I have some very solid, verifiable reasons to vote for referenda C and D, including fixing the problems in TABOR (Colorado’s TAx payer’s Bill Of Rights) and funding some very important programs. But there are also some intangible reasons why I’ll vote on C & D.
And the main one that I can think of is honesty in advertising. In my humble opinion, it’s never good to back someone or something that would choose to mislead people. And that is exactly what the No on C&D folks are doing. They are purposefully, willfully misleading people.
Examples? The No folks continue to say, “They are going to steal your tax refund!” The No folks even have a commercial out, depicting a politician stealing a tax refund check and a child’s ice cream cone. Yet this is patently false. People’s tax refunds are safe. If you overpay taxes in a year, you get the excess back. What Referendum C is asking is to keep the TABOR rebate – something that we Colorado residents haven’t received in three years.
Another example: The No folks say that the referenda would allow politicians to spend money with no accountability. Which is also patently false. Not only does the official Yes on C & D website list exactly where the taxpayer’s money will be spent, there is a portion of the referenda that specifically requires an annual audit of money spent.
One more? The Yes folks actively publish their supporters and campaign donors. The No folks won’t do this. The No folks are actually suing to keep their contribution lists private. They claim that they are not a political organization, but are an “educational” institution, and their lie-filled commercials are produced to educate Colorado voters. Rumors are that the No folks are heavily funded by outside-Colorado groups who won’t have to live in this state if C & D are voted down. But who can tell? The Yes folks are proud to list their donors and sponsors. Why are the No people fighting to hide the names of their donors and sponsors?
Honesty in advertising. That’s a big thing. The Yes folks are doing a good job of honestly presenting the facts. The No folks are deliberately misleading folks, trying to either appeal to people’s greed or to scare them about supposed costs (which the No folks are apparently making up out of thin air).
Which group would you rather support?