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.