A yawning gap in the federal budget may sound abstract, but for rural communities like ours, it’s painfully real. President Trump and Republicans in Congress have passed two major bills – H. R. 1, the “Big Beautiful Bill,” and H.R. 4, the “Rescission Bill” – that together divest billions from local communities and states and blow a $3 trillion to $4 trillion hole in the federal deficit. However one describes it – clawed back, ripped open, hollowed out – the damage is deep. And you can only cut so far before the foundation crumbles.
Yes, waste and inefficiency exist in every sector – public, private, and nonprofit. But these cuts aren’t about efficiency. They are ideological, arbitrary, and poorly planned. They are already producing real-world harm: lost jobs, canceled funding and projects, rural hospitals at risk of closure, and tribal and community radio stations struggling to stay on air (Journal, Jun. 18), to name just a few examples. Trump’s tariffs are adding to the chaos, wreaking havoc on state and local economies and consumers’ wallets.
The consequences are hitting Colorado fast. Last Wednesday, Gov. Jared Polis announced a special session of the General Assembly beginning Aug. 21 to address a $783 million revenue shortfall (Journal, Aug. 8). That gap is due to H.R. 1’s expanded corporate and individual tax deductions and the additional costs states must now bear for food assistance programs (SNAP) and Medicaid – costs previously shared with the federal government.
This comes on top of the $1.2 billion shortfall the legislature closed at the end of its last session. Lawmakers balanced the books then by leaving state jobs unfilled, cutting millions from transportation projects, reducing funding for local governments, and trimming social programs – including $1 million from food pantries. Even compassionate Colorado had to make painful decisions to keep up with rising education and health care costs.
For years, the Colorado Fiscal Institute has warned about the state’s “structural deficit.” Their research shows how the combination of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and recent federal tax cuts creates a recipe for long-term fiscal trouble. TABOR caps state revenue growth to inflation plus population, but that formula ignores real cost drivers. It’s based on consumer goods, not the expenses that actually dominate state budgets – salaries, school buses, construction materials for infrastructure projects.
Because TABOR’s formula doesn’t track these realities, state spending can’t keep pace with the cost of real needs. The result is a slow whittling down – cut after cut after cut – that erodes the public services and infrastructure communities rely on.
At some point, while we hope for the federal government to one day again support states as they have for decades, Colorado’s leaders need to confront the root of the problem. That means reexamining TABOR itself. Legislators should consider referring to voters a constitutional amendment that revises or replaces TABOR with a system that still exercises fiscal restraint but reflects the real costs of governing and allows legislators, those closest to tax and spending issues, the flexibility needed to meet Colorado’s needs.
No matter where you stand on the proper size and role of government, thriving economies have always relied on some level of public investment – roads, schools, hospitals, public safety, clean air and water. These are the foundations of prosperity.
Budgeting by a thousand cuts only works for so long. Eventually, you hit bone.
