Complete Colorado’s Nash Herman writes that Colorado’s fiscal outlook improved after updated forecasts were presented to the Joint Budget Committee, including a projected $148 million surplus for fiscal year 2026-27 after earlier forecasts showed the state with $806.6 million less to spend. The piece argues that even with better revenue and a budget that grew by nearly 7%, Colorado’s Democrat-dominated legislature is still pushing for more taxes, more TABOR-room, and more revenue appetite.
And there it is, the oldest scam under the Gold Dome. When revenue is down, they need more of your money. When revenue is up and the budget improves, they still need more of your money. If Colorado government found a raccoon in a dumpster full of donuts, the raccoon would still hold a press conference about the dessert shortage.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Complete Colorado says the state’s near-term budget outlook improved significantly, with fiscal year 2026-27 now showing a $148 million surplus after earlier projections looked much worse. Good news, right? Not in Denver. In Denver, good news is just a new excuse to demand more.
- The piece notes lawmakers balanced the budget by lowering the statutory reserve from 15% to 13%, using the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund, recouping TABOR refunds, and moving money between cash funds and the General Fund. Translation: they shook every couch cushion in the Capitol and called it fiscal leadership.
- Current forecasts still show a possible $315 million shortfall for 2027-28 if the state returns to the 15% reserve requirement. That matters. But it does not justify treating taxpayers like an underperforming ATM with legs.
- Herman points to Proposition NN, a graduated income tax measure, and special-interest tax credits as part of the larger spending-and-tax pattern. Fees get renamed, TABOR gets treated like a hostage situation, and every forecast becomes another altar call for government appetite.
- The real punchline is simple: Colorado’s ruling class cannot interpret “more revenue than expected” as permission to leave people the hell alone. They hear “surplus” and immediately start shopping for another moral emergency to staple to somebody else’s paycheck.
My Bottom Line
Colorado does not have a revenue problem. Colorado has a spending addiction wearing a compassion costume and carrying a clipboard.
Normal Coloradans are getting squeezed by housing, groceries, insurance, utilities, fees, taxes, and every other state-approved wallet parasite. Meanwhile, the ruling class looks at an improved fiscal forecast and somehow concludes the crisis is that government still isn’t fat enough.
The legislature wants to call everything a fee, a credit, a program, an investment, or a temporary fix. Fine. Normal-person translation: they want more control over more money, and they would prefer taxpayers stop noticing the trick.
This is not complicated. If the budget picture improves, show restraint. Rebuild reserves. Stop raiding pots of money. Stop inventing new taxes and fees. Stop using TABOR like a villain in a children’s play. Stop pretending every special interest with a lobbyist and a laminated badge is a public emergency.
But don’t hold your breath. These are Colorado Democrats. They can stare at a surplus and still see starvation, because the appetite is the point.
Source: Complete Colorado
