Dear Governor Polis, Senator Marchman and Representative Amabile,

Elected officials love to tell stories about constituents who’ve fallen on hard times and how they’ve been able to help those people (e.g. maybe they can’t afford their meds, and you reduced Rx prices). I have a gift-wrapped story for you, and I’ve taken liberty to draft a statement for the Governor’s news conference on this issue.

Governor Polis: “Last week I was up in Nederland and ran into this old guy - not ancient - but well qualified for senior discounts. He told me life was pretty fair but he had a problem I might help with. Seems he retired after 36 years working hard and earned a good pension. He still works part-time to afford things he and his wife of 50 years hoped to enjoy in retirement. In 2019 he re-fied with a low-interest VA loan and a manageable monthly payment. Since then, his mortgage payment increased over $850/month due to increased property taxes and insurance costs.

“How the heck” he said, “are seniors supposed to keep their homes?” he said. “We can’t help it if the market has driven up the values of our homes. Sure, Social Security provides COLAs, but they aren’t keeping up with property taxes. There must be hundreds of folks around Ned who are as stunned as I am. Some seniors can weather this for a few years, but not indefinitely. If you’re 85, with no mortgage, and are out-living your savings, you still shell out dough for taxes and insurance. If this continues, people will have to sell and leave Colorado, or live in an RV.”

I’ve much pondered that conversation. At home, we talked about it over the kitchen table. I realized I’ve been wrong about several things. State government and most local governments actually already have enough money to do the things they were created to do. We already collect more than we’re allowed to keep. At least 3 times, we Democrats tried to get rid of TABOR - so we could keep and spend more. We failed. We wanted to fix stuff, except roads, and believed we knew better how to spend money than the people who earned it. I now know that TABOR is a Colorado blessing, and just as sacred as the rights of free speech and religion and to keep and bear arms.

I realized government cannot solve all problems for all people. We can’t fix everything through tax and spend. We’ll always provide a safety net for people who are down on their luck, have food insecurity, or lose a home through no fault of their own. But, we can’t fix the lives of people who chronically make bad decisions.

I think schools have enough too. There is no amount of money that we can pour into schools that will make up for parents who don’t read to their preschoolers, insist their kids show up for class, respect their teachers, do their homework, and stay off their cell phones, or who buy beer, weed, or entertainment before they buy food. Sure, the teachers and janitors deserve a raise, but many of the big districts are top-heavy, bloated with administrators who have little impact on the classroom or teaching the 3 R’s

As a recovering entrepreneur and businessman, I know I could never have made my millions in an environment of confiscatory federal and state taxes and over-regulation. Taxing the “rich” won’t work - they’ll just move to South Dakota, or run for office.

I can’t fix the insurance issue, but I’m enlightened. I propose legislation that will forever limit property tax increases to no more than the COLA provided to Social Security recipients. No more raising taxes just because assessments rise. If working people and old people can live with it, so can the state, counties, cities and school districts.

I’ve discussed this proposal with Sen. Marchman and Rep. (future Sen.) Amabile. They are fully supportive and have agreed to sponsor this legislation. When I am termed out as Governor and am elected President, I’ll continue with these values and policies at the federal level!”

Dean Rundle

Nederland