In North Dakota:

Amid the many other election contests this fall, opposite sides are now entrenched in the battle over three ballot measures to cut taxes, place oil revenue in a constitutional trust fund, and limit the growth of government to inflation.

On one side is the newly formed Partners to Protect North Dakota’s Future, a coalition of the AARP, North Dakota Education Association, North Dakota School Board’s Association, and the Association of Federal State and Municipal Employees.

The group officially formed this month and is working on a budget and campaign strategy to oppose all three measures.

On the other side are two groups, Americans for Prosperity and the Permanent Promise Coalition. AFP, a national anti-tax and free markets advocacy group, is standing behind a measure that would cut state income taxes by 50 percent and corporate taxes by 15 percent.

Think about this for a moment.  The groups opposing tax relief and limited government in North Dakota are the AARP and government employee groups.  What is motivating them?  The AARP is the nation’s foremost advocate for the expansion of America’s already bloated entitlement system.  The group represents the sort of elderly people who want to coast into a lengthy, cushyretirement on the backs of Americans who are still working and trying to raise families.

The other groups all represent government employees who view things like tax cuts and fiscal restraint as nothing more than limits on the size of their paychecks and operating budgets.  After all, what bureaucrat that has ever walked the face of the earth hasn’t wanted to see his/her power and influence expanded through the size of the operating budget available to them?

It’s not surprising that these groups/people would oppose attempts to leave more money in the pockets of North Dakotans, and restrain the growth of state government, but I think sometimes the public in general forgets who these people are and what’s motivating them.