Jefferson Review

"Your Liberty is Our Interest"

Home /  Archives / Links / Quotes / Book Reviews / Advertise /Contact us / Subscribe / Calendar

New Bill of Rights needed to protect Kentucky taxpayers

Recent mischief by politicians in the state of Washington substantiates the need for a Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights (TABOR) to rein in irresponsible, big-spending government.

Not only did Washington’s lawmakers vote to reduce the number of votes needed to raise taxes – from a two-thirds majority to a simple one – they then proceeded to approve additional spending and $500 million in new taxes.

To make sure their big-spending handiwork was not undone by another vote of the people, the politicians attached an emergency clause to their changes that subverted the constitutionally protected right of Washington taxpayers to pursue a referendum.

Such mischief shows that without restrictions like the ones provided by TABOR, government will go to any length to satisfy its spending habits. Policymakers have little incentive to behave responsibly when they are not subject to real budgetary constraints.

TABOR offers a simple and effective way to curb politicians’ big-spending appetites by using a formula that limits spending increases to inflation plus population growth. Excess funds are returned to taxpayers. Colorado taxpayers have received $3.2 billion in refunds since 1997 as a result of that state’s highly acclaimed TABOR.

TABOR does not only work to restrain spending at the state level. A 2004 report by the Heritage Foundation showed that if TABOR were implemented on the federal level, taxpayers would save more than $4 trillion during the next decade.

Unprecedented spending by Kentucky’s politicians during the last legislative session is clear evidence that the commonwealth needs its own Taxpayer Bill of Rights as much as any other state or nation.

Sources:

"Washington state sued for overturning tax cap" by Jason Mercier, The Heartland Institute

 "Restrain runaway spending with a federal Taxpayers' Bill of Rights" by Brian M. Riedl, The Heritage Foundation

"Hijacking TABOR with a baseball bat" Bluegrass Institute

Weather (Louisville) / Mapquest /  White Pages / Business Search / CNN / Dictionary / E-card / MSN