Common Sense Digest

SPECIAL EPISODE: Eggs and the Economy - March 4, 2025

In this special edition of Common Sense Digest, we feature discussion from one of our recent events. On Tuesday, March 4, Common Sense Institute hosted its quarterly Eggs & The Economy Event. This edition was titled "Over Easy or Overpriced? The Growing Cost of Living in Colorado." Our panelists included:

Tamra Ryan - CSI Coors Economic Mobility Fellow

Lynn Granger - President & CEO of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association

Ross Kaminsky - CSI Free Enterprise Fellow

Vince Bzdek - Editor-in-Chief of the Colorado Springs Gazette (Moderator).

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Iowa's DOGE Prototype and Its Results featuring Ben Murrey

The state of Iowa does not have a Department of Government Efficiency, however, Iowa lawmakers began improving government efficiency through a state initiative known as “alignment” more than a year before the American public ever heard of a “DOGE” at the federal level. Common Sense Institute commission a report that evaluates Iowa’s 2023 government alignment. Specifically, it identifies the portion of the 2024 tax cuts attributable to the savings from alignment and uses dynamic modeling to forecast its economic impact on the state. That report, titled "Iowa’s D.O.G.E.: How state government alignment is retuning money back to Iowans and contributing to the state’s economy" can be found here. 

By controlling the rate of growth in government, Iowa lawmakers increased state surpluses over the last five years even while cutting taxes and expanding total state spending. During a period when individual income taxes fell from a top marginal rate of 8.98% to a flat rate of 3.8% and the top corporate rate fell from 12% to 7.1%, total state spending rose by nearly 23%. Education and healthcare saw the greatest increases in spending. When revenue growth outpaces the growth in government, the state can increase its revenue and spending even as tax rates fall. State government alignment helped moderate government growth over the last 18 months, resulting in significant savings for the state budget relative to the counterfactual.

Chairman and Host Earl Wright welcomes Ben Murrey, Director of Policy and Research, to Common Sense Digest to discuss the report. The two discuss the origins of the program, the reduction in taxes for all Iowans, and how crucial services were maintained (and sometimes expanded), all while eliminating redundancies and cutting budget.  

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The Cost of Crime in Oregon featuring Max Williams and Mark McMullen

Public concern over crime in Oregon has intensified, with a significant majority of residents expressing dissatisfaction with local government responses. A May 2024 poll revealed that 78% of Portland-area voters disapprove of how local authorities are handling crime, reflecting widespread unease across various demographics. This sentiment is further underscored by a December 2023 survey, where 74% of respondents expressed worry about becoming crime victims, and 90% were dissatisfied with public safety. 

These concerns are substantiated by recent crime statistics. Between 2019 and 2023, Oregon experienced a 10% increase in violent crime, contrasting with a 4% national decline. Notably, the state's murder rate surged by 53%, more than double the national increase of 22%. Aggravated assaults rose by 23% in Oregon, surpassing the national uptick of 10%. While property crimes in Oregon decreased by 11%, this reduction lags behind the national decline of 23%. Motor vehicle thefts in the state escalated by 28%, outpacing the national rise of 15%. You can read our full report on the issue here.

Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes Mark McMullen, Vice President of Research and Policy for CSI Oregon, and Max Williams, former State Representative, former Director of Oregon Department of Corrections, and Past President and Senior Advisor of the Oregon Community Foundation to discuss the report, its findings, recommendations for a path forward and much more. 

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Boosting Iowa's Economy: The Childcare Solutions Fund featuring Sherri Penney

Like other states across the nation, Iowa faces a severe shortage of quality affordable childcare. Research by the Iowa Women’s Foundation found that the annual average cost of infant care in Iowa is 18.4% higher than in-state tuition at a four-year public college and 14.1% higher than annual housing costs. The fact is, childcare is prohibitively expensive if not entirely inaccessible to many Iowa families with young kids. Without affordable and reliable childcare, parents’—especially mothers—miss out on work. When women forego employment early in their careers because they don’t have childcare, not only do they lose the opportunity to earn income, but they also miss out on crucial years to build their careers and increase their earning potential over the long term, causing them to fall behind economically. And when childcare reduces participation in Iowa’s workforce, the state’s businesses and economy also lose.

Joining Host and CSI Chairman Earl Wright is Sheri Penny, who serves as Employment Engagement Director for the Iowa Women’s Foundation, a Des Moines-based non-profit focused on shattering the barriers to economic self-sufficiency for Iowa’s women and girls. The organization is engaged with 85 communities, more than 160 business leaders, 44 economic development and chamber of commerce offices, and 37 out-of-state leaders—all working with the Iowa Women’s Foundation on childcare solutions. She and CSI Iowa's Director of Policy & Research Ben Murrey discuss the issue from a variety of angles including the causes, solutions, potential impacts, and how childcare profoundly affects Iowa's workforce. Our full study on the issue can be found here.

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The CSI 2024 Ballot Guide and Inflation Misery featuring Kelly Caufield and Zach Milne

The Common Sense Institute's 2024 Ballot Guide highlights the potential economic and fiscal impacts of key ballot measures in Colorado. Proposition 127, for instance, could lead to significant revenue losses for Colorado Parks and Wildlife and reduce overall economic output by $61.65 million. Other measures, such as school choice and law enforcement funding, focus on improving education options and public safety, while initiatives like the fur ban and affordable housing tax could have broad implications for local businesses and residents. You can find our full ballot guide here.

On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Host and Chairman of CSI Earl Wright welcomes CSI Colorado Executive Director Kelly Caufield and Senior Economist and Research Analyst Zach Milne to the show to discuss selected ballot issues and their likely impacts. Earl also asks Zach about inflation, and the three discuss the issue along with housing, energy and how local governments can impact all of these issues. 

