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November 01, 2005 09:00 AM UTC

Average Voter Guy Casts His Ballot

  • 25 Comments
  • by: avguy

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more on Average Voter Guy, click HERE.

I voted YES on C & D, and two concerns played a major role in leading me to vote this way…

…As a 2004 graduate from Colorado State University’s Master of Fine Arts program, I was continually dismayed during my three years that graduate teaching assistantships were cut each year – mostly for personal reasons, as I incurred significantly more debt as a result. But I was also disheartened to see fellow graduates step into adjunct professorships after finishing their programs because my experience with some of these graduates convinced me that they were not going to be adequate college professors. But since they could be paid paltry wages compared to full-time professors, they were slotted to teach the majority of the sections for freshmen and sophomores. Sure, this is probably a fact of college life around the country…but it doesn’t make me feel any better about the quality of higher education in Colorado.

My second concern was the cost of health care. I am fortunate to work for a company that provides a great health care package. My girlfriend is not, and we discovered that adequate coverage costs an exorbitant amount relative to her salary.

I’ll tell you up front that you don’t need to waste your time badgering me about the in’s and out’s of where C & D money might be allocated, because I won’t respond. As someone who works in a relatively large office, rides the bus daily, and has recently spent a lot of time in recent years in close proximity to college students, I’ve heard a number of erroneous opinions related, directly or tangentially, to politics, and I am of the humble opinion that most voters’ decisions are based on pretty simple calculations. Mine, in this instance, are that average people cannot afford health care and the education system in this state is in serious need of more money. That doesn’t mean I expect my concerns to be remedied within five years. That only means I believe that changes are needed. (Will grad students definitely be able to avoid years of financial devastation for a degree with the passage of C & D? No. But if money deflected from GTAs to other areas of higher education is partially covered by these referenda, could this help students? Possibly.)  Essentially, I believe an attempt – via earmarked funds – to solve serious problems that appear to be worsening is an important step.

I would also like to express disgust about my attempts to find genuinely helpful information about C & D. Proponents of either side simply can’t be trusted in most cases. Only a person who chooses to read what he already believes can say otherwise. Internet searches were fruitless due to the spin of the writer or organization, which was too bad, since the television ads for both sides were frequently ludicrous. (Let’s all remember, if only for a moment, that the readers of this site are involved – or at least quite interested – in politics. A fairly sizeable percentage of the population is not.) My point is, I’ve seen political ads before, and I’m not trying to make an earth-shattering claim here. But for people who are disappointed or even outraged that someone doesn’t fully grasp the issue, it might be worth considering that the bias for either side shouldn’t be quite so transparent. Do we really need more ads with the ominous tone of a 1930s movie about bank robbers, or with the feel-good piano tinkling of an after-school special? Would anyone who truly believes in something want to, say, have faith that their cause is the right one, and choose to honestly inform the voting population of the pros and cons? I realize people often seem to fall for such tactics, but it seems equally naiive to think that any hotly debated issue would be presented as completely positive by one side. Someone give me ALL the facts and THEN tell me why your side eventually wins out!

As a side note completely unrelated to my wishes above, I’ll have to admit I liked the Hickenlooper skydiving ad more than any of the others. Hey, I know it’s gimmicky. But in the absence of any other standout ads, personality can go a long way.

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25 thoughts on “Average Voter Guy Casts His Ballot”

  1. I voted yes today. Heres why. I was a Poli Sci major in College. It was very interesting but the major thing I lerned is Politics suck. All politicians lie, its a matter of degree. The best course of was Propaganda. Everything broadcast is propaganda for a candidte or cause. How facts are used is a clue as to how weak a case a candidate/cause has. The NO team was really bad at streaching their facts. Some of the facts they used werent backed up by other facts. This means they had a weak case. The YES teams facts were easier to find supporting facts for.

    I have never been registered as a D,R or other party affiliation. I dont want to be anyone’s robot.

  2. I voted yes today. Heres why. I was a Poli Sci major in College. It was very interesting but the major thing I lerned is Politics suck. All politicians lie, its a matter of degree. The best course of was Propaganda. Everything broadcast is propaganda for a candidte or cause. How facts are used is a clue as to how weak a case a candidate/cause has. The NO team was really bad at streaching their facts. Some of the facts they used werent backed up by other facts. This means they had a weak case. The YES teams facts were easier to find supporting facts for.

    I have never been registered as a D,R or other party affiliation. I dont want to be anyone’s robot.

  3. I voted yes today. Heres why. I was a Poli Sci major in College. It was very interesting but the major thing I lerned is Politics suck. All politicians lie, its a matter of degree. The best course of was Propaganda. Everything broadcast is propaganda for a candidte or cause. How facts are used is a clue as to how weak a case a candidate/cause has. The NO team was really bad at streaching their facts. Some of the facts they used werent backed up by other facts. This means they had a weak case. The YES teams facts were easier to find supporting facts for.

