The Four Tenets of Citizenship and Property Tax Relief Strategies

On this Liberty Toastmasters Day broadcast from July 27, 2023, Kim Monson and co-host Dave Walden explore the four tenets of citizenship with Liberty Toastmasters members Rick Rome, Greg Morrissey, Terri Goon, Marshall Dawson, and Christie Whaley. The second hour features property tax experts Natalie Menten and Brandon Wark explaining how Coloradans can protect themselves from rising property taxes.

Understanding Property Tax Protections

Start listening at 71:02 – Hour 2

Natalie Menten, director at the TABOR Foundation, and Brandon Wark, founder of Free State Colorado, explain how property owners can protect themselves from rising property taxes. They break down the difference between valuations, assessments, and mill levies, noting that while the state legislature controls assessment rates, local governments set mill levies. Menten explains that the Gallagher Amendment, which voters eliminated in 2020, provided critical protections for residential property owners. However, TABOR and the 5.5% annual levy law still protect some jurisdictions.

“It boils down to empowering the citizens, the property owners, to be able to understand that they do have control over what is going on and provide information on the avenues that they can explore to ensure they’re able to still stay in their property as we face systematic spike in property values.”

Natalie Menten, TABOR Foundation

Civic Knowledge and the Northwest Ordinance

Start listening at 31:28 – Hour 1

Rick Rome emphasizes that an uninformed vote represents an abuse of a fundamental right, drawing a pointed comparison to highlight the importance of understanding how government works. He shares his discovery of the Northwest Ordinance, one of the earliest laws created by the first Congress, which established the township section range system for property boundaries and set the stage for American expansion as a free society. Rome connects this historical foundation to modern challenges, noting the misinformation surrounding the 1619 Project and the need for citizens to understand the true origins of American liberty.

“An uninformed vote is akin to crackhead Hunter running around in his underwear waving a loaded gun. It’s an abuse of a right that we have, that we really need to understand how our government works.”

Rick Rome, Liberty Toastmasters Denver

The Constitutional Foundation of Freedom

Start listening at 34:52 – Hour 1

Greg Morrissey, sergeant-at-arms at Liberty Toastmasters North, lays out the four tenets of citizenship as the foundation for freedom in America. He stresses that practicing self-reliance, self-restraint, self-assertion, and civic knowledge gives citizens true freedom, earned rather than given. Morrissey encourages everyone to know the Constitution and promotes the upcoming U.S. Constitution Week in Grand Lake as an opportunity to deepen that understanding.

“I see our four tenets of citizenship, self-reliance, self-restraint, self-assertion, and civic knowledge, and I want everyone to know you practice those, you have freedom. You have freedom in this country to be the best you can be. It’s not given to you. You earn it.”

Greg Morrissey, Liberty Toastmasters North

Speaking Up in a Representative Republic

Start listening at 37:48 – Hour 1

Terri Goon focuses on self-assertion as the most critical tenet of citizenship. She reminds listeners that America operates as a representative government, not a democracy, and that representatives cannot serve constituents whose interests they do not know. Goon warns that giving away money through constant tax increases leads to representatives buying votes rather than serving the public interest. She points to Proposition HH as an example of complex legislation that obscures rather than clarifies the true impact on taxpayers.

“Our representatives can’t represent us if they don’t know what our interests are. We have to tell our representatives what it is we want, that we want to keep our own stuff.”

Terri Goon, Liberty Toastmasters Denver

Personal Transportation as Self-Assertion

Start listening at 46:20 – Hour 1

Marshall Dawson connects personal transportation to the concept of self-assertion, recalling how getting a driver’s license represented one of the first opportunities for self-determination as a young adult. He argues that personal transportation is vital to human flourishing, enabling people to live where they want, take jobs they choose, and pursue their own paths. Dawson warns of policies that threaten this freedom, from rail boondoggles that never deliver to electrification mandates that price ordinary people out of car ownership.

“Personal transportation has literally allowed previous generations to dream big, to plot a course for a better life for their family, or simply to be adventurous. I’m going to suggest it’s also vital to human flourishing, where we all get and we all deserve self-determination.”

Marshall Dawson, Liberty Toastmasters North

The Ethical Duty to Speak Truth

Start listening at 50:38 – Hour 1

Christie Whaley argues that self-assertion may be the most important of the four tenets because without it, civic knowledge remains unused. She references Dr. Matthias Desmet’s work on mass formation, explaining that speaking up can snap people out of the hypnosis created by propaganda. Whaley shares her own experience refusing to wear masks during COVID, noting that while uncomfortable, it was necessary. She challenges listeners to speak truth not to convince others but because truth-telling is itself an ethical duty.

“Each time we don’t assert ourselves, either by word or by deed, we end up diminishing ourselves and we diminish others as well. Don’t think you’re speaking up because you have to convince them. Just speak up because you’re speaking the truth as you know it.”

Christie Whaley, Liberty Toastmasters Denver

Local Government: Where Your Voice Matters Most

Start listening at 77:35 – Hour 2

Brandon Wark explains that while property taxes seem complicated, the reality is simpler than people think: lawmakers have been playing politics with your property. He encourages citizens to get involved at the local level, where they can have the greatest impact. With thousands of local governments across Colorado, from metropolitan districts to fire districts, citizens have opportunities to run for office, attend meetings, and demand that their elected representatives lower mill levies rather than simply rubber-stamping staff recommendations.

“Property taxes is a very complicated issue. But the reality is a lot simpler than people think, and that’s that lawmakers have been playing politics with your property. And it’s very unfortunate how obtuse and obscure some of this property tax information is.”

Brandon Wark, Free State Colorado