A Sad Day for Taxpayers
No, this particular sad day for taxpayers is not due to the fact that tax hikes for the Rail Runner (subscription required) may be on the way…we’ll save discussion of that for another day. This is genuine sadness brought on by the premature passing of one of the greatest taxpayer advocates in the entire nation. I had the privilege of working at the Washington, DC-based National Taxpayers Union for more than six years and during that time John Berthoud was my boss. He was also one of the greatest, most principled advocates for taxpayers one could conceive of and he is now dead at the age of 47.
Most New Mexicans never had the chance to meet John and none had the chance to work with him and grow to respect and befriend him as I did, but I can assure you all that his voice on behalf of taxpayers will be sorely missed.