The tax and spend methodology of the Manitou City Council, which was made possible by the marijuana tax revenue engine, is untenable. This tax and spend Manitou City Council continues to plunder by imposing yet higher taxes (and this increase couched as a “fair” tax). 19th century French economist Frédéric Bastiat wrote “When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men, they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it.”
1. The proposed 2A tax is NOT fair
The proposed tax will raise the excise tax rate on ticket sales from 5% to 9.03% on local businesses in Manitou Springs – an 80% increase! Manitou City Council says that once the 2A tax is enacted that the Amusement tax will match the Retail tax. That is a lie. The city retail tax is only 3.9%. How stupid do they think we are? Do they think we believe that 9.03% is the same as 3.9%? Or maybe THEY believe it, in which case do you want to give more money to people THAT careless?
2. The YES on 2A campaign is unethical in the way they are promoting the tax
Not only is the tax itself unfair, but the way the tax proponents are promoting it is unethical. They erroneously claim that “A yes vote this November ‘can’ keep our public parks open, keep the community pool and fitness center running…”; Passing 2A does NOT fix Manitou’s structural deficit. Manitou needs bond measures and taxes (that sunset) tied to specific infrastructure projects. They erroneously claim that the City has made 1.3 million in budget cuts. Rejecting proposed additions to a department’s wish lists is not a cut from existing spending! How stupid do they think we are? Manitou City Council erroneously claims that there is a “loophole that voters need to close.” Businesses are already paying a higher tax – no loophole here! How stupid do they think we are? Manitou City Council claims that the money raised from the 2A tax will support holiday lighting etc. Since the tax has no policy direction from voters what are the odds that will turn out well? How stupid do they think we are?
3. Manitou City Council is incompetent (so why give them more money to mismanage)
An unrestricted (and forever!) tax for the general fund (the 2A proposal) will be misspent on parking lots decades in the making, employees in an ever-revolving door of hiring, non-functioning (and expensive) trollies, unelected administrators with unprecedented levels of compensation, poorly negotiated contacts, lavish upgrades to buildings and city vehicles. Ronald Reagan said, “The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.”
Conclusion
Tourism sustains Manitou. Passing this unfair (and unethical) tax would diminish this vibrant community which is being slowly choked by big and incompetent government. Manitou has historically cherished valuable visitors and tourists. City Council is now doing everything it can to turn visitors and tourists away. When you can plunder your citizens, you can afford to do stupid things. John Kenneth Galbraith once said, “The greatest danger to democracy is not corruption, but incompetence.”
In the recent settlement of the lawsuit with the COG, the city of Manitou received a very favorable settlement. After several years of unethical tactics by Council, the COG took the high road and, in the end, the City will be receiving an additional $700,000 per annum (in perpetuity). That will cover half of the City’s projected deficit (please note that it is completely unclear to this writer if the City Council even understands their budget). It appears that Manitou City Council is not only heedless and unethical, but plunder has become a way of life for them.
