Marianne Goodland of Colorado Politics reports on the latest shell game at the statehouse. Proposition MM, the ballot measure to bail out Colorado’s bloated “free school meals” program, will hike taxes on households earning above $300,000 by slashing deductions. The plan is expected to raise $95 million annually. The real fight? Whether to admit in the official Blue Book title that it’s a tax increase. Rep. Lorena Garcia (D-Adams County) tried to rebrand the title as “Access to Healthy Food for Colorado Kids and Families” – warm fuzzies instead of plain English. But the Legislative Council voted 11–7 along party lines to keep “tax increase” in the title.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Proposition MM raises $95 million by cutting deductions for households making $300k+.
- It patches the “free meals for all kids” program approved in 2022 that’s already $50 million over budget.
- Rep. Lorena Garcia tried to scrub “tax increase” from the Blue Book title and replace it with a Whole-Foods-sounding slogan. Because when you actually tell Coloradans what it is – a tax increase – they vote against it. So let’s throw out honesty.
- GOP lawmakers called foul: “Tell the truth, this is a tax increase.” Even some Dems admitted they couldn’t hide it.
- Leftover money could even get funneled into SNAP. So it’s not just “feeding kids” – it’s subsidizing the welfare state.
My Bottom Line
In Colorado, you can always count on two things: mountains don’t move, and Democrats will try to hide tax hikes behind feel-good slogans. Proposition MM is the latest con. The “free school meals” voters approved in 2022 turned out to be a budget-busting boondoggle, and now lawmakers want another $95 million to cover their bad math.
But instead of owning the overrun, progressives tried to erase the words “tax increase” from the title and rebrand it like a Whole Foods flyer. Don’t worry, they said, it’s just “Access to Healthy Food for Kids.” Cute. Except it’s a tax hike, plain and simple.
This is the free-lunch fallacy in action. Politicians dangle “free,” but the bill always comes due. Today the target is families making $300k. Tomorrow? The small business owner in Greeley who dared to work weekends to build something. These brackets always creep.
Colorado’s problem isn’t revenue, it’s honesty. If you have to trick voters with marketing to pass your program, maybe the program isn’t worth passing.
