Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Tax increases and fall ballot issues George in Denver urges voters to vote yes on 1C. Category: Denver November 2007 Election 6:19:17 PM

Denver: Tax increases and fall ballot issues Here's a look at the fall ballot issues from Dave Harsanyi via The Denver Post. From the article: A little here and a little there. You know how it is. A small price to pay for a World-Class City. This is what we're told each time Denver (or Colorado) comes begging for more money - which is now every year. Did you notice during Mayor John Hickenlooper's re-election campaign - or rather, coronation - all things Denver were hunky-dory? Well, by now most of you have, quite regrettably, witnessed a new commercial starring the mayor along with his merry band of Nickelodeon-style "big red letters" asking Denverites to save the city by voting "Yes on Issues A-I." More specifically, and less conveniently, they are "Issues A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and I." The mayor and numerous City Council members, who so desperately worked to bundle together these issues in an effort to deny voters any choice, would have us believe all these questions are one. They are not... First off, "the big red letters" are patently idiotic and offensive to anyone over 5 years of age. More importantly, these spots offer us a glimpse into how politicians perceive voters: as a bunch of children... Though, clearly, a skeptic could find plenty to quibble over in A through I, the mayor has made a persuasive case for many issues on the docket. Infrastructure needs and so on. ... Yet what are we to make of the $40 million tax increase to expand Boettcher Hall, home of the Denver Symphony, and another $30 million to upgrade the Denver Museum of Nature & Science? Does a World-Class City need a world-class symphony? Sure. If citizens in said city actually supported the symphony. This city apparently doesn't. After all, since when are citizens expected to collectively provide entertainment for each other? That's what the symphony is ... entertainment for the well-off. So the well-off should open their pockets and raise $40 million. Then let's remember that it was only 2004 when metro Denver boosters came crying to us for tax dollars because attendance and private fundraising couldn't possibly keep the doors open at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and other science and "cultural facilities." We extended a sales tax to keep them afloat. Interesting then, that financial reports filed last week show the "Better Denver" campaign received donations from big-business names such as MDC Holdings Inc., Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Xcel Energy and Stapleton developer Forest City. All of these entities will reap tremendous financial benefits from these tax increases. Also on the list, though, were the Colorado Symphony Association, Denver Botanic Gardens and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, which gave to the tune of $100,000. You can't survive, but you can take money from attendees and members and turn around and use it to support an advertising campaign designed to coax more money from taxpayers? Many folks will tell you that failing to support institutions like the Denver Museum of Nature & Science means you're an inferior member of "the community." But no other major city has used tax increases to keep similar facilities afloat. If a citizen is inclined to support the Museum of Nature & Science, please do so. Join. Donate - as many individuals and corporations already do - to help provide free days for those who are less fortunate. There are projects worthy of collective support. Then there projects and institutions perfectly capable of living off private funding. Let's not forget the distinction. Category: Denver November 2007 Election 6:22:02 AM

© Copyright 2007 John Orr. Last update: 11/4/07; 8:33:26 AM.