OBJECTIONS TO TABOR

Objections to TABOR stem, in part, from a firm conviction by politicians that the Kansas government can not function with the financial constraints imposed on it by a TABOR amendment. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Consider the cold war dilemma of a US Embassy in an iron curtain country:

Angered at America during the cold war, an iron curtain country ordered the American embassy to reduce its 80 person staff by 60 people. They were given less than a week for the 60 to get out of the country. When the ambassador looked at the order, he thought there was no way an 80 man embassy could function with only 20 people. The Americans met the deadline and the remaining 20 went to work. Not only did they function, they became more efficient than ever by eliminating unnecessary tasks and doing only truly essential work. The ambassador's comment, "I would never have believed it possible." They did it because they had to.

Consider the construction of the largest, most advanced submarine ever built:

In 2003, the new attack submarine, USS Virginia was launched one year ahead of schedule and at a lower cost than its smaller, less sophisticated, predecessor, the Sea Wolf. A tight navy budget required that it be built for less money than Sea Wolf and with vastly superior technology. It had to be able to stay submerged for months at a time. It had to sit motionless and undetected underwater. It had to be equipped with state of the art spy capability. It had to be able to submerge to a depth of 800 feet.

Design began in 1998 with the premise that no costly delays would be tolerated. All drafting tables were removed from the company offices. A design program, used by Boeing to manufacture airplanes, was borrowed and used to design the Virginia. Instead of building full scale models to test module compatibility, all fitting was checked by computer. Robot welding was used to meet the exacting quality requirements of 370 pounds per square inch hull pressure at 800 feet. To meet the schedule, the contractor called on the assistance of a long time rival who willingly accepted the challemge. The Virginia was built in just five years and launched in 2003. Its alpha test of every system on the ship was the first of a ship that size ever completed without any failures. Many predicted it couldn't be built with those requirements - but they did it because they had to.

Like the two examples cited, the Kansas government, under TABOR, will continue to function by becoming cleverer at reducing waste and inefficiency. All of a sudden, costly, but unnecessary, programs will face closer scrutiny. Special interest groups will have to work harder to make their case for more of the taxpayer's money. Under TABOR Kansas government will have to represent all Kansas citizens. They won't do it because they want to. They will do it because they have to.