Common Sense Digest

How is Colorado‘s Economic Recovery Going? featuring Patty Silverstein and Chris Brown

It has been a full year-and-a-half since the onset of the worst economic downturn in our state’s history, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pace of economic recovery has been much stronger than in prior recessions, there are many headwinds that indicate the recovery could be slowing. Lower levels of monthly job growth, increasing inflation risk, disruptions to global supply chains and labor shortages nearly everywhere you look, are all contributing to an uncertain future and timing of full-recovery.

On this edition of Common Sense Digest, joining Host and Chairman Earl Wright are Patty Silverstein, Chief Economist at Development Research Partners and Chris Brown, Vice President of Policy and Research with the Common Sense Institute. Patty dives into her extensive research on the topic and discusses the impact of federal relief money given to individuals, businesses, and governments on the recovery, which segments of the economy are most challenged (and which ones are thriving), and what's ahead. The insights are plentiful, and if you're interested in Colorado's economic future, this podcast is one you cannot miss.

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Patricia Silverstein is the president and chief economist of Development Research Partners, a Jefferson County, Colorado-based real estate analysis and economic development research company founded in 1994. Ms. Silverstein's expertise is in economic research and economic development, including industry cluster studies and strategic economic development planning. She has extensive experience in preparing economic and fiscal impact analysis for community development purposes. In addition, she serves as the consulting chief economist for the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. In these roles, she compiles, interprets, and forecasts economic and demographic data for the Denver metropolitan area and performs in-depth research on issues and proposed developments impacting the region. Patty provides numerous presentations on state and local economic conditions to business and professional organizations throughout the year.

Colorado‘s Proposition 119 Seeks a LEAP in Out of School Learning Enrichment featuring Michael Johnston and Doug Robinson

Proposition 119: Learning Enrichment and Academic Progress, or LEAP,  will appear on Colorado’s November ballot and proposes a phased 5% additional tax on recreational marijuana to fund out of school learning enrichment opportunities for eligible Colorado children. LEAP prioritizes low-income students and allows parents to decide which learning enrichment program or programs best fit their child’s educational needs.

On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Host and Chairman of Common Sense Institute Earl Wright welcomes Michael Johnston and Doug Robinson to discuss the measure's origin, its need, and how it would function. He asks them tough questions on how progress would be measured, if the legislature could modify Proposition 119 if it passes since it's a statute, and what they hope this measure will accomplish. 

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Mike Johnston is the current President and CEO of Gary Community Ventures and a former Colorado State Senator. Mike received his master’s degree in education policy from Harvard University Graduate School of Education in 2000 and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2003. Mike has a wealth of background in the education system. He has been a teacher and principal in his professional career. He taught educational law at the University of Denver Law School and was the founding principal of Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts.

Doug Robinson is a former investment banker, a long-time Colorado philanthropist and community activist on issues related to marijuana. Doug was the founder of St. Charles Capital and was a candidate for Governor in 2018 in the republican primary. He received his MBA from the Columbia University MBA program.

The Unusual Journey of Property Tax Reduction and Proposition 120 in Colorado featuring Michael Fields and Chris Brown

On this November's Colorado ballot, voters will decide the fate of Proposition 120: “Property Tax Assessment Rate Reduction.” Proposition 120 proposes to permanently reduce the statewide property tax assessment rate for several classes of property.

What is interesting is that something unprecedented happened in advance of this ballot measure appearing before voters. The ultimate impact of the measure hinges on whether 2021 legislation Senate Bill 21-293: “Property Tax Classification and Assessment Rates” passed by the state legislature after the ballot initiative was submitted, will remain law. Senate Bill 21-293 reclassified property types, and because of this Proposition 120’s proposed assessment rate reductions would apply only to multi-family and commercial lodging property, respectively. 

To unpack why the legislature passed a bill in direct response to a ballot measure that had not even appeared on the ballot yet, the multitude of ways impacts could shake out if both become law, the origins and impetus for Proposition 120, and the road ahead, Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes two guests. The first is Michael Fields, Executive Director of Colorado Rising Action, and the man responsible for filing this ballot measure. The other is Chris Brown, Common Sense Institute's Vice President of Policy and Research.

