Archive | July, 2012
TABOR opponents clear first judicial hurdle
TABOR worshippers beware: the bipartisan plot to have the Douglas Bruce authored 1992 tax limitation amendment to the Colorado constitution declared unconstitutional passed its first hurdle yesterday in Denver district court. According to a press release from the leading plotters, who claim to be a “bi-partisan coalition of 33 plaintiffs, including five state legislators, 13 [...]
Continue reading...The new boss’ speech, same as the old boss’ speech
27. July 2012
There was a time when a 7:30 downtown breakfast hosted by the Economic Development Corp. and the Chamber of Commerce would have attracted swarms of media, a score of elected officials, and hundreds of local power brokers. There would have been bands, jugglers, fire-eaters, dancing bears and appropriately boring speeches … well, at least just [...]
Continue reading...The shepherds, wolves and vultures of big business
20. July 2012
Mitt Romney and Warren Buffett are rich. Mitt Romney, with a net worth of $300 million or so, is really rich. Warren Buffett, with $30 billion, is unimaginably wealthy. How did they get there? They bought undervalued companies, but that’s where the similarities end. In 1972, Buffett bought See’s Candy. Buffett believed that the family-owned, [...]
Continue reading...Low taxes: part of the problem, or the solution?
13. July 2012
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Why tax property, particularly private residences? The answer is simple: to protect property. Unlike sales or income taxes, property tax revenue is stable and predictable. Local governments across the nation traditionally have relied upon property taxes to fund the core operations of government, especially police and fire. Excessive reliance upon sales-tax receipts can lead to [...]
Continue reading...Steve Bach for governor! It could happen…
10. July 2012
Two months ago, CSBJ asked readers a simple question: has Mayor Steve Bach succeeded in creating a business-friendly environment in Colorado Springs? 51 percent of respondents voted no. At the time, our readers –as well as many city residents- might have seen as a well-meaning guy who was just getting used to the complexities of [...]
Continue reading...This fire seemed like just a serious warning, but then…
10. July 2012
“The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.” — Revelation 8:7. Last Sunday’s press conference at Coronado High School, backdropped by the surging Waldo Canyon fire, drew [...]
Continue reading...Tough choices loom as reality sets in for fire victims
10. July 2012
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Hope? Denial? A certain tendency to understate the scale and reach of the recent disaster? It’s too early to say. Some of us literally are poking through the ashes, hoping to find a talisman, a tangible reminder of the vanished past. “My house is pretty much OK,” one Mountain Shadows evacuee told me. “I lost [...]
Continue reading...Show me the way to go home – Colorado’s highway system outdated
2. July 2012
Saturday afternoon, hot, crabby and restless, we decided to beat the heat and drive up to Cripple Creek. With Highway 24 closed, the best option seemed to be State Highway 115 to U.S. 50, west to Canon City and thence north on S.H. 9 to Cripple Creek. Driving to our local gambling mecca via Highway [...]
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31. July 2012
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