Initiative and Referendum is about freedom, not politics.

Last session the organized special interests beefed up their staff and money in Austin. According to reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission, they spent over $200 million in the 2003 session lobbying 181 Texas legislators.  That is over $1,100,000 per legislator---20% more than the 2001 session.  See TPJ report, Austin's Oldest Profession.  How can you, an average citizen, compete with this?

Each session those 181 legislators meet to decide how much of your money government agencies will take in taxes (currently over $130 billion).  They also decide how that money will be spent.  The organized special interests spend their millions to influence---to their own advantage---how our billions will be spent.

There are many organized special interests, and they want many different things. That's why there were 1,300 new laws last session.  Most of these laws are the legislature's gifts, at your expense, to the special interests.  This looting of the taxpayers' treasury is an insider game that goes on---unseen by voters---in every state capitol.

It is the nature of government to grow and to concentrate power.  All organized special interests find this concentration beneficial to them, and most work to increase it. Citizens are recognizing that this system erodes the value of their vote.  So they are voting less, declining to play in a rigged game.  As a result, government power concentrates even more, and we are all slowly losing our liberty.

What we need is a tool for diffusing political power.  There is such a tool.  It is called initiative and referendum (I & R).  With initiative, citizens can propose limitations on their state governments: tax limits, term limits, and other limits on government interference in our lives.  And then, after reflection on the proposal, citizens can vote to impose (or reject) the proposed limits on government.

Initiative for Texas, Austin, TX 78741  **   (512) 447-2086  **   email: mikeford@quik.com