Denver Post Editorial Hits the Mark

legislation, deciding the tax amount and structure, the signature effort and the ballot campaign, the Denver Post provided editorial support. It endorsed the initiative on October 6, albeit it was weak, criticizing the excessive tax level and union deceit (supporting the tax, opposing the reforms).

On October 8, Vince Carroll offered his analysis of the difficulty Amendment 66 was facing in a likely lower turnout election with a massive tax increase in a state with a long history of saying no to new state taxes.

But after the defeat, the Post’s post-election editorial hit the mark, citing the high price tag of the proposal, the still sluggish economy, poor reputation of education bureaucracy, and the lavish but ineffectual campaign.

What’s next in the Post’s view is to keep the reforms and be creative on how to fund them. But, appropriately, they were skeptical that another version of Amendment 66 was possible.

See:
The Buzz: Denver Post endorsement of Amendment 66 weak
The Buzz: Vincent Carroll sees “tough sell” for billion-dollar school tax increase
The Buzz: Organized labor all in for Amendment 66
Denver Post Editorial: Amendment 66: a $1 billion bust