At the Capitol, they’ve run out of other people’s money, and they’re desperate for more. 

Foot-stomping frustration has erupted, as lawmakers and their ever-growing spending wish list constrained by the state Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) come up against the reality that Colorado families face every day:

Our wants are limited by the dollars in our bank account. 

You may believe you deserve a Maserati, but you’re driving a Mazda. Your Bentley dreams don’t match your Buick budget. 

Some legislators believe the need to embrace this reality is for the common people who lack a solon’s sweeping vision of the greater good.

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They cannot understand why the Coloradans don’t trust them to annually set spending and taxation levels without constraint — or why TABOR remains popular with grassroots Democrats and Republicans alike. 

Their attitude is, at its core, fiscal immaturity reminiscent of a 4-year-old child. 

Ronald Reagan famously compared government to a baby’s digestive system “with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility on the other.” 

When we are young, the idea  our ever-growing wants can and must be unquestionably furnished by adults, regardless of available funds, is second nature. Over time, we are met with the disorienting reality life has limits, and getting and spending requires working and earning.   

But just like a child who hears the word “no,” some legislators responded publicly to the need for budget cuts, according to one published report, with “rage and tears.”

Seriously?

It’s like the kid we have all seen in a store loudly pleading to resistant parents, “Pleeeeeze, I need this!” before he collapses on the floor kicking and screaming.

Crafting a state budget is not child’s play. It is a task that requires maturity, responsibility and clarity. It demands of lawmakers an ability to prioritize what government needs to do over what may be nice to do.  

I have been in meetings when I worked on Gov. Bill Owens’ senior staff where significant budget cuts, none appetizing, were discussed and the less bad option selected. I do not recall anyone sobbing or requiring a time out in the corner. 

If a difficult budget process is to be confronted with a clear-eyed focus, leaders must recognize there is no such thing as “government money.” Every dollar comes from Coloradans who get up every day, go to work and have the funds government spends taken from their paychecks. The first bill paid — before food, shelter and clothing — is for government.

That is the attitude taken by adults in the budget-crafting room, such as Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, a JBC member and, increasingly, Colorado’s fiscal conscience. She has reminded her weepy whiny colleagues the structural fiscal problem the state faces is the result of continual overspending.  

Still, the spending caucus continues to point fingers at TABOR.

That members of the legislative spending caucus are emotionally incontinent over spending limits tells us TABOR is more needed than ever. Even leading Democrats finally had to admit that, despite the budget boundaries TABOR requires, they were able to craft a bipartisan spending plan that meets the state’s needs and provides additional dollars to key priorities. 

Is it everything the spending caucus wants? Thank heavens, no. And if not for TABOR, one can only imagine how sky-high spending and taxes would be.

TABOR works. In fact, it may be the single most important safeguard for taxpayers’ pocketbooks and the state’s economy. And Coloradans know it. There’s a reason why statewide initiatives to neuter our constitutional taxpayer protections get shot down at the ballot in big numbers. 

It would be nice, occasionally, if leaders took a short break from their journey through the five stages of fiscal grief to acknowledge and thank taxpayers whose hard work funds state programs and services. Coloradans are a generous lot, and they deserve a little gratitude. 

Sean Duffy is a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Bill Owens and Colorado-based strategic communications consultant. He now serves as vice president at a philanthropic foundation. The views expressed here are his own.