Prison closures, education cuts needed, Ritter says
The Rocky
Published January 27, 2009 at 4:16 p.m.
Brian Lehmann © The Rocky
Secretary of State Bernie Buescher listens to Todd Saliman as he delivers a budget-balancing plan to state senators at the Legislative Services Building.
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Ritter budget-balancing plan
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Gov. Bill Ritter
Colorado must shut down two prisons, slice $225 million from schools and higher education and suspend property-tax breaks for senior citizens to close its funding shortfall, Gov. Bill Ritter's budget director said Tuesday.
The ideas are part of $823 million in personnel and service cuts Ritter proposed for the budget year beginning on July 1. The governor also hopes to take some $264 million out of earmarked funds to keep government services running, Office of State Planning and Budgeting Director Todd Saliman told the Joint Budget Committee.
"Through this package of cuts today, there will be pain. And it will be felt by many citizens who rely on state services," Saliman said.
Sales and income tax revenues, which are dropping sharply this recession, were forecast last month to be roughly $1 billion short of the expenditures Ritter proposed for fiscal year 2009-10. Saliman earlier this month announced about $201 million in cuts to be made over the next six months but warned then that reductions for the next year are going to be much worse.
Those proposed reductions include closure of the Rifle Correctional Facility and the Colorado Women's Correctional Facility in Canon City, as well as a delay in the opening of a new maximum-security prison in Fremont County.
They include cuts of about $125 million to K-12 education and $100 million to higher education — funding reductions that will be determined specifically by colleges and local school districts.
And the plan includes a three-year suspension of the Homestead Tax Exemption for seniors and disabled veterans who have owned their homes for 10 years.
The proposals, which the legislature is expected to begin debating in early February, represent an 8.7 percent cut from the $7.9 billion general-fund budget proposal for 2009-10 that Ritter submitted on Nov. 1.
The reconfigured $7.26 billion general-fund proposal for next year represents almost no growth for the $7.24 budget approved for the 2007-08 fiscal year.
A wild card in all of this is the question of how much federal stimulus money the state will receive and how many strings it will have attached, Saliman noted.
The state is expecting some Medicaid funding that will offset cuts that have to be made, but it's unclear if there will be enough stimulus to keep any of the prisons or other facilities open, he said.
Ritter also proposed cutting the roughly $20 million budget for tourism marketing in half again, a controversial suggestion since studies show tourism marketing generates tax revenues. He did not recommend reduction of his proposed economic-development package for next year, which includes increased incentives to lure or keep expanding companies in Colorado.
The governor also suggested elimination of 540 state positions, though Saliman said he will look to avoid layoffs by reassigning employees to open state jobs. The budget proposal does not continue the current hiring freeze, Saliman said.
Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, said the magnitude of cuts across the board suggests the state needs to consider whether it wants to "do a lousy job" in all areas or cut one function of government out completely. Pommer and Rep. Don Marostica, R-Loveland, have both mentioned that the state might want to cut off public universities' general fund stipends and let them raise all of their own funding, like private schools.
Reactions to the cuts varied.
Environment Colorado legislative director Pam Kiely praised Ritter for not cutting air- and water-quality programs deeply.
Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Executive Director Christie Donner suggested the prison closings are not crippling because the state has enough open beds in private and public prisons to house all of the inmates.
But Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, said the final decisions on the cuts will be very difficult to make.
"I am very aware of the deep and lasting impact this will have on Coloradans," Tapia said.
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January 27, 2009
4:27 p.m.
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Newenergycommie writes:
And yet we have a new global warming government position.
January 27, 2009
4:32 p.m.
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LOUIE writes:
Close the schools and open up the prison gates; things must be getting bad around here!
January 27, 2009
4:32 p.m.
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SanctuaryCity writes:
Where the h*** is dealing with the illegals mentioned. You want to stick it to the seniors and let the illegals roam the streets without jails EDUCATING THEIR ANCHORS, MEDICALLY TREATING THEM & supplying them free luches.
Time for real change in this sanctuary state
January 27, 2009
4:36 p.m.
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fencergal writes:
Closing prisons? Where is he going to put all those terrorists from Gitmo?
January 27, 2009
4:41 p.m.
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HaveHarleyWillTravel writes:
LOUIE,I couldn't agree with you more.You took the words right from my mouth.
It seems to me that if they want to cut spending on education they had better start building more prisons.
And cutting the property tax breaks for the elderly(many of whom are on a fixed income) seems to me to be a pretty rith wing thing to do for being a leftist.
January 27, 2009
4:42 p.m.
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SFCPAUL writes:
I am a senior on a fixed income of social security & military pension. My wife and I can barely pay my property taxes now. How does the Guv intend to help me out if I lose my home on a tax default?? There's plenty of pork to cut... stop patronizing illegal aliens.. I can't even get food stamps because I'm too white and Republican. I can't get help with my utility bill because we are just above the poverty standard. My wife is too old to pop another baby out to qualify for SSI and other bennies...... what a bunch of Scmucks!!!
