June 23, 2007 01:11 AM UTC

"Tax & Spend" Message Loses It's Meaning

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• by: Colorado Pols

Republicans, led by Chairman Dick Wadhams, have been trying hard in recent months to resurrect the old “tax & spend liberal” moniker when talking about Democrats. They called Gov. Bill Ritter’s school funding plan to freeze property taxes a “tax increase,” although we’ve heard that message didn’t poll very well (perhaps not coincidentally, Wadhams hasn’t been as loud about the message of late).

The problem with a “tax & spend” message is that it doesn’t really jibe with reality anymore. Under the Bush Administration, Republicans have spent so much money that they’d have to cut back in order to look like drunken sailors; the national debt is astronomically large, even though the nation faced a surplus when Democrat Bill Clinton left office.

In Colorado, meanwhile, a new report shows again just how little money is actually spent on public services in the state (Colorado has one of the lowest tax levels in the country). As The Colorado Springs Gazette reports:

The Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, which works toward financial polices that benefit especially low- and moderate-income populations, did not offer specific solutions on how to fix the problem. But the report, “Aiming for the Middle,” declared that it is time for public discussion about the state’s spending choices.

“Colorado is a wonderful and amazing place in so many ways, yet we continue to lag behind other states when it comes to investing in our future,” senior fiscal policy analyst Carol Hedges said in a statement.

The report found that, among the 50 states, Colorado ranks:

– 49th in covering the uninsured and low-income families under Medicaid
– 39th in state highway spending per capita
– 48th in per-capita spending on higher education
– 34th in per-capita investment in public elementary and secondary schools.

To bring it up to average levels, the state would have to increase spending annually by $1 billion on health care, $139 million on highways, $467 million on public colleges and universities and $672.5 million on elementary and secondary schools, the report states.

How do Republicans respond to a report like this? With nonsense…

Here’s more, from The Gazette:

Several Republican officials called the report another “tax and spend” request and noted that House Minority Leader Mike May recently warned of groups manufacturing crises in a constituent newsletter.

“After hearing the initial reports from some of the ‘study groups’ this summer, I can’t help but be concerned that the answer at the end of the book with many of them will just be ‘more money,’” May wrote earlier this month.

The answer is not more money? Then what is the answer, Mike? Perhaps we could convince other states to spend less money as well, and then Colorado would look better by comparison. Is that the answer?

As we saw when voters approved Referendum C in 2005, people aren’t thrilled with the idea of a government that doesn’t have the money to actually do anything. Republicans cut taxes to such a large degree 10 years ago that there isn’t any money left, but they haven’t been able to change their message from “tax & spend, tax & spend!” It’s a message that works well for the GOP if money is actually being spent in large sums by Democrats. But it’s not, and voters aren’t stupid. You can’t say the same for Republican strategists, however.