One of the Bell’s core areas of research is budget and tax policy, especially those issues that undergird economic mobility in Colorado. We focus on the impacts of TABOR, track budget inadequacies, explore a state graduated income tax, and much more.
TABOR has been in place in Colorado for over 30 years. During that time, Colorado has grown, changed, adapted, and had many successes. But the 1992 election still controls what Colorado can do and, in many ways, is a significant part of every fiscal policy decision in the state.
By many measures, Colorado is a prosperous state, with a robust economy and relatively high per capita income. Behind that facade, however, is a state that can’t adequately fund a whole swath of basic government functions like K-12 education, higher education, care for older Coloradans, health care for lower income Coloradans, child care – the list goes on. Colorado is in this intractable position because of artificial government spending limits crafted with politics in mind, not pragmatism.
