While always the same, they usually end in more disappointment.

“So, what are they, Craig,” you ask? My desire is always to have citizens vote for smaller government, fewer government powers, less taxes, less government intrusion and putting good people into office.

Now you’re probably wondering I’m usually disappointed in election results. Yeah, me too. Just a curious glance at any ballot to see what we’re voting on would tell anyone we’re voting in futile efforts in hopes of even slowing down the leviathan of government dominance in our lives. Most of the time, we’re voting to stop our fellow citizens from using government to tell us what to do; prevent it from taking more of our money in doing it; or, worse, in doing the things politicians use the barrel of gun to tell us to do.

Talk about the lesser of two evils. Elections are the case in point.

Let’s go to our local school board races. Yes, I hope the “conservative” labeled candidates won. I believe having a board with members labeled as such by progressive factions — like Restore the Balance, the teachers’ unions and our local mainstream media — are as close as possible to the kinds of people who believe education should be about actual education. Conservative folks also tend to be cautious about spending and budgets given the government penchant for spending above and beyond at epic proportions. Our local school district is no exception. Need proof? Just look to the near $200 million project under construction on Fifth Street because our board of education didn’t do its job over decades of ignoring and budgeting to replace just one building.

Of course, with schools, it goes so much deeper. It’s hard to believe overspending isn’t the biggest problem. It’s not even close. More and more of the curriculum is based not on the three R’s, but rather progressive policy after progressive policy. And much of that has nothing to do with education. Succinctly put, government uses schools to get its claws into citizens’ lives. We used to pass laws for adults for folks to get the basics of life in creating government dependency. Think welfare, the Medis, Social Security and litany of policies dedicated to politicians fixing problems  — which they probably created — and make folks clamor for government to “do something.” The problem with government is it’s always willing to do so.

In our schools, this goes beyond the dumbing down of curriculum — which an administration full of progressives like we’ve had and largely still have in District 51 can do serious damage to kids’ brains. Look at what else is going on. School is how parents look after their kids. Schools are becoming the main child care provider in our country. Need food? Schools provide meals for free along with backpacks to take home on weekends. Now every time we build a school, we need to put a clinic in it so families have access to health care. The health care angle is made worse because in Colorado, our evil legislature deemed it proper for 12-year-olds to make medical decisions outside the knowledge of parents. As dutiful parts of the leviathan, schools are more than happy to play their role. More government dollars and programs mean more job security for unions and administrators, which in turn means more money into union coffers and more progressive policies, which means more progressives elected who in turn pass more laws “for the children.” The wheels keep on turning.

I’m not saying the backpack program is a bad thing. But in the hands of the government, it’s not what it’s intended to be. I’m not saying getting kids medical help and mental health access is a bad thing. But how the schools and government do them sure is. Nor am I saying striving for affordable child care is a bad thing. While we can applaud local government efforts on child care, we should keep a close eye on leaders while taking it out of the schools due to the current education environment and fully support government helping local providers and those who desire to provide it as well. None of this belongs in schools. Then again, about
90 percent of what’s in schools shouldn’t be. And before you say CRT isn’t. Of course, the college course isn’t. But its elements are all over our curriculum — based on our previous superintendent’s promise to local groups —  and in the everyday vernacular of all too many teachers.

A quick note on statewide ballot initiatives. I almost always pray they never pass because they’re usually about more government or some progressive idea of telling you how to live, what you must live with or confiscating more tax dollars. This equation is easily understood. Lawmakers propose hundreds of laws every year and pass a bunch of them, therefore the government always needs more money. And in Colorado, it has to ask voter permission to obtain it. The problem is, too many folks vote for more government. Why? See education above.

That and no one votes against Santa Claus. Except me. Every time.

Craig Hall is owner and publisher of the Business Times. Reach him at 424-5133 or publisher@thebusinesstimes.com.