“OUR VIEW: Guide to slashing state spending (vote in poll) - msnbc.com” plus 1 more |
| OUR VIEW: Guide to slashing state spending (vote in poll) - msnbc.com Posted: 02 Dec 2010 07:41 PM PST Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper is perhaps wrongly perceived as a run-of-the mill liberal Democrat. The bottom-line small-business man talks as if he wants to run the state as a fiscal pragmatist who will give us less government. He deservedly boasts of causing a substantial reduction in city employees while working as Denver mayor. A smaller state government may stop the scheming to confiscate more of the private sector?s hard-earned capital and is likely to involve itself less in our lives.Hickenlooper reiterated his desire for less government while talking to county commissioners from throughout the state, who met Tuesday in Colorado Springs. He told them he needs as many ideas as possible from as many people as possible and he needs them quickly.Almost simultaneously, the Independence Institute, a public policy organization based in Golden, released ?Citizens? Budget: Road Map for Sustainable Government in Colorado.? A team of Colorado economists and researchers created the 170-page report after months of research. (See full report at i2i.org)In an introductory letter, institute President John Caldara describes a ?public storm ahead,? caused by a slow recovery with no swift rebound in wages, salaries and profits. It may be compounded by the likelihood our federal government curtails subsidies to states.?Colorado?s budgeters won?t be able to find any more accounting gimmicks,? Caldara wrote. ?Programs cannot continue to expand. Is the only answer to raid family savings accounts and business? incomes with new taxes and fees??Hickenlooper knows about the looming economic storm. He has no interest in burdening families and businesses.The Gazette?s editorial board respects Hickenlooper and the Independence Institute, and would like each party to get over past grievances and work together respectfully to position Colorado to withstand the storm. Hickenlooper has shown a willingness to listen to conservative Republicans by comprising an impressive bipartisan transition team. The libertarian-leaning Independence Institute has spent decades creating a culture of economists, lawyers and researchers who?ve devoted their careers to finding responsible ways to limit government ? a concept that?s suddenly all the rage. (Vote in poll to the right in red type. Must vote to see results. Thanks!) The editorial board also encourages all legislators, mayors, city leaders and county commissioners throughout Colorado to study the ?Citizens? Budget.? It?s full of analysis, tables and graphs that show how minor cuts would each reduce spending by tens of millions of dollars. Incarceration of non-threatening convicts has helped grow corrections expenses to 9 percent of the budget. That?s up from historic levels of 3 percent, at a time when crime rates are dropping throughout the country. A 1 percent reduction would save $78 million a year. Returning Medicaid eligibility levels to those of fiscal year 2006-07 would save the state nearly $220 million. The report contains creative and logical adjustments to the government employees? pension plan, higher education, K-12 and more. It advocates gutting corporate welfare, such as state subsidies to businesses that call themselves ?green.? The ideas, the math, the causes and effects are specific. It?s all about action, devoid of philosophical pontification. Hickenlooper is genuinely interested in listening to the public and finding ways to reduce spending. He and legislators from both sides of the aisle would do their constituents a favor by digesting this report with open hearts and minds. Friend editorial page editor Wayne Laugesen on Facebook... Click here to continue to the story This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Updated Blue Hills Reservation trail map and guide available - Abington Mariner Posted: 02 Dec 2010 09:11 AM PST The DCR Blue Hills Reservation, in cooperation with the Trailside Museum Charitable Trust, has published a revised trail map and guide. There are several changes since the last printing in September 2009, including: * Added 47 more intersection markers on map and in the field. * Added a trail between 1183 and Eustis Trail along the northeast base of Hemenway Hill. * Adjusted Blue Hill Reservoir pond area and trails to current status. * Updated the Chickatawbut Hill Education Center to newly named Norman Smith Environmental Education Center. The new trail maps are for sale for $2 each at the DCR Blue Hills Reservation headquarters, 695 Hillside St., Milton and at the Blue Hills Trailside Museum, 1904 Canton Ave., Milton. For a complete list of edits, call Ranger Maggi Brown at 617-698-1802, ext. 213. For DCR information, visit www.mass.gov/dcr. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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