TABOR Resources

(a loose-knit group of TABOR skeptics, including local government,
education, labor, religious, health-care and social-services advocates.)

Resources Available on the Internet for TABOR Watchers
(many on the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities web site)

By Rich Eggleston
communications and community outreach coordinator
Wisconsin Alliance of Cities

March, 2006

Well, it's b-a-a-c-k, repackaged as the Taxpayer's Protection Amendment, which I prefer to call the TP Amendment. I do this consciously, because the people who repackaged TABOR are the same people who sell us "new and improved" toothpase, laundry detergent that gets our clothes "whiter than white," and so on. They pick names for things to get people to vote their way, with their wallets or their ballots. On the political side, we shouldn't allow them to legitimize their radical ideas wsith sexy names.

Who is this under-the-radar force in Wisconsin government? They're marketing people, and they've been busy in politics for quite some time. It's time to put our foot down, though, and say, "enough!"

We don’t need more advertising and marketing people to poke their noses into elections for the Legislature. We don’t need them to auction off Wisconsin’s tradition of compassion for the poor, of caring for our children, of putting a college education on a pedestal that everyone can reach. But that's what they're doing, with the TP amendment.

Marketing people are trying to sell us a new form of government the same way they sell us anti-perspirant. Needless to say, I don't have much faith in their ability to put the interests of the ordinary citizen ahead of the rich people who are paying them. They're the most dangerous types of mercenaries on the political scene, more dangerous than any of the legislative aides testifying in a Dane County courtroom this month.

To see my thoughts about the threat posed by marketing people in general, and marketing-driven Americans for Prosperity in particular, check out my guest column in The Capital Times, here. Also, check out the letter to the editor from Mark Block, state director for Americans for Prosperity, here.

Americans for Prosperity promises to bring gobs of out-of-state special interest money into the campaign for the TP amendment. How much? Here's what the AFP mother ship spent in three states in 2004:

	2004 spending on state chapters by AFP in Washington
	Americans for Prosperity	AFP Foundation	Total
Texas	$59,122	$578,550	$637,672
Kansas	366,452	559,178	925,630
North Carolina	383,741	315,264	699,005

Total	$809,315	$1,452,992	$2,262,307

Americans for Prosperity was formed by multi-billionaire David Koch (pronounced Coke), co-owner of Koch Industries, the largest privately held corporation in America. Koch’s estimated net worth is $4.5 billion.

If billionaires are in favor of TP, we might ask what's really in it for us? And can we trust Americans for Prosperity to level with us?

It's often hard for an ordinary citizen to figure out who's telling the truth on a complex issue, so it's probably worthwhile to ask who is the messenger, and whether we trust that messenger. In the advertising wars to come, we may have to ask ourselves those questions. Do we trust the school teacher more than the multi-billionaire? It's a no-brainer.

The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families sponsored public forums around the state to get ordinary citizens to talk and to think about TP, TABOR, Son of TABOR, Bride of TABOR, whatever they're calling it this week. And the Wisconsin Education Association Council videotaped the forums. See WEAC's report here.

Local governments and the media have also glommed onto the issue.

Here's a sample:

Joint letter from five local government associations opposing TPA

http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/060223TABORLetter.pdf

Letter of opposition from Wisconsin County Executives and Administrators http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/Feb06/Feb23/0223wceatpa.pdf

The League of Municipalities press release against TPA

http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/Feb06/Feb10/0210leaguetpa.pdf

The Alliance of Cities ( I personally love these guys) release on questions surrounding TPA

http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/060902tp.pdf

Wisconsin Counties Association Testimony opposing TPA

http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/Feb06/Feb23/0223wcatestimonyontpa.pdf

The Wisconsin Association of School Boards shows strong opposition to TPA