Remember last week when the Independence Institute issued a plan to balance Colorado's budget, detailing millions of dollars of "obvious" cost savings? Nonpartisan legislative staff experts analyzed the plan, and frankly, the numbers don't add up. Staff director for the Joint Budget Committee John Ziegler alleges that the Independence Institutes' plan shows "a basic misunderstanding of how state spending limits work." The proposal overrelies on both one-time cash sources (e.g., selling off of state-owned buildings), and the old shopworn suggestion to "trim fat from government." except that the state government is emaciated at this point. The plan also greatly overstates the savings that could be achieved by adding more competitive bidding for office supplies and equipment. The conservative propaganda machine continues to spew out lies and misinformation to achieve their ultimate goal: "starving the beast." Never heard of "starving the beast?" That little gem is credited to Grover Norquist, the head of Americans for Tax Reform. His policy vision is to cut taxes drastically, so that government is cut drastically. In his perfect world, the ONLY desirable function of government is military protection. So when you hear Governor Owens, Doug Bruce and their compatriots rave about TABOR, remind yourself that they want to STARVE GOVERNMENT OUT OF EXISTENCE. The Independence Institute's plan, based on a recent LA-based Reason Foundation report that points to restricting Medicaid and "eliminating programs that don't serve the government's 'core function' to balance the budget." Here's the $12 million dollar question: What exactly is government's core function? For me, government's core function includes public education, health care and ensuring a healthy environment. I'm guessing those don't rate as core functions for the Independence Institute and the Reason Foundation, as proponents of undefined "limited government." Now, back to the Capitol. The RMN reports Beware the politicians talking about shaking up the status quo and obvious cost savings--they're on a mission to redefine the "core function" of government.