January 27, 2009
4:44 p.m.
Suggest removal
LockNLoad writes:
This governor has got to go.
His new climate change department is costing how much?
There are plenty of other entitlements and cultural initiatives that are non-value added that can be cut.
January 27, 2009
4:44 p.m.
Suggest removal
SanctuaryCity writes:
P.C is B.S
Deal with the problem.
I urge all to decrease your state withholdings a/c the way this state is going, they are going to simulate California
Remember this seniors in 2010 as I support you
January 27, 2009
4:50 p.m.
Suggest removal
Bonji writes:
SanctuaryCity, do you have any proof of the "drain" on the state from illegal immigrants? Or is it just your xenophobic, nationalistic leanings that make you afraid of people from outside our borders? You're right, they don't work...they don't pay sales taxes when they buy things, they don't pay rent to landlords for housing, they don't buy cars and gas, all they do is steal from us hard working citizens and run back south. Time to focus your rage on something more important.
January 27, 2009
4:50 p.m.
Suggest removal
SanctuaryCity writes:
SFCPaul
The problem is that your legal
January 27, 2009
4:56 p.m.
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LockNLoad writes:
Interesting. Ritter intends to move workers from the department of corrections to other "open" posiitons. I thought there was a hiring freeze?
Oh, I forgot. He is trying to protect his new voting base, the union government workers.
All of the stimulus money that Nobama wants for "infrastructure" is going to spur jobs for illegals since they will be construction and highway jobs. Get ready for another big influx of immigrants.
January 27, 2009
4:56 p.m.
Suggest removal
Scott writes:
Tax Ritter is just playing the ol' scare tactic game. Typical type of B.S. from this lawyer/politician. It thinks that if it claims that convicts are going to be released, cut school funding, etc., then the voters will give it and the rest of the politicians more money.
Scott
January 27, 2009
5 p.m.
Suggest removal
farsidefan writes:
You wanted cuts.
Here they are. Sorry if it isn't convenient for you.NIMBY !!! Furloughs for state employees. You folks think they are worthless anyway, you don't need them.
Seniors, aren't you the ones who have been hollering about cutting state programs ? He picked yours. Closing state prisons. I doubt if they will turn the rascals loose. Decreasing the funds to schools. According to most of you on here, they aren't worth a damn anyway so who cares ?
The governor can't just say " lets cut the money for illegals." There is no line item in the state budget for that. He must cut programs that are listed in the state budget.
The state goes through this about every 6-8 years regardless of who the governor is.
It is the economy,folks!
PS: The prison is in Florence not Canon City. Supermax, is a federal prison and does not come into play here.
January 27, 2009
5:05 p.m.
Suggest removal
Bonji writes:
FRN4U, it is common sense. We all pay sales tax when we buy stuff, we all pay rent to our landlords, etc.
January 27, 2009
5:09 p.m.
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gr8fun4me writes:
I already pay outrageous taxes on my house and I'm fighting to get them lowered because it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what is going on with the housing market. I busted my rear end to build a nice house but you know what I think. I'm going to get taxed right out of it because of politicians like Ritter. I'm working out of state now because the job market is not that great and is much better on the east coast. I would sell my house if the market was better so it looks like I'm kind stuck. In the meantime why do people like Ritter always try to cut the things that government is supposed to be doing like protecting its citizens and educating them. Instead they waste the taxpayers money on stupid programs that don't produce anything in return. On top of that they give themselves great benefits and retirements. How about rolling back the wages of the higher paid public servants like yourself? Why not roll back the salaries of the presidents of the public colleges? There is no reason in the world the president of the colleges should be averaging over $500,000/yr. In reality it looks like everyone is going to have to fend for themselves. The government can't protect everyone anymore, they can't protect the food supply, they can't protect the banking system, they can't govern the oil companies very well. It goes on and on. But they sure want more tax dollars. What I want to know is where does it stop? When you have all my money and I bet you still couldn't allocate it very well.
January 27, 2009
5:13 p.m.
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somebunnyluvsme writes:
Well I didn't see where any of the perks, or pay rates of any of the hierarchy where being sacrificed. Do we need department heads to be sure that the good hard workers in the public sector do their jobs? Perhaps a pay for performance standard in each sector, and the elimination of useless and burdensome oversight would be more appropriate. After all, if one gets 3 times what any of his/her staff gets, and doesn't perform a task that directly correlates to a value added to public service, they are the true cost factor here. I think they are the weight around our necks. If the work isn't done up to snuff, then let the person directly responsible for the task go. These idealogical idiots are the real problem.Tax and spend has to end. Time to get back to basics, and yea, send the illegals home. 1 bus ticket, and after that we get serrious.
January 27, 2009
5:14 p.m.
