2) Please vote “no” on the bag tax. Why does Durango only want to tax food and the poor? Why burden just the grocery stores and not all other stores. Is that fair or legal? I will guarantee you that a bag tax will result in people going elsewhere to shop and that will cost jobs. Even Mayor Michael Hancock of liberal Denver said that he would veto a bag tax. Vote “no” on the bag tax.

3) Please vote “no” on Amendment 66. We all want the best education system possible, but this billion-dollar tax increase will be the biggest tax increase in the history of Colorado and there is no guarantee that it will be used to benefit students. Most folks will get a 27 percent increase in income tax. Also, to be fully funded, school districts will be forced to raise property taxes. Three- and 4-year-olds will be added to the K-12 system which could actually result in the erosion of funds for the traditional grades. Most importantly, under Amendment 66, at least 43 percent of Colorado general fund revenue will be mandated by the Constitution to go to pre-K-12 education. What if the economy goes to pot? Pre-K-12 will get its money no matter what the needs of others such as higher education. What if the economy is booming, tax revenue increases substantially and 43 percent is more than pre-K-12 needs? Too bad. That 43 percent goes to pre-K-12 anyway and to heck with the rest of Colorado. The Constitution is never where budgets should be decided. Vote “no” on Amendment 66.

J. Paul Brown

Ignacio