We hear you – you’re broke. Our generation is tired of low wages, high rent, student debt loans we can’t pay off until we’re dead, and expensive health care costs. We demand a future where our government can fund health care, education, and housing through a fairer tax system that doesn’t just benefit the wealthy.
Right now, the wealthy dodge their fair share of paying into our communities while the rest of us are left struggling to make ends meet.
We’re broke because of the state’s rigged tax system. We’re broke because Colorado chooses to underfund its own communities instead of asking the wealthy to pay their fair share!
The only way we can fix this is by doing it together. That is why New Era is taking action to make wealthy people pay what they owe! Get hype to take action with our economic justice playlist.
Colorado is Broke AF
FYI: Colorado is in a $1.2 billion budget hole primarily driven by our current tax system (*cough* TABOR and recent property tax cuts *cough*). We expect it to worsen in the years to come. On top of that, the federal government is playing with our livelihoods (see: tax cuts for billionaires and corporations, federal budget cuts, and tariffs). Programs that young Coloradans rely upon are being cut. This means that whatever the federal government cuts, our state will not have the funds to backfill what has been lost. But we have the power to protect our state from the impending harm.
Colorado’s tax policy is super outdated. It was made up (by another rich white man) to keep all of us, especially young Black and brown people, out of the conversation and let rich people control the flow of money. Passed in 1992 and written by Douglas Bruce (the evil mastermind and aforementioned rich white man who was later convicted of crimes including tax fraud and tax evasion!!), TABOR’s restrictive policies don’t represent our current economy or most eligible voters now.
All You Need to Know About Our Tax System
(A.K.A. TABOR. A.K.A. Tired and Broke on Repeat)
TABOR, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, is what makes up Article X 20 of our state constitution. New Era has decided to save you all the infuriating research and explain it to you here. More importantly, we wanted you to know how it impacts your everyday life, so the next time it shows up on your ballot or someone asks you to call your legislator, you’ll already know the tea. Welcome to our TED Talk about TABOR.
Our constitution currently forces our state and local governments to cap any money raised for state programs based on inflation and population. It also limits the legislature’s ability to raise revenue. This formula does not take into account the lived reality of our communities and underestimates the real costs of a growing state.
Colorado is the only state with a constitutional revenue cap, forcing some of the lowest K-12 funding in the nation and makes it impossible to financially respond to crises like COVID-19, wildfires, and rising housing costs. With less spending in comparison to the population on public services than most states, we’re left with crumbling infrastructure, expensive college tuition, and underfunded health care.
Even when revenue increases are voter-approved, they can only be used for specific purposes stated on the ballot and cannot be allocated to other programs, even if there is an urgent need. What does that mean for you? If there’s an economic downturn, a wildfire emergency, or a literal global pandemic, lawmakers can’t reallocate tax money to use extra funds for another purpose. You can shift money around in your personal budget when emergencies happen, but our state can’t.
The Solution: REFORM TABOR!
We need our tax code reformed immediately in order to fund what we care about during the Trump era. Here’s our plan to get there: Remove the outdated TABOR requirement that places the tax burden on low- and middle-income folks (a.k.a. make the wealthy pay what they owe).
This is why New Era is diving head-first into tax work – not only to provide you with all the information about our current tax system, but also to create a tax policy that will make the ultra-wealthy people pay their fair share in taxes and alleviate the tax burden on non-one-percenters. Stay tuned and sign up for our newsletters because New Era will be coming to you with education, merch, and other ways to get involved.
The future we will see when we reform TABOR:
When the wealthy pay what they owe and share the tax burden with everyday people, we can fund programs that we all care about. Meaning, we can put a stop to the top 1% paying the same income tax rate as everyone else and ensure Colorado can use revenue in economic emergencies. Everyone, especially young people, Black and brown communities, and workers, will see a Colorado that funds education, housing, health care, transportation, parks, childcare, and infrastructure. We will see a more equitable, prosperous Colorado that would benefit all of us.
For far too long, the wealthy and one percenters have drafted and created the rules for how and where we spend our money. Our tax system was created to restrict services and programs that Coloradans need. And in this economy, we NEED well-funded programs that everyday people rely on.
It’s time we rewrite these outdated rules that no longer work for us and build a new, equitable tax system to fund the future we dream of.