Suggest removal
Bonji writes:
gr8fun4me, before you sell your house and move to the east coast check out their property taxes. Colorado was 23rd in the nation in property taxes back in 2004.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/research...
Not sure where we are now but the east coast is terrible with property taxes.
FRN4U, I'm not pro-illegal, I'm pro-people. The hate and venom some of these people on here spew about anyone they don't like/disagree with is disgusting. We're all people trying to live the best life we can. People need to stop blaming your problems on people with a different skin color.
January 27, 2009
5:17 p.m.
Suggest removal
SanctuaryCity writes:
Bonji
Where have you been ? I have no rage, just fed up of the criminal activity of illegal entry that has sweep up this country at the taxpayers expense. Here is a list of costs dating back to 2004 of the drain.. Also, there was a raid in my subdivsion that involved homeland security and they hauled away those criminals for gangs, drugs & guns. FACT BONJI
.
1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments.
2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programssuch as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.
3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.
4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English!
5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for theAmerican-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.
8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.
9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens.
10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US
11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border.
12. The National Policy Institute, 'estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.'
13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittancesback to their countries of origin.
14. 'The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States
The total cost is a whopping $ 338 billion a year
HEY BONJI, CHECK CNN TRANSCRIPTS & HOMELAND SECURITY BACK TO 2004
January 27, 2009
5:30 p.m.
Suggest removal
Bonji writes:
SanctuaryCity, those are great numbers but quoting CNN and Homeland Security don't really satisfy me. The media and fear mongering government can spin things however they want. Do you have anything that compares these costs to the benefits? For example, do you have someone who can substantiate this claim, "$90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers."? Because last time I checked illegals actually hide from the government, not run to collect welfare. But they do have to pay sales tax when they need to buy things.
Look, we can both find whatever proof will satisfy us and you're not going to convince me of anything. I just think we can be better served embracing people who want to be in this country as opposed to trying to kick them out. After all, how did most of us get here? Immigration. Ask native Americans about who the illegal aliens are.
January 27, 2009
5:33 p.m.
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somebunnyluvsme writes:
Sanctuary city is right bonji. Before you cut a single educational program for any taxpayers child, you kick those who don't contribute to anything but the cost of operation, right back across the border. I think that most of us have had just about enough of this crap! If you are reading this Mr. Ritter, I believe that a serious and thoughtful reevaluation of your plan need be taken up immediately. I can smell the distinctive odor of tar and feathers. I also thought I saw a large crowd gathered around a rail yard, gathering up rails no doubt.
January 27, 2009
5:41 p.m.
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HankReardon writes:
Maybe we could release the people convicted of non-violent/victimless crimes, starting with marijuana possession?
January 27, 2009
5:43 p.m.
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OregonBroncFan writes:
Brilliant and typical of our government. Let the criminals loose, continue to dumb down America with education cuts and stick it to the elderly. America gotta love it.
January 27, 2009
5:45 p.m.
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SoberIrishMan writes:
Don't ya just feel like a sheep in a long line, being lead to large building that smells like death...?
I do!
January 27, 2009
5:47 p.m.
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jrhino writes:
No loss at human services. They are the most incompetent people I have ever dealt with.
You got to get serious about getting illegal aliens off the dole, out of jobs, and out of the State.
John Struthers Atty. Gen. Has refused to sue for illegal costs from the federal government, as mandated by voters, exempted illegal aliens from having their asbestos worker licenses checked for lawful presence through human services, told a forum at DU we need to give um their paperwork and let um work.
With a state government bent on enabling illegal aliens, budget reductions in the areas mentioned are a waste of time. Immigration reduction should be budget reduction job 1.
Tell your state senator to vote for SB09-23 to require employers to use e-verify to determine lawful presence.
January 27, 2009
5:53 p.m.
Suggest removal
The_Punnisher writes:
Lock 'n Load is a good monicker. And THAT may be what we have to do pretty soon now.
It is what SANE people do when someone INVADES their country.
P.S. Playing the HATE card doesn't change the FACTS.
When you INVADE a country, you cross the border ILLEGALLY to do so.
When an INVASION FORCE occupies a country, it SENDS the WEALTH of that country BACK to the INVADING country.
The INVADED country gets POORER and SUFFERS as a result of that INVASION.
This has happened since the beginning of civilization, Only the TOOLS have changed. We wage ECONOMIC WAR these days along with PHYSICAL WAR.
Guess who is losing this type of war?
January 27, 2009
5:55 p.m.
Suggest removal
gr8fun4me writes:
Bonji,
I didn't say I was buying on the East Coast. The property taxes are high as are the other taxes too. I like Colorado but I'm tired of the boom and bust of the economy for the last twenty five years. If I can just figure a way to pay off my house that would be great but the property taxes were going up like crazy and now they won't lower them during the bad times. Oh well, at least I'm working and have my health.
