The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR): A Solution to Wisconsin's Fiscal Problems or a Prescription for Future Fiscal Crises?
Abstract
Facts do not support arguments in favor of an amendment to
Wisconsin's constitution to limit government spending and taxing
authority. The amendment's proposal to tie growth in per-capita
or per-public spending to the rate of inflation means public
expenditures would become a smaller part of the economy even as the cost of those services,
especially health care and education, increase faster than inflation.
The author goes back to 1986 and calculates how much Wisconsin governments
could have spent under TABOR. He finds that results would
include reductions in programs that help the state's most
vulnerable residents, a downsizing of the University of
Wisconsin System and restrictions in school districts' ability
to provide quality education.