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Reforming Arizona's Homeless Service Ecosystem featuring Julie Katsel and Ted Maxwell

Earlier this year, the Common Sense Institute released a thorough review of homelessness spending at all levels – non-profits, state and local governments, and federal grants and transfers. The report identified over 200 Arizona providers – public and private - who today spend a collective $1 billion per year on homelessness-related expenses. Despite those resources, Arizona’s counted homeless population has increased more than 40% in the past five years; over half of them are unsheltered.

Following up on that initial research, Common Sense Institute has worked with two dozen stakeholders throughout Arizona from the more than 200 public and private homeless service providers and other stakeholders. They were asked a simple question: What is needed to solve the homelessness crisis in Arizona? Our full report can be found here. 

On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Host and CSI Chairman Earl Wright welcomes Julie Katsel, Jim Kolbe Free Enterprise Fellow and one of the report's authors, and Ted Maxwell, President & CEO of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council to discuss the report, the complexity of the homelessness issue, the many approaches currently deployed, what an ideal path forward might look like, and much more. 

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Iowa's Healthcare Landscape featuring Dr. Chelsea Lensing

Iowa’s policymakers, providers, and insurers operate within a state comprised of an aging population and large rural areas. According to the Iowa Department of Justice, the state ranks 16^th nationally for the number of residents 50-years-old and over. Approximately 18% of Iowa’s more-than-three-million residents are 65 years old and older while 23% are under 18 years old. The average life expectancy in Iowa is 78.12—21^st highest in the country. In addition, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) considers 77 of the state’s 99 counties “rural” based on the amount of open countryside and rural towns. These are only some of the findings in our report titled "Iowa's Healthcare Landscape." The full report explores and presents data on Iowa’s healthcare business climate, healthcare expenditures, insurance, and rural healthcare. In doing so, it highlights Iowa’s unique healthcare landscape to help public- and private-sector decision makers understand the state’s challenges and identify where to focus solutions to improve the state’s healthcare system.  

On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Host and CSI Chairman Earl Wright dives into all of these issues and more with one of the report's authors, Dr. Chelsea Lensing, CSI's Health & Wellness Fellow. Dr. Lensing shares her insights from writing this report including trends regarding the ages of doctors, access to care, obesity, diabetes and Alzheimer's rates, and much more. This episode paints a very clear picture of the state of affairs of healthcare in Iowa. To read our complete report, you can find it here.

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Dr. Chelsea Lensing is an assistant professor at the Stead Department of Business Administration and Economics at Coe College where she teaches Principles of Microeconomics, Health Economics, Intermediate Economics, International Economics, and Econometrics II. She previously instructed at the University of Iowa in Principles of Microeconomics and Business Statistics. Her research focuses on health, labor, and public economics with an emphasis on understanding the relationship between nutrition, obesity, and healthcare costs. Her academic work explores how health behaviors and nutrition decisions intersect, manifesting in externalities that reverberate within our healthcare system. Dr. Lensing earned a B.A. in Mathematics at Coe College and a Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Iowa.

The Potential Impacts of Oregon Ballot Measure 118 featuring Lynn Snodgrass

This November Oregon voters will decide on Ballot Measure 118, which would increase Oregon’s taxes on corporations six-fold, with the proceeds to be distributed equally across all eligible individuals. Under the proposal, Oregonians would face the most aggressive gross receipts tax in the nation by far.

Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes Mark McMullen, Vice President of Research and Policy for CSI Oregon, and CSI Oregon Board Member Lynn Snodgrass, CEO of the Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce and former Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives. They unpack what the measure seeks to do, the reasoning behind it, and ultimately what would happen if this measure is passed. Every voter in Oregon should listen to this episode to understand the likely impacts of Ballot Measure 118. You can read our research about it here. 

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SPECIAL EPISODE: Eggs & The Economy - September 10, 2024

In this special edition of Common Sense Digest, we feature discussion from one of our recent events. On Tuesday, September 10, Common Sense Institute hosted its quarterly Eggs & The Economy Event. This edition was titled: "Unscrambling the 2024 November Ballot" Our panelists included:

Paul Pazen - CSI Public Safety Fellow and Former Denver Police Chief

Lang Sias - CSI Mike A. Leprino Free Enterprise Fellow

Paul Andrews - President & CEO of the National Western Stock Show

Kelly Caufield - CSI Colorado Executive Director

Thank you for listening to Common Sense Digest. Please rate, review, and subscribe on your favorite podcatcher. All of our podcasts can be found here.

A Chat with CSI's Daniels Fund Junior Scholars

Our President and CEO Kristin Strohm fills in for Earl Wright on this edition of Common Sense Digest as she welcomes four full-time Daniels Fund Scholars to the show to discuss the work of four remarkable summer interns. 

These young men and women are working to help advance CSI’s mission of examining the fiscal impacts of policies and legislation by crafting reports that better inform citizens. Over the course of the summer, the Daniels Scholar Junior Fellows have conducted informative research, assisted with data collection, and are each working with a CSI
Fellow to construct a final report that will be released in the upcoming weeks.

Join us in welcoming Josh Green, Sr. Vice President of Scholarships for the Daniels Fund who spearheaded this partnership along with Avery Martinez, Toby Lee, Jade Gromer, and Rasheed Garza Archuleta as they discuss their experience this summer, share what they've learned, and reflect on the work they did with our CSI fellows.

Thank you for listening to Common Sense Digest. Please rate, review, and subscribe on your favorite podcatcher. All of our podcasts can be found here.