January 27, 2009
6:02 p.m.
Suggest removal
BetterEducated writes:
I agreed with this so much that I blocked & copied it, but then got to reading, and forgot who wrote it (sorry about that!):
"Do we need department heads to be sure that the good hard workers in the public sector do their jobs? Perhaps a pay for performance standard in each sector, and the elimination of useless and burdensome oversight would be more appropriate. After all, if one gets 3 times what any of his/her staff gets, and doesn't perform a task that directly correlates to a value added to public service, they are the true cost factor here. I think they are the weight around our necks."
So do I, whoever you are that said that! :-)
January 27, 2009
6:05 p.m.
Suggest removal
John_Galt writes:
Why isn't he allowing more drilling for oil & gas in our state?Also, why isn't he opening more land to oil shale development?
Just those two things alone would make up for the shortfall he & his Dem buddies are predicting.
And it would create thousands of jobs.
January 27, 2009
6:08 p.m.
Suggest removal
lochbuie writes:
SanctuaryCity writes:
Where the h*** is dealing with the illegals mentioned. You want to stick it to the seniors and let the illegals roam the streets without jails EDUCATING THEIR ANCHORS, MEDICALLY TREATING THEM & supplying them free luches.
Time for real change in this sanctuary state
Also, why can't we take away all these Govt subsidies from the people who are scared of work? It's always (us) the working taking it in the shorts for the lazy people!
January 27, 2009
6:14 p.m.
Suggest removal
TYoungman writes:
Sanctuary city,
"The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens" ?
Ah, the old "sub-human" argument. How original. If you applied any critical thought to this at all you would realize that those numbers are inflated by fraud cases. The Violent crimes rate is on par with the rest of American society. You've made some valid points, but lose credibility with this kind of propagandist B.S.
January 27, 2009
6:33 p.m.
Suggest removal
Toe_nail writes:
No Social Services cut? Just start there by drug and alcohol testing all recipients of wellfare checks. Pay for only 2 kids. Have a car newer than 10 years old sell it. That's just starter for wellfare. Reduced lunches, you can make alot of egg sandwiches for what they subsidize that program with.
January 27, 2009
6:39 p.m.
Suggest removal
somebunnyluvsme writes:
Hey did you just read the latest on the Daily camera page. Ritter names Alice Madden to head up the climate change department. Gosh I wonder what that all important BS job pays. Lets see here Alice will have to go to, and most likely host lunch for her here to after Democrat appointee fellow climate change big wigs, and then, after lunch ride around in a limo, or fly on a jet to other luncheons. Mean while, little Johny Jones will not be able to attend college this year, because his father who worked and paid taxes all his life, lost his job as a prison guard, and has no way to pay Johnie's tuition. Unfortunately Mr. Johnson, made $2.98 too much last year, when he was employed, and Johny does not qualify to benefit from any of Mr. Johnson's tax contributions of the last 20 years of service, as a slave to the ineptly managed State Of Colorado. But, some good news. Salvatore Consuela Gonzalez, has just received a full boat scholarship to Yale university, where he will study accounting for the next 4 years. this is a miracle of unprecedented proportions, seeing as how neither of Sal's parents are legal citizens of the US. However it is somewhat poetic justice, that Sal's father was incarcerated at Cannon City, and was guarded daily by the now unemployed Mr. Johnson. When asked to comment on the situation, Both Mr. Ritter, and Mz. Madden stated that all questions of this nature should be directed to the acting liaison of Mr. Obamas new department on foreign affairs. Or as it has come to be known since the turning of the country over to the UN. The department of balancing the budget on the backs of the poor SOB'S that have to work for a living.
January 27, 2009
7:03 p.m.
Suggest removal
Mommyx4 writes:
Last time I checked, Colorado was #48 in spending per pupil, with only Mississippi and another state behind it. This is the last thing we need. Cuts to public education? Outrageous! I have four children in public school, and we live in a nice school district (Cherry Creek), and enough of our programs are being cut. I can't imagine what life is like in the poorer districts.
January 27, 2009
7:13 p.m.
Suggest removal
Mommyx4 writes:
Oops. I looked it up and it has gotten better. 31 out of 50. Utah is the worst.
January 27, 2009
7:23 p.m.
Suggest removal
jay045 writes:
So hypothetically, I'd like to hear how Sanctuary is going to reduce our tax burden by getting illegal immigrants out of Colorado. Practically speaking that is. Do we hire storm troopers to go door-to-door, then buy or lease a bunch of buses, pay for fuel for the buses, and then just drive them to the border?
The one stat you quoted was "The National Policy Institute, 'estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.' " An interesting stat.
Some of the others must have been outdated. To get any services in Colorado (food stamps, medicaid, welfare), you have to have a valid ID card. I seem to remember seniors who had lost their ID cards and other legal residents getting caught a couple of years ago without services because they had lost their ID cards.
