As noted at the beginning of this article, in 1987 electricity customers finished paying off the principal and interest for the Hoover Dam, completed in 1936…
Category: Opinion/Letters
EDITORIAL: The Murder and Resurrection of the Colorado River, Part One
“Go West, young man, go West. There is health in the country, and room away from our crowds of idlers and imbeciles…”
EDITORIAL: Fake News and Misinformation, Part Three
One of the most obvious tools of misinformation is the sharing an opinion, or a prediction, or an estimate, as if it were a “fact”…
EDITORIAL: Fake News and Misinformation, Part Two
Essentially, the developers are proposing to create a $180 million expansion of the Springs Resort… and arrange it so that the expansion pays zero taxes for 25 years… no taxes of any kind…
EDITORIAL: Fake News and Misinformation, Part One
We don’t have a clear understanding of certain government matters that might have a significant bearing on the long-range future of our community….
EDITORIAL: The Case For and Against Proposition CC, Part Three
This pattern of government expansion is not unique to Colorado, of course. Yes, we’re the only state with a “Taxpayers Bill of Rights”…
EDITORIAL: The Case For and Against Proposition CC, Part Two
“Colorado has the No. 1 economy in the country… and TABOR is a big part of that…”
EDITORIAL: The Case For and Against Proposition CC, Part One
According to ‘Yes on Prop CC,’ the measure would allow Colorado to “attract and keep quality teachers” and “repair unsafe bridges and crumbling roads….”
EDITORIAL: Will Gambling Addicts Pay Our Water Debts?
Proposition DD is predicted to raise $29 million in annual taxes, via a 10% tax on casino profits — meaning that the newly legalized casino profits would be in the $300 million range, every year?
EDITORIAL: The Pain and Confusion of Affordable Housing Solutions
Several other neighbors had testified at the meeting, also asking the Commissioners to reduce the density recommendation…
EDITORIAL: Are Tax Breaks Making Colorado Broke? Part Fifteen
We shared this 1883 plat of downtown Pagosa in an earlier installment, showing a relaxed series of meandering, park-like walking paths spread across the travertine meadow…
EDITORIAL: Are Tax Breaks Making Colorado Broke? Part Fourteen
Common sense might tell us, for example, that awarding millions of dollars in tax incentives to a couple of private developers is totally unfair to the rest of the business community…
EDITORIAL: Are Tax Breaks Making Colorado Broke? Part Thirteen
“I did hear a story of a developer essentially taking out a loan that wasn’t really necessary, paying it back but somehow charging himself, and then the URA, 20% interest…”
EDITORIAL: Are Tax Breaks Making Colorado Broke? Part Twelve
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Pagosa Springs Town Manager Andrea Phillips yesterday, and learned that she had recently attended a symposium in Montrose, CO…
EDITORIAL: Bureau of Land Mis-Management?
The BLM oversees 245 million acres — about one-tenth of America’s land base — and more subsurface mineral estate than any other government agency…
EDITORIAL: Are Tax Breaks Making Colorado Broke? Part Eleven
By 2010, there were so many RDAs in California that state and local government entities were actually seeing less tax revenue, instead of more…
EDITORIAL: Are Tax Breaks Making Colorado Broke? Part Ten
Apparently, the balloonists had just released a trial balloon to see which way the wind was blowing, and how fast. That’s extremely useful information for a hot air balloonist, I’m sure…
EDITORIAL: Are Tax Breaks Making Colorado Broke? Part Nine
Apparently, “getting started” meant a search for taxpayer subsidies to help fund a massive expansion project…
EDITORIAL: Are Tax Breaks Making Colorado Broke? Part Eight
It’s widely believed that TIF financing and and government ‘incentives’ provided to large corporations are a ‘solution’ to our worsening infrastructure…