Government Waste, TABOR Erosion, and Constitutional Foundations

On Thursday, August 14, 2025, Kim Monson brings together Open the Books investigative reporter Jeremy Portnoy to expose government waste, Colorado Union of Taxpayers board member Dave Evans to break down TABOR protections and erosion, local entrepreneur Karen Gordey to discuss Lakewood’s assault on property rights, and constitutional scholar Rob Natelson for a live listener Q&A on America’s founding document.

Lakewood’s 398-Page Zoning Assault on Property Rights

Start listening at 7:29 – Hour 1

Karen Gordey, owner of Radiant Painting and Lighting and candidate for Lakewood City Council, exposes the city’s 398-page zoning code riddled with what she calls “poison pills.” The code mandates that homeowners whose properties are destroyed must begin rebuilding within 18 months or conform to restrictive new regulations governing house size, porch dimensions, and even planter sizes. Gordey warns that city council deliberately split the ordinance into four parts to exhaust citizen participation before the November election.

“And so it is a point blank assault on property rights.”

Karen Gordey, Candidate for Lakewood City Council

TABOR’s 33-Year Battle Against Government Overreach

Start listening at 18:57 – Hour 1

Dave Evans, a Colorado Union of Taxpayers board member, traces the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights from its 1992 passage to its current embattled state. Drawing from David Kopel’s “Colorado Constitutional Law and History,” Evans details how TABOR requires voter approval for new taxes, mandates emergency reserves, and limits spending growth to inflation plus population change. Yet court rulings have systematically eroded these protections, reinterpreting “restrain most” to favor government and allowing fee terminology for what are effectively involuntary taxes.

“The term tax needs to be defined, and it needs to include fees and other such weasel word synonyms.”

Dave Evans, Colorado Union of Taxpayers Board Member

Open the Books Tracks a Trillion Dollars in Waste

Start listening at 35:30 – Hour 1

Jeremy Portnoy, senior investigative reporter at Open the Books, reveals the staggering scope of government waste his organization uncovers daily. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services alone made approximately one trillion dollars in improper payments over the past decade. Portnoy highlights a Louisiana woman accused of collecting Medicaid while her business generated ten million dollars in revenue, enabling her to purchase a Lamborghini. His most shocking discovery: Texas officials denied Kerr County one million dollars for a flood warning system while simultaneously increasing their own payroll by ten million dollars.

“Our belief is that transparency changes everything.”

Jeremy Portnoy, Senior Investigative Reporter, Open the Books

Constitutional Foundations and the Limits of Federal Power

Start listening at 57:55 – Hour 2

Rob Natelson, constitutional scholar whose research has been cited by justices at the U.S. Supreme Court and sixteen state supreme courts, joins Kim in studio to field listener questions on America’s founding document. Natelson explains that while some Constitutional clauses are designed to be flexible, those claiming to want a “living Constitution” often want a dead one that won’t inconvenience their agenda. He traces modern fiscal chaos to a 1936 Supreme Court ruling that lifted restrictions on federal spending, fulfilling Madison’s warning about unlimited government.

“Unfortunately, in 1936, the Supreme Court adopted that cockamamie theory, which is why we are$ 37 trillion in debt today.”

Rob Natelson, Constitutional Scholar and Author