This is exactly why so many Coloradans are done with the ruling class in Denver.

For years the Democrats who control this state have perfected the art of the stealth tax grab. They never say “we’re raising your taxes.” They say they’re “modernizing tax expenditures.” They never say “we spent too much and now we need more of your money.” They say they’re creating “long-term fiscal sustainability.”

HB26-1289 is the latest example — a giant omnibus bill that quietly removes exemptions, limits deductions, and shifts more revenue into state coffers while throwing in a few green-energy giveaways for political cover. It’s the same tired game: expand what gets taxed, shrink what people can keep, then act shocked when voters notice their wallets are lighter.

Colorado used to be a place where people came to build a life and keep the fruits of their labor. Now it feels like the state treats every taxpayer like an ATM that just needs better branding. While families watch insurance, groceries, housing, and car registrations explode, the legislature’s solution is always the same — find another clever way to extract more instead of actually cutting spending.

Enough with the euphemisms. Enough with the accounting tricks. Colorado doesn’t need more “revenue optimization.” It needs leaders who respect that the money belongs to the people who earned it, not the permanent political class that keeps finding new ways to spend it.

The solution is simple: cut the bloat, protect and strengthen TABOR, and stop treating hardworking Coloradans like the problem instead of the solution.