Anyway, interested in hearing, beyond rhetoric that illegals are ruining this country (a refrain that has a 150 year history), what you would do practically to realize this goal? You might have some problems, constitutionally, trying to remove children who are citizens, but I'm interested in hearing your specific plan for their parents and others who are not here legally.
January 27, 2009
7:31 p.m.
Suggest removal
windskull writes:
RICO ACT should have been employed as soon as that whistleblower caught DHCP&F stealing $8 Million taxpayer dollars-allocated client entitlement funds and ALL those involved from the basement mail clerk up to the $500k/yr salaried hospital administrator would have their assets frozen and the fiscal crisis THEY created through autonomous greed and ineptitude would be resolved by the courts and the guilty will go to prison the rest will come out with a new respect for themselves, their careers and more-so the elderly disabled and needy individuals without who none repeat NONE of them would hold their salaried positions!
January 27, 2009
7:54 p.m.
Suggest removal
somebunnyluvsme writes:
OH common Jay, don't be so darn selective in your stat reading. 200 billion annually in wage suppression, 90 billion on Welfare annually, and by the way, identity theft has provided more than an ample supply of false identification documents needed to obtain welfare benefits. 2.5Billion for Medicaid, 3 million a day to lock up the little scum bags that get caught. Hey, I will volunteer to drive a bus load myself, so long as the government agrees to set up field artillery, and sniper training ranges all along the open border to keep them out. Hell the first years savings alone will pay for it's self in a few months. We have to come to grips with the fact that we are working with extremely limited resources here, and are not able at the present time to run an open borders program. The less drained from what we have left to allocate, the more that will be available to rebuild with.I am sure that you are genuine about your feelings regarding social justice. But, you have to ask yourself some hard questions in hard times. Is it fair for a person who worked and paid taxes all of their life, to lose their home, because we have to fund programs for illegal entrants to our country? Sorry friend,but as your Saviour said during his campaign , It is time for some real change here.Now is he going to back pedal on that just like all the rest of his line of crapolla? As for the anchor babies, well if mama wants to leave them here we will take up that much of the slack.
January 27, 2009
8:55 p.m.
Suggest removal
kali73 writes:
"The reconfigured $7.26 billion general-fund proposal for next year represents almost no growth for the $7.24 budget approved for the 2007-08 fiscal year."
No sympathy here... like true government BS, the "cut" budget is still higher than prior budget. Who else can reduce an increase in spending and call it a cut?!!
January 27, 2009
9:26 p.m.
Suggest removal
mover2 writes:
HAAAA! To white to get stamps, welcome to my world (Texas) same here mister.
January 27, 2009
9:36 p.m.
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cdmdenver writes:
PRISON BUSINESS PRODUCES NOTHING-"BLACK HOLE"
Ritter is on the right path, get the non violent substance abusers
to pay their own tab$. Get the help they need, hold them accountable and make them pay for help. If they are illegal-ADIOS!!
Education is paramount, kids getting enough to eat is also
important. Unfortunately NO ONE speaks the truth about
illegals in the U.S.
The truth being that BUSH-FOX-MARTIN signed the North
American Treaty-No Borders-No enforcement between
Mexico, U.S. Canada (March 23, 2005). Get used to the
fact Bush is an illegal politician and thief, he sold the U.S.
out, say hello to your new North American Brothers,
Embrace the NWO!
January 27, 2009
11:08 p.m.
Suggest removal
FTR writes:
More Bull---t!!! How about the elected goverment take it up the a-- Close the prisons? Screw the teachers? Screw everybody in the middle class. Ohh I forgot there is no middle class. How about screw the rich for the first time in 15 years!!!
FTR
January 27, 2009
11:25 p.m.
Suggest removal
avsfan71085 writes:
close prisons and screw up schools? Interesting...I thought our schools were underfunded, now we need to cut money!?
January 28, 2009
1:08 a.m.
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Creative_N_Denver writes:
It now begins, we were told there would be major cuts. I thought Obama promised more money for schools and education? Has the lies started to now surface? What a mess our elected make and yet we continue to pay their sallaries.
January 28, 2009
1:18 a.m.
Suggest removal
44roger writes:
"Native Americans" came from Mongolia and others areas.
cut English teaching classes out completely. We are not their parents. keep the snowplows in the shed for less than a few inches of snow, learn to drive. cut top officials salaries by same % as the budget. raise fines for employers to 10 grand each for illegals. release non violent prisoners, and raise fines for such activity. Do not re elect Ritter.
January 28, 2009
4:23 a.m.
