Constitutional Tax and Expenditure Limitation in Colorado: The Impact on Municipal Governments

Tax and expenditure limitations (TELs) have become a pervasive influence on local government fiscal affairs. Explanations for the spread of TELs suggest that voters thought local government was growing more than needed. Thus, TELs were intended to constrain growth and reduce the size of local governments. This article's purpose was to determine the impact of two separate kinds of TELs, one a property tax measure, and the other a comprehensive revenue and expenditure limit, upon the growth of municipal governments in Colorado. Using a panel data set on municipal budgets (1975–1996), the article demonstrates three major points: 1) the effectiveness of a TEL in achieving reductions in local government revenue and spending growth depends upon the nature of the TEL; 2) the comprehensive TEL did effectively constrain growth and reduce local government reliance on the property tax, despite the local options for exemption; and 3) TELs do not have uniform impacts among governments of different population.     

Business Representation in the UK Since 1979: the Case of Trade Associations

The article explores the impact of Conservative governments since 1979 on business representation. It concentrates on the trade association—the most common form of business organization in the UK but one which has been largely neglected in the discussion of business representation. The results of a major survey of trade associations conducted in 1994 are reported and their significance assessed in the light of three general propositions about the direction of business representation since 1979.     

One percent bikers clubs: A description

This paper, through an extensive literature review of biker websites, newspaper articles, popular books, the limited scholarly research, and court cases, as well as interviews and associations with law enforcement officers and 1% bikers, identifies and describes the major 1% biker clubs. The Big 5 clubs—Hell’s Angels, Bandidos, Outlaws, Pagans, and Sons of Silence— are discussed. Their history, number of chapters in the United States and overseas, and a “best guess estimate” of membership numbers are also provided. Similar information is provided on the major independent 1% biker clubs—Warlocks, Mongols and Iron Horsemen. There is also a brief discussion of the role of puppet (support) clubs and the four black or interracial 1% biker clubs. This research, describing the clubs, is the first step needed to stimulate research on this under researched topic.     

Human Rigghts: A Culture of Controversy

Many arguments in favour of constitutionally entrenched Bills of Rights are undermined by the inherently controversial nature of human rights with respect to their content, their form, and their valence. Even in the case of civil and political rights, the concretization of rights at the level of specificity required to decide particular cases must always be politically and morally controversial. There is no accepted moral or legal method that can be utilized to give the requisite objectivity to the value choices inherent in human rights jurisprudence. Positivization of human rights increases their utility but compromises their moral status. It follows that legitimate articulation of human rights requires ongoing democratic dialogue and decision-making. Although perceived as a stop-gap measure, the Human Rights Act 1998 could facilitate an enduring partnership between courts and parliaments, placing human rights more firmly on the political agenda and establishing a proper balance between the inputs of courts and parliaments which recognizes that the development of positivized human rights must be primarily located in electorally-based politics.