3 ms·

Tax money hasn't appeared to make it to schools or roads, but that's not really a priority here (after all, Mississippi spends less). Commercial real estate pr

by panzagl 11y ago

Tax money hasn't appeared to make it to schools or roads, but that's not really a priority here (after all, Mississippi spends less). Commercial real estate prices in Denver have been driven up to the point where it's driven out established businesses who've seen their leases skyrocket. I'd say the biggest worry is what's going to happen if someplace like CA legalizes- CO has a history of boom and bust, and Denver becoming a ghost town of abandoned grow houses seems like the sort of thing that would happen here.

yesiamyourdad 11y ago
If I recall, most if not all the money was tagged for schools. Doing a quick search, it looks like CO made $76 million off MJ taxes in 2014. The new high school in Northfield I believe has a construction budget of around $50 million. That's one high school in a state with 644 high schools, not to mention all the middle and elementary schools. And that's not counting the schools that just need major work done. Denver in particular has many aging schools that need things like new boilers or central air or capital investments like a STEM/STEAM lab. It seems like a lot of money, but when you look at what costs they're trying to cover, it doesn't go very far.
- ufmace 11y ago
  Seems like a bit much to compare the annual tax revenue to the total construction budget for a school. AFAIK, any type of construction is typically financed and treated in budgets as being paid off over the course of 30 years or so. Maybe the annual budget for school construction work statewide for the same year?
bmelton 11y ago
The usual shell game when pegging a new tax to education is that whatever old funds for education get pulled, and simply replaced with the new tax money. So, if the schools were getting $3 million in subsidy before, they peg the pot taxes to schools, pull the previous $3 million to go to different pet projects, and the schools see (at best) a 0% change. Tying marijuana taxes to education does somewhat lock the education budget in, so there's maybe an advantage, but generally speaking, it's a political move, because then you can paste anyone voting against whatever law as someone who is voting against education.

by panzagl 11y ago

yesiamyourdad 11y ago

If I recall, most if not all the money was tagged for schools. Doing a quick search, it looks like CO made $76 million off MJ taxes in 2014. The new high school in Northfield I believe has a construction budget of around $50 million. That's one high school in a state with 644 high schools, not to mention all the middle and elementary schools. And that's not counting the schools that just need major work done. Denver in particular has many aging schools that need things like new boilers or central air or capital investments like a STEM/STEAM lab. It seems like a lot of money, but when you look at what costs they're trying to cover, it doesn't go very far.

ufmace 11y ago
Seems like a bit much to compare the annual tax revenue to the total construction budget for a school. AFAIK, any type of construction is typically financed and treated in budgets as being paid off over the course of 30 years or so. Maybe the annual budget for school construction work statewide for the same year?

bmelton 11y ago

The usual shell game when pegging a new tax to education is that whatever old funds for education get pulled, and simply replaced with the new tax money. So, if the schools were getting $3 million in subsidy before, they peg the pot taxes to schools, pull the previous $3 million to go to different pet projects, and the schools see (at best) a 0% change. Tying marijuana taxes to education does somewhat lock the education budget in, so there's maybe an advantage, but generally speaking, it's a political move, because then you can paste anyone voting against whatever law as someone who is voting against education.