Suggest removal
LOUIE writes:
Close the schools, open up the prisons, and throw the elderly in front of financially speeding Buicks; damn if that scare tactic won't get you re-elected Mr. Ritter! Can't gut the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, (TABOR), can't saddle the more taxes on the people, refuse to downsize the beaurcracy of state personel, so what do we do? Keep the gluttony of size, and take your wrath out on the people suffering the most in these hardtimes, the people, (Taxpayer). I think you've missed the people's message Mr. Ritter, they can't afford a big government right now, you need to downsze the government payroll pay if the state as whole is to survive pal. But for now, schools out, the Bastille is to be liberated, and we rape all great and small, while pillaging the elderly. Great platform Governor Ritter, sure to be a shoe in next election. I think your wearing a patch over one eye pal, hows the parrot?
January 28, 2009
4:58 a.m.
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LOUIE writes:
I hate to boast on the mayor of Denver, Mr. Hinckenlooper, but things like 311 for all city service with one number was pure brilliance. See, republican or democrat, government service and employment numbers have gotten larger as government keeps on identifing needs and making the people pay. From the representatives, senators, on down to staff assistants are going to have to be brought down in payscales or numbers themselves. Education, prisons, the elderly, they are the first pieces thrown on the plate, never the state employees. Why? Because they are a big vote in the world of politics. Lawyers and politicians are in great abundance right now, law firms are downsizing or just flat closing, staffing should not only be of better quality, but cost less as well. Supply and demand. Job markets are overflowing with professional degrees of every background and profession. It's an employer's market when hiring staff, wages are truly negotable in the employer's favor. A state job is a not only a cash cow right now in the eyes of the professional looking for work, but the people themselves who have even less education, in the blue collar sector. With benifits it's a prized steer at the Brown Palece in size and weight. People don't have much meat left governor, they've been suffering a mean drought with no relief on the horizon. If there is a cow to be truly worthy of the butcher's attention, I think you need to look at the one right in front of you every day.
January 28, 2009
5:20 a.m.
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LOUIE writes:
I hope you understand why some of us disagreed with unionizing of government labor Mr. Ritter; the politician does a fine job protecting his faithful electorate base, and political base as employees of the state. Seems many industries from automobile to newspapers are having a tough time with the unions as we speak Governor. They are taking about massive layoffs in the private sector; but in the the public sector, the state refuses to pare it's numbers of employees and it beaurcracy personel, thus a union would just end up costing the people more. If the private sector must do more for less, I think it's only fair the public sector also faces the same reality. It might even be time to overhaul, and re-define government, in it's relationship to the taxpayer and true employer signing the payroll checks of employees in power.
January 28, 2009
6:13 a.m.
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StillUndecided writes:
When you speak of crime rates, make sure that you include the fact that any person born in a foreign country, living in this country without the proper documentation, is breaking the law.
That means that 100% of them are criminals.
January 28, 2009
6:36 a.m.
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freethinker07 writes:
The problem with releasing non-violent offenders is that we don't know who they are. With the use of plea bargains, the crime that people are convicted of frequently has no relationship to the crime they committed.
A growing percentage of students are educated in non-public school settings. Homeschooling, parochial and private schools are educating more and more of the state's children. Between the state payment per child and the land taxes, DPS spends upwards of $19,000 per child per year. I figure that by sending my 3 children to private schools I saved government (3 children times 13 years times $19,000 per year) more than $741,000. Maybe it is time to cut education.
January 28, 2009
7:02 a.m.
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rushrulesbaby writes:
I like the part about closing the schools!
January 28, 2009
7:28 a.m.
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SICKANDTIRED74 writes:
This would be a good time to start releasing non-violent offenders and to do away with mandatory parole, which is nothing more than a second sentence and set up for the offender to fail and return to prison.
January 28, 2009
7:51 a.m.
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denverbulldog writes:
How to grow government and have the people pay for it 101:
1.Build pet projects and grow them every year
2.Build a wall around said projects
3.Act surprised at budget deficit
4.Threaten to cut services people actually care about
5.Watch people open their wallets…(hopefully not this year)
6.Repeat
January 28, 2009
8:13 a.m.
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Expos writes:
I am sorry the seniors are losing thier tax break; however the seniors always cry whenever something is taken away from them. Get a clue--they knew retirement was coming but they did nothing to prepare--there are people of all ages that need tax breaks.
Schools are another---there is a lot of waste in the school system now--teachers only work 9 months out of the year and during that time they get approximately 6 weeks off with the various holidays and breaks. Throw in the other days they get for planning ---ask yourself, do you only work 9 months a year? Do you get 6 weeks off? Do you get a day to plan what you are going to do the following week? Teachers have it made and all they do is whine also.
January 28, 2009
8:23 a.m.
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lynnie62 writes:
I totally agree with the release of NON violent offenders. The money that would save could help with some treatment programs. Most people in jail are there for habitual drug charges. Most aren't dealers, just users who need help but have no means of getting it. I have a friend, no joke, was at his trial, he had empty baggies in his pocket they had .0001 trace grams of some kind of substance that couldnt be determined. Not only that, the police changed the report after the prelim to show the .0001 before that it was non measurable. Jury found him guilty, he got 18 months in the DOC. That kind of person should not be in the prison system in my opinion.
