Just One Thing: Democrats' property tax "relief" still leaves HUGE tax bills AND an assault on TABOR
As I warned on yesterday's show, Democrats (being Democrats, after all) would not do nearly enough to protect residents of Colorado from massive property tax hikes.
What it looks like we're getting is a temporary reduction that will still leave lots of people with tax bills going up 20% or more AND an increase in the TABOR limit so that there is effectively an income tax increase in any year when there would be a TABOR refund. They will be sending this to a vote in November rather than doing a simple limit on the permitted rate of property tax increases...because they're spineless (but they'll say it's because it's stronger legally that way.)
Lots of folks, especially older people on fixed incomes who may have bought their homes for far less than they're worth now, will likely be forced to sell due to the insanity of these property tax hikes.
I predicted that the Democrats' solution would be not nearly enough, and that turns out to be correct.
I also note that this likely would have been much worse without the involvement of Jared Polis. I know that sounds hard to believe but remember that Californians who moved to Colorado basically put California-type legislators in charge (along with old-school Boulder and Denver liberals) so this state is getting what it voted for...and getting it good and hard.
Democrats unveil plan to prevent Colorado property taxes from rising quickly (coloradosun.com)
Voters to be asked to counter impending property tax hike | Legislature | coloradopolitics.com
From an education-funding perspective: Colorado Democrats unveil property tax relief proposal with promise to protect school funding
(Note how they talk about "hitting school funding hard" when we're still looking at massive increases. If you can imagine the biggest increase ever in property taxes but politicians do something to make it less...but still more than inflation and still the biggest increase ever...the usual suspects will call it a cut.)
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One More Thing: What does "unfair" mean?
Under Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights, commonly called TABOR, the state government must refund taxes collected in excess of what’s allowed by a particular formula. Obviously those excess taxes would primarily have been paid by higher earners, both due to their income taxes and sales taxes on their spending. So the fair thing is for higher earners to get a higher TABOR refund. But Democrats are complaining, that after a brief interlude with more socialistic equal rebates during COVID, returning to a 24-year old system where those who pay more tax get more back is unfair. It takes a special kind of person to argue that it’s fairer for tax refunds not to have anything to do with how much tax you paid. That’s not just bad policy; it’s illiterate.
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Today's Guests
Ben Murrey is the Director of Fiscal Policy at the Independence Institute. We'll discuss the property tax "relief" measure that will likely go before Colorado voters in November. (See more in the "Just One Thing" section above.
Ben Murrey - Independence Institute (i2i.org)
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Dave Barry is one of the funniest and most successful humor writers of the past generation. He has a new novel, just released today, entitled “Swamp Story: A Novel"
Amazon.com: Swamp Story: A Novel: 9781982191337: Barry, Dave: Books
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Jonathan B. Losos is an evolutionary biologist at Washington University and the founding director of the Living Earth Collaborative, a unique biodiversity center and partnership between Washington University, the Saint Louis Zoo and the Missouri Botanical Garden. He was previously a professor of biology at Harvard and a curator at the university’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. His new book is really fascinating, even if you're not a "cat person"...I promise!
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Other Stuff
Here they come again: House Democrats will try to resurrect provisions in Colorado land-use bill that were gutted in the Senate
And Natalie Menten has other warnings about this bill: Menten: Amended Senate Bill 213 still reeks of big government - Complete Colorado - Page Two
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Awesome story: Hippos Spawned From Drug Lord Pablo Escobar’s Ranch Won’t Stop Multiplying - WSJ
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AI has lots of promise but also lots of risk, and those risks are becoming clearer
Lots of people seeing and demonstrating particular risks/threats from artificial intelligence. Of course there's lots of upside to AI as well but not many people are talking about that in public. And to be clear, it does pose significant risks in many ways, including to employment and online safefy.
IBM expects to pause hiring for thousands of jobs that can be done by AI: report (msn.com)
AI experts warn of looming catastrophes (Axios)
In this, the man in question talks about Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor of the atomic bomb, suggesting that just because something is technically feasible doesn't mean you should do it. That's his current metaphor for AI.
‘The Godfather of AI’ Quits Google and Warns of Danger Ahead - The New York Times (subscription may be required)
‘Godfather of AI’ quits Google with regrets and fears about his life’s work - The Verge
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Great news if it's true, though of course these groups just find a new leader. ISIS leader killed in Syria, Turkish President Erdoğan says (NBC News)
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Fingers crossed that they finally kill "Chevron deference" dead: Supreme Court move could spell doom for power of federal regulators - POLITICO
Chevron doctrine to be reviewed by Supreme Court in herring fisherman case - The Washington Post (subscription may be required)
A Welcome Supreme Court Review of Chevron Deference - WSJ
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No, climate change is not causing significantly (or maybe any) more home runs
I owe you this from yesterday. Such a great example of how everybody is trolling for clicks, likes, and grant money by blaming or attributing everything under the sun to "climate change". By the way, Roger PIelke will join me in studio next week:
Here was a typical headline: Climate change is leading to more home runs, study finds (nbcnews.com)
And here is Roger explaining the very very many things wrong with the study itself and then with the reporting on it: Climate Change Causes Home Runs (or not)
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Poor, poor Hunter Biden: Hunter Biden Paternity Case: Tough Court Day in Arkansas | National Review (subscription may be required)
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Yeech: Look: British man breaks world record with 17 flesh tunnels on his face - UPI.com
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Today's Videos
To me the message is: Are we being trolled with ridiculous "modern art"? ‘Hungry’ South Korean student finds banana artwork very appealing: report | Fox News