ENDORSEMENT: PROP 121 — Vote ‘no’ on this scheme benefiting only Colorado’s rich

Not only do Colorado voters decide on the deciders during this year’s large and varied midterm 2022 election, they play legislators, too.

Colorado regularly offers voters a chance to create policy and law from the ballot box. This year’s variety of proposals is no exception.

Here’s a part of a series of Sentinel Colorado Editorial Board recommendations to voters for this year.

PROP 121: Vote ‘no’ on this scheme benefiting only Colorado’s rich

Colorado has for almost 30 years suffered from a hamstrung state government that draws a variety of bad ideas to the ballot box on a regular basis.

Proposition 121 is just the latest bad idea. Sure, it sounds good. The measure seeks to reduce state taxes on personal income and corporate taxes — by a paltry 0.15%.

If it passes, it would mean that people making about $30,000 a year would see their state taxes go down about $14 — a year, according to state projections.

If you’re among the vast majority of working taxpayers, you would see your state income taxes dip about $5 a month.

At the same time, wealthier Colorado residents would see their annual tax savings climb toward $7,000 a year, for couples raking in about $1 million a year.

The cumulative hit to the state budget, however, would mean that lawmakers would have to cut about $400 million in state services from Colorado’s annual budget.

So for about $5 a month, you can have less police service, fewer dollars for schools, maybe longer lines at the driver license bureau.

You can see where this is going. Prop 121 was dreamed up by far-right activists who are slaves to the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights amendment from 1992. That exceptionally bad idea was the brainchild of southern-California transplant Douglas Bruce, the state’s notorious tax protester and convicted tax dodger.

The TABOR amendment prevents the state from controlling the tax part of the budget, which has wrought havoc in Colorado since the hair-brained scheme was adopted. As we’ve frequently pointed out, it’s an idea so bad that in more than three decades, no other state anywhere has taken it on.

All this ballot measure does is help make rich Coloradans richer, deplete state funds and hand suckers who helped approve it next to nothing for their trouble.

Vote no on this scam.