January 28, 2009
8:23 a.m.
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Blind_Pete writes:
Isn't it amazing how politicians can make very difficult budget cuts when they do not have the power to print fiat currency? Wouldn't it be nice if the Federal government lacked that power? They didn't have that power until Nixon took us off the gold standard.
January 28, 2009
8:32 a.m.
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Macita183 writes:
The government needs to re-evaluate who they are giving aid to. I had someone apply for a position at my company last year and upon interviewing them they told me they drove their dream car (a 2006 BMW) and only paid $200 a month to live in a house that was subsidized by the government. Why does this individual get to drive around a fancy car and pay less then what I pay for utilities on rent? Maybe I should start popping out a few illegitimate children then I can start reaping the rewards of Colorado politics.
January 28, 2009
8:46 a.m.
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davies writes:
I am generally impressed by these cuts. These are genuine, painful, cost-saving measures. Here in Southern Colorado, they are closing down an underused and non-cost-efficient medical clinic at the State Hospital in Pueblo, as well as closing the dilapidated prison for women in Canon City. But they are NOT setting any inmates free as a result of this. They still have sentences that must be served, so these ladies will be moved to unused beds at the Pueblo and Denver Women's facilities.
The property tax exemption for seniors was a mistake in the first place. It does not differentiate between wealthy seniors and poor seniors; only between seniors who have lived in the same home for 10 years versus those who haven't. What makes seniors who have not moved automatically more worthy of a tax break than seniors who have moved (and in some cases were forced to move due to economic circumstances)?
And I am really sick of hearing about seniors and others on a "fixed income". It is everyone's responsibility to ensure that they plan for an adequate income for their retirement. What about all the people who have had to change their careers, go back to school, take salary cuts, and pay more and more of their salary towards health insurance? Let's face it, real income growth has been pretty stagnant overall for everyone for the past decade or so.
Back to prison inmates. LOUIE, I have news for you: The State has been paroling inmates at a much faster rate ever since Ritter took over. New Parole Board, new marching orders, and much more discretionary parole being granted. During the Owens administration, hardly anyone was paroled until it was mandated by their sentence. That has changed, and that's why you haven't been reading about a "not enough prison space" crisis for awhile.
I don't know what can and will be cut from K-12 education, because the voters passed that amendment requiring K-12 funding to be increased 1% MORE than the rate of inflation, for ten years. Probably the cuts are in building funds; unfortunate for those affected, but K-12 is skating by largely unscathed, in my opinion.
January 28, 2009
9 a.m.
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Fred87 writes:
Cutting the budgets of schools? Are you kidding me? At a time when all of our schools are failing you want to take over the health care of all the residents of the state, reduce the budget for education and all the while pay someone to be in charge of Colorado climate change! Bill Ritter has become a committed leftist and I am absolutely committed to doing whatever it takes to get him out of office. He absolutely has to go!
January 28, 2009
9 a.m.
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LockNLoad writes:
Ritter is a total partisan idiot. He is cutting those essential services that society needs to be prosperous, but he won't cut his "green initiatives", and the new office of Climate change. Also, he also won't address the illegal alien issue which is robbing Coloradoans of needed jobs.
Ritter has been soft on crime, and is more concerned about protecting his Liberal and union constituent base.
I'm ready for a recall!
January 28, 2009
9:19 a.m.
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sheepherder writes:
If the Feds would pay for all the illegal aliens in our prisions we could take care of this deficit in short time.
January 28, 2009
9:42 a.m.
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Marshdale writes:
Sanctuary City;
Just how many Illegals do you see begging for a handout in downtown Denver? Very few is what I have noticed. Most are legals. Not to mention. Do you have any stats on how many of them are flocking back to their country of origin because of the economy. The numbers are staggering.
Davies:
You are on the money.
To the rest of you righties:
Just what kind of a drain on the system is corporate welfare. Are you not compassionate Christians? What takes precident? Religious compassion or political ferver? How do you separate your compassion for those who have a piece of paper from those who don't. Are these people not your neighbor? What did Jesus say about loving thy neighbor? I just love the hypocracy of the right. Welfare is fine as long as it's for big business and compassion is ok as long as it's for legals. I'm so curious as to how you divide your love of the Bible from your political bent. The contradiction is astounding!
January 28, 2009
9:50 a.m.
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davies writes:
I have a great idea for the Office of Climate Change: Release overweight prison inmates, on the condition that they work out on an exercise machine that powers a refrigeration compressor that will create more ice for the high mountain glaciers. This will save money and slow global warming.
January 28, 2009
10:04 a.m.
