Imagine the same state where money spent providing health insurance to the indigent ranks last in the nation. Imagine a state where "nearly the entire political establishment, including the Chamber of Commerce, is behind a push" to take a hiatus on a move to restrain government spending.

Until that last line about the chamber -- no one can imagine the Las Vegas branch taking such a position -- I bet you thought I meant Nevada. No, those statistics are from an in-depth Los Angeles Times piece on Colorado and the vote on Tuesday whether to continue to abide by TABOR -- the Taxpayer Bill Of Rights that has been in force since 1992 -- or take a break for five years so programs can be resuscitated.

The day after the Colorado balloting, state Sen. Bob Beers and ex-state Sen. Ann O'Connell plan to announce the Nevada effort, renamed Tax and Spending Control (TASC), which mirrors TABOR. And since Nevada is already low in many countrywide indices of spending on education, health care and social programs, what if the Colorado TABOR experience is repeated here?

Beers, O'Connell and the Grover Norquist wing of the GOP scoff at such Chicken Littleisms because they say restraining government spending is the holy grail. In their religion, cutting spending and taxes means prosperity forever.

Fair enough. But the L.A. Times and a recent national Associated Press analysis of the situation in Colorado -- not one done by The Denver Post that Beers routinely pillories in his TASC newsletter -- point out some notable facts in Colorado, post TABOR.

For instance, if the spending cap is not lifted, higher education may be privatized and inmates may be released early. And Colorado Gov. Bill Owens told the Times he didn't believe TABOR was designed "to cripple government."

Owens said that because of an economic downturn, which ratcheted down the baseline spending number, he has had to take a meat cleaver to programs. Owens told the newspaper that economic diversification will dry up, that businesses will not relocate to Colorado if TABOR remains in effect.

TABOR supporters call these scare tactics and insist that stanching the proverbial waste and fraud coursing through government could ensure no cuts need be made.

What opponents of lifting the cap are counting on is the populace's addiction to rebates that TABOR has provided. Here in Nevada, Beers was the original supplier of that political crack cocaine, and he must revel in its purchase by Gov. Kenny Guinn, who passed it on this year to the public.

Having just tasted fairly minimal rebates, how will the Nevada public salivate when told of bigger, better and more frequent givebacks?

The analogies to Nevada continue as Owens, the Guinn-like figure, is relinquishing his post this year and TABOR has become an issue in the GOP primary. If Rep. Jim Gibbons continues to do a dance around TABOR and Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt continues to indicate her opposition, might Beers get some traction?

The battle over TABOR also has been expensive, with one observer estimating that the combined spending is an un-TABOR-like $8 million. Spin, whether you are Chicken Little or Mr. Sunshine, does not come cheap.

As the Nevada campaign commences next week, opposition already is being organized and funding is being solicited. The pitch will not be much different than that being used in Colorado and the players will generally be the same.

I wonder if the chamber, which saw its Colorado counterpart take an enlightened and responsible position, will be a player here as this battle is about to begin.

In Business commentator Jon Ralston also hosts the news discussion program "Face to Face With Jon Ralston" on Las Vegas ONE, publishes the daily e-mail newsletter "RalstonFlash.com" and writes columns and a political notebook for the Las Vegas Sun. To subscribe to Flash, go to www.RalstonFlash.com, or call 990-2550. Ralston can be reached at 870-7997 or by e-mail at ralston@vegas.com.