    I have never been registered as a D,R or other party affiliation. I dont want to be anyone’s robot.

  6. My fianc? goes to CSU and they have graduate students teaching three hundred level math courses, specific differential equations.  She can tell you that if they can speak English you are lucky.  I have not doubt that CSU is doing the best they can with the money they have and that is an exactly the reason why we must invest in tomorrow by passing C and D.

  7. Mike Rosen said it well today. The couple years that we did get a TABOR refund not a single person gave theirs back. Not one. What is the difference between now and then? If this thing goes down and we do get our refunds, will you guys give yours back? And if you say yes, why didn’t you a couple of years ago?
    Speaking at us like you’re looking down your noses at those against the measures. Like we are uncaring and want society to crumble.
    But I guess things weren’t so glum back then, huh?

  8. Mike Rosen said it well today. The couple years that we did get a TABOR refund not a single person gave theirs back. Not one. What is the difference between now and then? If this thing goes down and we do get our refunds, will you guys give yours back? And if you say yes, why didn’t you a couple of years ago?
    Speaking at us like you’re looking down your noses at those against the measures. Like we are uncaring and want society to crumble.
    But I guess things weren’t so glum back then, huh?

  11. You made some good points AVG. I, too, was frustrated by the lack of fair, unbiased reporting on C & D. Most of the people I know are intelligent and sophisticated, yet they had trouble grasping the issue due to the lack of clear, concise, emotionless information.
      I’ve spoken to many that voted emotionally as a result of the scare tactics implemented by the C & D folks. That bothers me, as I don’t get voting for something you don’t understand.
      Is there a financial situation that needs attention as a result of TABOR? Indeed. But C and D are not the appropriate solutions.
      I am voting NO.

  12. Average Voter Guy? With a masters in fine arts? Fine arts??? The average voter guy is the working stiff who stops for a brew at the Magnet Inn on his way home from work. If you ask HIM about Ref. C, and I have, he’ll tell you he doesn’t want the politicians to spend HIS tax refund. And if you think this is just partisan rhetoric, you really have no idea what the average voter is thinking.

  13. I am essentially giving my refund back (assuming my  refund will be anywhere close to a hundred dollars) to the bet Keith and I made.  We agreed way back to put our money where our mouth is and each bet to give to a charity based on if C and D passed.

    Why don’t you tell me were to send my 15 dollar refund to help repair our roads that you free loading on and I’ll send it there?

  14. And to answer your question Gecko, the problems with the budget didn’t happen until AFTER the recession hit in 2001.  There haven’t been TABOR refunds since then.

  15. And to answer your question, supporters of C and D didn’t give their refunds back in 2001 because the problem didn’t occur until the recession hit in 2000, 2001.  There haven’t been TABOR refunds since then.

  16. You made some good points AVG. I, too, was frustrated by the lack of fair, unbiased reporting on C & D. Most of the people I know are intelligent and sophisticated, yet they had trouble grasping the issue due to the lack of clear, concise, emotionless information.
      I’ve spoken to many that voted emotionally as a result of the scare tactics implemented by the C & D folks. That bothers me, as I don’t get voting for something you don’t understand.
      Is there a financial situation that needs attention as a result of TABOR? Indeed. But C and D are not the appropriate solutions.
      I am voting NO.

  18. Average Voter Guy? With a masters in fine arts? Fine arts??? The average voter guy is the working stiff who stops for a brew at the Magnet Inn on his way home from work. If you ask HIM about Ref. C, and I have, he’ll tell you he doesn’t want the politicians to spend HIS tax refund. And if you think this is just partisan rhetoric, you really have no idea what the average voter is thinking.

  19. The “why don’t you give your refund back” talking point is quite clever, but it ignores a critical point.  TABOR prohibits people from giving back their refunds — if someone did, that refund would just be lumped into the refunds for the next year — even if every person in the state voluntarily gave their refunds back, the state government would not be able to spend more — it does not fix the ratchet effect of TABOR.  Period.

  20. Aspen – I too share your concern about people not being able to understand what they vote for.  The best example, bar none, is TABOR itself.  It was billed as a measure to allow for a public vote before any tax increase.  The other junk caused the problem and only a very select few bothered to read the entire TABOR amendment.  As a direct result of TABOR – the law now requires a single subject for all initiatives to make it more simple.  I wish more people would have shared your concern in 1992.

  21. Oh now I see. Everything was great until 2000-2001. That is why nobody gave any of their TABOR refunds back. Amazing how one year we can go from great to the sky is falling…….BS
    NO on C&D

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