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1FstMonte writes:
Hey davies, check your facts and the law. Parole is set by law, not a judge who doles out the sentence. Length of parole is dictated by the type of FELONY conviction. Terms and condition of parole are set by the parole board. It is up to the parolee if he is responsible enough to successfully complete parole. I will submit to you that many have been successful. No one is addressing the violence associated with drug use. IE gangs, drive-by's, etc.
January 28, 2009
10:21 a.m.
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davies writes:
Well, iFstMonte, aren't we getting a little too technical? I said "mandated by their sentence", not the judge. If the sentence is mandated by the law, then what difference do we have factually? Anyway, my point was, the State is not simply letting inmates go as a result of the decision to close two small prisons. The inmates have to be transferred to another facility.
January 28, 2009
10:32 a.m.
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mcgraw08 writes:
It is amazing to see all of you ranting and raving about how bad the governor is. How about the corporate ceo's who ran their businesses into the ground received bailout money and still were irresponsible. the fact that they were allowed to do whatever they wanted has hurt us. The off shore accounts so they don't have to pay taxes to the U.S. government is crazy. The rich keep getting richer and no one says anything. Louie, Hickenlooper has used his office to help his friends to get prime real estate, (Hacienda) on 30th and Stout, so how about what he has done. Stop complaining about the unions, you sound like the ceo's who are now fighting the U.S. Labor Department because they don't want to treat their workers right. Like the CEO of Home Depot stated " I could be on a 380 foot yacht, in the Mediterrean Sea, but I need to fight this bill as do all Republicans." "It would be an end to American Capitalism." Capitalism for him where he is making huge money. We allowed and didn't push for more regulation on the big companies, we allowed them to lie, cheat and steal from the American citizens. Remember it is the worker who is the backbone of our country.
January 28, 2009
10:49 a.m.
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Heidi writes:
woo hoo davies! Tell it like it is!
January 28, 2009
10:53 a.m.
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CObeez writes:
Louie,
What you don't understand is in the Private Sector they are laying people off due to declining sales and services people are purchasing. Are less people going to head to the DMV to get their license renewed? Are less people going to head to CDLE to claim unemployment? Don't get me wrong, I am sure there are areas that can be safely cut but when they are working for the taxpayers it isn't like we demand less from the State Workers.
January 28, 2009
11:27 a.m.
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arvada_mark writes:
You know what this town needs? It needs to give the DA a 46% pay increase over the next few years. That'll solve a lot of problems.
January 28, 2009
11:41 a.m.
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Classof80 writes:
Welcome Democrats to what you brought us. WE have Ritter and Hickinpooper leading this state right down the drain, as will the great one in the white house. I figured by now we'd have a 4000 point jump in the market but yet its doing exactly what it was when G.W.B. was there. Those in Canon City Women’s facility will be transferred to Pueblo and Denver. Canon City depends on those facilities to keep their economy going as well.
So let’s all welcome a few more illegal’s to this state that can't speak English and let them collect welfare as well. It should be a requirement to at least speak the language which in Colorado which I believe is English. Yes I know there will be a hundred comments about how I'm a racist but boo hoo. Your not hurting my feelings one bit.
January 28, 2009
12:39 p.m.
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jlstaud writes:
"The reconfigured $7.26 billion general-fund proposal for next year represents almost no growth for the $7.24 budget approved for the 2007-08 fiscal year."
Anyone paying attention to this. We're not talking about budget cuts, we're talking about not increasing the budget from last year. Guess what? That's real life! I don't get to increase my budget from year to year when the money isn't there and neither should the government. Leave it to the retarded media to somehow portray this as we have to make all these cuts. Actually, no we just need to tighten the belts and stay where we're at and ride this out. Get a freakin clue! Typical scare tactics from our friends on the left.
January 28, 2009
1:18 p.m.
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LOUIE writes:
MARSHDALE, in response to your question at 9:42, many of us render unto God what belongs unto God, and render unto Caesar what belongs to him. Even Christ had to continiously deal with the politicians, money changers, priests. etc., so why do you feel it's any different today? They still abuse the people just the same as they did then when Christ walked the earth. Some say even more so today when abominations before God are being legitimized everyday just like back then. You can seperate God and state, but it's a little more difficult to separate God from His people. LOL!~
January 28, 2009
1:53 p.m.
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Marshdale writes:
Louie I was not talking about what the government does or does not do I was commenting on self righteous posters. LOL.
January 28, 2009
2:39 p.m.
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MeAgain writes:
Hmm.... did that say DPS spends $19K per student? Where did those stats come from? I work for DPS and I was told it was closer to $4K.
The cold facts are that you can pay for schools now or you can pay for prisons later (after ALOT of headache and trouble in between).
How about this? I say that welfare only pays for 2 kids and at least 1 of the parents signs into the military.
As for the illegals, I dont know why they would stay at this point. I know Mexicans here LEGALLY who are moving back to Mexico to get jobs. Now THAT should be a sign. Now, how about that fence?