Coloradans Against Credit Ratings

With the federal government spending more to try and limit the effects of the recession, and many states dealing with budget crises, Republicans across the country have used high deficits to try and block Democratic legislation. Their line of reasoning argues that with the national debt at $13 Trillion and growing, government should limit spending. For example, Senate Republicans have successfully filibustered legislation extending unemployment benefits using this argument as their reasoning.

But a ballot measure in Colorado takes this philosophy to the extreme. As Pat Garofalo at ThinkProgress.org reports, this November voters will decide on Amendment 61, which would "prevent the state from borrowing money - any money, at all, ever - and limit local governments to borrowing for just ten years and only with voter approval." The measure is so ludicrous that it's drawn scathing critiques from not only Colorado State Treasurer Cary Kennedy (D) and Citizens for Tax Justice, but even Republican lawmakers. Garofalo quotes state Senator Josh Penry (R) as saying that a number of new projects "were done without raising taxes thanks to the creative financing structures that (Amendment) 61 would ban."

But the most scathing critique came from the Denver Post Editorial Board last week. The Post wrote that if passed, the measure would affect everything from new infrastructure to public school revenue to public utilities: "Think in terms of your own finances. Could you afford to buy your house with cash - without financing? Imagine the prohibitively high monthly payments if you had to buy the house with a 10-year mortgage instead of the traditional 30-year." The kicker to this horribly designed idea is that it's unnecessary. According to the Post, "One of the proponents had the audacity to claim the amendment is an answer to ‘massive deficit spending.' That's hogwash. In Colorado, by law, the budget must balance each year. There is no deficit spending." In short, Amendment 61 shows why it is so important to vote all the way down the ballot on Election Day.