Our View - Sunday

JUDGE MIGHT SET DEMS STRAIGHT
Caldara defends taxpayers in court

   Someday they'll erect a statue of Jon Caldara, hopefully smack in the middle of Boulder, in recognition of his tireless defense of working Coloradans who want to keep some of their hard-earned money to feed their children and live their lives. For now, let's just hold out for Caldara to prevail in court.

   Denver District Judge Christina Habas on Friday heard closing arguments in a lawsuit brought by Caldara and his libertarianleaning Independence Institute. Caldara went to court claiming the obvious: A Democrat-initiated mill levy freeze last year resulted in a tax hike that boldly breaks state law.

   Basically, Democrat Gov. Ritter and Democrats who control the Legislature imposed a mill levy freeze on school districts throughout the state. Colorado's Constitution prohibits tax increases that aren't approved by voters. Therefore, when property values increase in a district the mill levy must be adjusted down so that it doesn't generate additional property tax revenue. Because of the state-imposed mill levy freeze, rising property values have resulted in higher taxes without voter approval.

   Democrats claim most of the state's school districts had already approved de-Brucing measures, meaning they had voted to escape the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, a constitutional amendment crafted by Douglas Bruce, who serves today as a Republican legislator from Colorado Springs. But that's not really what they voted for. Witnesses from districts throughout the state said they voted not for higher taxes, but for the opportunity to keep additional revenues, mostly in the form of gifts, without having to turn away state revenue.

   The Democratic argument seemed overtly deceptive, because additional revenues raised by the mill levy freeze/tax increase don't go directly to the schools. Instead, they enrich the general fund in order to help legislators spend as they please. Witnesses for Caldara said they never voted for anything that was supposed to allow tax increases without voter approval. At best, Democrats are trying to abuse the will of the public through willful misinterpretation of voter intent.

   A highlight in the trial was the testimony of Democratic State Treasurer Cary Kennedy, who helped design the illegal tax increase. Kennedy conceded on the stand that the mill-levy freeze raises tax bills for home and business owners.

   "Apparently, it took a Bible and a witness stand to get the governor and his allies to admit their tax hike is, in fact, a tax hike," said Senate GOP leader Andy McElhany, of Colorado Springs, as quoted in Colorado Senate News. "Of course, the rest of the state already knew as much, especially when homeowners and business owners got their property-tax bills earlier this year."

   Dear Gov. Ritter and Legislative Democrats: Colorado voters decided in 1993 that politicians could no longer unilaterally raise their taxes. You hate the law, but it is the law. If Judge Habas does the right thing, by taking you down, you owe the entire state a huge apology. And the state will owe Jon Caldara a debt of gratitude - and a statue.

MOMS ARE LIKE SUPERHEROES

   We hate to quibble with ancient, dead Greek philosophers - it's typically a losing battle - but we have a bone to pick with Sophocles. (OK, so he was more or less a playwright and not a philosopher, but let's not get tangled up in the periphery.)

   Sophocles is credited with the statement: "Children are the anchors that hold a mother to life." Back in his day that may have held true. But in our experience, it most certainly is the other way around.

   Mothers are the anchors, the givers of life, the rocks upon which our families are built. With equal dexterity, they clean up the kids after a finger-painting session, the checkbook after Dad returns from a sale at Home Depot, the dog after he decides to sample the fare at Ché Garbage Can and the house after, well, a day of family life.

   With apologies to Enjoli perfume (search YouTube for it, kids), she really can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. The evolution of our economy requires many women to juggle work and home responsibilities to help make ends meet. Yet with all that on their shoulders, they still make certain we stand up straight, clean our plates and pick those dirty socks up off the floor, for goodness' sake.

   On this Mothers' Day, we pause to tell Mom how much we appreciate all she does, even though, to date, we have yet to get in a car wreck while wearing underwear with holes in them, and we've yet to poke out an eye with a stick.

JUDGE CALLS OFF COUNTY

   Readers might remember George Will's column, "Courts must ride herd on runaway governments," in the March 22 Gazette about the trouble San Tan Flat steakhouse is having with the Pinal County government. The central Arizona county was using an old law restricting dance halls to try to shut down San Tan's patio dining which features live music.

   Superior Court Judge William O'Neil recently saw through Pinal County's farce of claiming the restaurant was an illegal outdoor dance hall.

   "When a local government restricts freedoms, it's a dangerous thing," the judge said.

   But this blatant abuse of government power has serious consequences, as the county threatened to put father-and-son owners Dale and Spencer Bell out of business. O'Neil grasped the implications so clearly he ruled against Pinal County directly from his bench instead of waiting the usual days or weeks to issue an opinion in writing.

   Good for him, and good for us all.