from 2001-2006 has been 7.5 percent, while Colorado's is a miserable .2 percent (that's right – point 2 percent). Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, and Utah also have had higher job growth than Colorado. None of these other states had a 423/TABOR scheme in place. And in November 2005, it was the Colorado business community that led the successful campaign to set aside the TABOR formula. Business leaders in Colorado have said over and over that investments in schools, roads, universities and health care are what bring and keep good jobs in the state. As a matter of fact, the president of the Denver Chamber of Commerce reported that the number of business prospects expressing interest in Colorado grew after voters set aside the rigid TABOR formula. This victory kept Colorado from having to make dramatic additional cuts and has allowed the state to begin restoring a few of the lost services and get its economy back on track. Mr. Groene claims that 423 will make politicians more accountable. We all want our politicians to be more accountable but 423 simply has nothing to do with making them so. Rather than creating accountability among politicians, a rigid constitutional formula creates a great excuse for them to avoid hard choices. We don't need to give them another reason for not doing what we want. We are facing some tough economic issues in Nebraska– an aging population, increasing demand for public services, a slow growing economy – we need our leaders to have the ability to respond to changing times not to have their hands tied by rigid, one size fits all formulas. Mr. Groene says 423 will force politicians to "shun special interests" by requiring voters to approve spending, even when the state has the money for it. How does he figure that campaigns funded by deep pockets and 30 second sound bites will get rid of special interests? And does he really think this is the best way to decide if our schools, universities or health care system needs more money? What I find most frustrating about the 423 debate here in Nebraska is that it is not a homegrown idea that has developed from the grassroots in Nebraska. It is an idea being foisted off on us by a New York real estate tycoon. What does he know about Nebraska or Colorado for that matter? Recently I had a Colorado rancher remind me that if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. TABOR is a gimmick. It is a gimmick that promises to address many legitimate concerns of taxpayers everywhere. While the problems may be real the proposed solution is unrealistic. Fellow Nebraskans, let's be very wary of this proposal called Initiative 423. Let's learn the real lessons from Colorado and say no to Initiative 423 on November 7.