Fiscal tailgating made budget debacle more painful

Tailgating on the highway presents an obvious danger: drivers in a reckless hurry, traveling too fast, following the car ahead too closely. When someone taps the brakes, a chain reaction ensues, and the resulting collision is far worse than if everyone had been driving cautiously and responsibly.

Fiscal tailgating at the state Capitol has made budget cuts even more painful in the wake of the COVID shutdown. In times of prosperity, lawmakers saved next-to-nothing for the next economic downturn, spending literally 99% of all general tax revenues collected since the last recession. Worse still, they employed budgetary shenanigans to grow spending at unsustainable rates.

A year ago, lawmakers approved Gov. Jared Polis’ top priority — funding for full-day kindergarten. But analysts used dubious assumptions to shave $40 million off the estimated cost. However, when school started last fall, the sleight of hand was exposed, and legislators had to pay the full cost.

In September, Colorado Sun reported that legislation passed by the Democrat-controlled House and Senate “often masked the true cost” by keeping spending low in the first year and pushing costs to future years.

In December, even with a projected $825 million more to spend, legislators said they wouldn’t be able to fund routine maintenance of state buildings. “We’re allowing state buildings to crumble,” said then-Rep. Chris Hansen, a Denver Democrat, calling this “a massive liability that will catch up with us.”

The full article is available in our e-Edition. Click here to subscribe.