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Injecting a dose of common sense into Colorado’s policy debates When it comes to legislative proposals, ballot initiatives, or economic trends that could have a lasting impact on Coloradans and the state’s economy, where do you turn for unbiased facts and objective analysis? The Common Sense Digest is our regularly occurring podcast featuring policy experts discussing Colorado’s most pressing issues. Debuting the 4th Tuesday of each month, Common Sense Digest’s lively discussions equip you with the most important tool to combat divisive partisanship and shrill rhetoric – Common Sense.
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
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.
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.
Monday Oct 07, 2024
Iowa's Healthcare Landscape featuring Dr. Chelsea Lensing
Monday Oct 07, 2024
Monday Oct 07, 2024
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 16th 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—21st 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.
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.
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.
Monday Sep 16, 2024
The Potential Impacts of Oregon Ballot Measure 118 featuring Lynn Snodgrass
Monday Sep 16, 2024
Monday Sep 16, 2024
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.
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.
Tuesday Sep 10, 2024
SPECIAL EPISODE: Eggs & The Economy - September 10, 2024
Tuesday Sep 10, 2024
Tuesday Sep 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.
Thursday Aug 22, 2024
A Chat with CSI's Daniels Fund Junior Scholars
Thursday Aug 22, 2024
Thursday Aug 22, 2024
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.
Friday Jun 28, 2024
SPECIAL EPISODE: Fentanyl: Our Nation's Most Devastating Challenge
Friday Jun 28, 2024
Friday Jun 28, 2024
In this special edition of of Common Sense Digest, we feature discussion from one of our recent events. On Thursday, June 27, Common Sense Institute hosted an event titled "Fentanyl: Our Nation's Most Devastating Challenge" where speakers from across the country will share research and insights on one of the most challenging issues of our time. Our panelists included:
Max Williams - Community Leader; Portland, Oregon
Rachel Mitchell - Maricopa County Attorney
Mitch Morrissey - CSI Colorado Owens-Early Criminal Justice Fellow
Paul Pazen - CSI Public Safety Fellow and Former Denver Police Chief
Vince Bzdek- Executive Editor of The Gazette (Moderator)
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.
Tuesday Jun 25, 2024
Introducing Common Sense Institute Oregon featuring Mark McMullen
Tuesday Jun 25, 2024
Tuesday Jun 25, 2024
In January, CSI made a bold move to kick off 2024 and launched in two new states: Iowa and Oregon. Both states are already releasing new studies and engaging in the public policy arena. Along with its successful counterparts in Colorado and Arizona, as well as a newly launched chapter in Iowa, CSI Oregon is guided by a board of local leaders, each bringing expertise from various industries. These board members share CSI's dedication to factual and non-partisan policy analysis.
To discuss the launch of CSI Oregon, our Chairman and Host Earl Wright is joined by Mark McMullen, Vice President of Policy & Research. They discuss why Oregon is suited for a new chapter of Common Sense Institute, the unique strengths and challenges facing Oregon currently, and give a sneak peek of some of the research to come from this new chapter. It's an exciting look into CSI's newest expansion, and we're thrilled to continue to provide our non-partisan research to Oregonians as they consider public policy in their state.
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.
Friday Jun 07, 2024
Friday Jun 07, 2024
Founded in 2004 as a high school in Denver’s Central Park neighborhood, Denver School of Science & Technology (DSST) is now nationally renowned for its unique design, diversity, and consistent high achievement—considered one of the leading open enrollment STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) schools in the United States. DSST’s mission is to transform urban public education by eliminating educational inequity and preparing all students for success in college and the 21st century. With a focus on character development and rigorous academics in equal measure, which are represented by DSST’s six core values: Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Courage, Curiosity, and Doing Your Best.
Our research on DSST can be found on our website here.
Chairman and Host Earl Wright welcomes Bill Kurtz, DSST’s founding CEO, and Van Schoales, senior director of policy at the Keystone Policy Center to discuss DSST services to nearly 7,400 students across eight middle schools and eight high schools. The seven middle schools within the Denver school district accounted for 13% of all Denver middle school students. The seven Denver high schools accounted for 12% of all high school students. They discuss their ethos, what they hope to see from Colorado's educational system as a whole, what the future holds, and most notably, what people can take away from DSST's success.
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.
Tuesday Jun 04, 2024
SPECIAL EPISODE: Eggs & The Economy - June 4, 2024
Tuesday Jun 04, 2024
Tuesday Jun 04, 2024
In this special edition of of Common Sense Digest, we feature discussion from one of our recent events. On Tuesday, June 4, Common Sense Institute hosted its quarterly Eggs & The Economy Event. This edition was titled: "The Colorado Crisis: The Economic Impact of Migrants and the Homeless.." Our panelists included:
Adam Paul - Director of Regional Affairs, Office of the Mayor | City and County of Denver
Paul Scudo - CEO of Step Denver
Heidi Williams - CEO of Civic Results and CEO and Executive Director of the Metro Mayors Caucus
DJ Summers - CSI Director of Policy & Research (Moderator)
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.
Tuesday May 28, 2024
Tuesday May 28, 2024
What began as a relatively small-scale bus operation, RTD has grown to one of the Denver metro area’s most expansive pieces of infrastructure and a political arena of its own. Increasingly, the public is being asked to put more confidence into an organization of which it has cause to be skeptical.
In the face of expansive plans, though, RTD serves fewer people than it did just five years ago. Ridership halved during the COVID-19 public health emergency and plagued by lingering issues of elevated region-wide crime and remote work, it has not recovered to prepandemic levels.
On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes CSI's Urban Development Fellow Kelly Jean Brough and Daniel Hutton, Vice President of Transportation & Mobility for Denver South to discuss where RTD should focus its efforts for attracting and maintaining riders, and how to alleviate concerns of safety. The state has made a massive investment in the transit system, and this podcast focuses on the areas in which RTD can maximize that return on investment. You can read our full report titled "Fork in the Railroad: RTD’s Ridership Dilemma" here.
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.
You can find more about Kelly Brough here.
You can find more about Daniel Hutton here.