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

Toward a Student Centered Method of Education Funding featuring Dr. Brenda Bautsch Dickhoner and Dr. Terry Croy Lewis

With the school year back into full swing, it feels only natural to turn our attention to a topic frequently on the minds of all Coloradans, school funding. On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Host and Chairman Earl Wright is joined by CSI Mike A. Leprino Free Enterprise Fellow Dr. Brenda Bautsch Dickhoner and Dr. Terry Croy Lewis, Executive Director of the Charter School Institute.

The three discuss a salient funding issue affecting charter schools across the state, dive into what the “Legislative Interim Committee on School Finance” is up to, and preview the forthcoming update to the school finance report that Common Sense Institute produces called “Dollars and Data.”

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Dr. Brenda Bautsch Dickhoner has spent her career working in education policy at the national and state level. She is currently the Mike A. Leprino Free Enterprise Fellow at the Common Sense Institute. Recently, she served as a top advisor at the Colorado Department of Education. Brenda currently serves on the board of the Charter School Institute and on the Governor’s Education Leadership Council.

Dr. Terry Croy Lewis is the Charter School Institute’s Executive Director. Previously she worked at the Colorado League of Charter Schools as the Vice President of School Quality and Support. Additionally, she was a founder of High Point Academy (HPA) which opened in 2006 and served as the Executive Director/Principal at HPA for 8 years. Before her work at HPA, she helped to develop other charter schools in Colorado as an independent consultant and as a consultant with a national organization focused on the creation of new charter schools. In 1997, she helped found her first charter school, Platte River Academy. In total, she has 20 years of experience in the charter school sector working in urban, suburban and rural communities and she has served in a variety of capacities such as founder, school leader, governing board member, and consultant. She earned her doctoral degree from the University of Maryland.

The Economic Footprint of Homelessness in Metro Denver featuring Brenda Bautsch Dickhoner and Kristin Strohm

Common Sense Institute (CSI) has partnered with several local organizations and leaders to conduct a three-phase project to understand the many challenges and types of homelessness. Through a multi-faceted approach, CSI and its partners hope to identify the systemic issues that contribute to a person’s experience with homelessness and find the network of people and organizations working to make change. Bringing clarity and identifying the leverage points in these systems will support all who seek to tackle this challenge by providing critical information about where to invest their time, energy, and money to address the homelessness crisis.

One of the report's authors, Brenda Bautsch Dickhoner, Ph.D, along with CSI President Kristin Strohm, join our Host and Chairman Earl Wright to discuss Phase 1 of the report, which can be found here. 

Homelessness remains a pressing issue for the Metro Denver region. COVID-19 increased the visibility of the issue with shelters closing due the pandemic and greater numbers of individuals experiencing homelessness outdoors. Data indicates that the longer people are unsheltered, the more challenging rehousing becomes. Strategies to improve early intervention, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing are the path forward, as they mitigate the risks to the individual and society of long-term homelessness. Such strategies must also involve wraparound services to help some individuals overcome substance abuse, mental illness, and other trauma. The complexity of the ecosystem surrounding homelessness and the scarcity of affordable housing in the region makes implementing these strategies immensely difficult.

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

 

Regulating Our Commutes Through the Employee Trip Reduction Plan featuring Sandra Solin and Tom Brook

In 2019 the Colorado state legislature passed a new law establishing significant greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Those targets include a statewide reduction in greenhouse gas emission of 50% from the 2005 baseline by 2030, and an 80% reduction from the 2005 baseline by 2050. The 2019 bill, known as HB-1261 ‘The Climate Action Plan to Reduce Pollution’ and many other related bills that have passed since then, have authorized new forms of regulation with the intent of meeting the state’s new greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

On this edition of Common Sense Digest, Chairman and Host Earl Wright is joined by two important guests to talk about just one of these new regulations currently making its way through the rulemaking process. The ‘Employee Trip Reduction Program’ or ETRP, would regulate your commute to work in an attempt to take single-occupancy vehicles off the road.

Sandra Solin is the Founder and Head of Capitol Solutions and has been at the center of major public policy debates in Colorado for several decades. Sandra represents the Business Alliance for Economic Regulatory Sensibility, a party to the ETRP rulemaking. Sandra, welcome back to the podcast. Also joining us is Tom Brook. Tom is the President and CEO of Denver South, an economic development organization focused along the I-25 corridor south of Denver. His organization is also a party to the ETRP rulemaking process. 

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How Will Colorado Spend its Federal Stimulus Money and How Should It? featuring Brenda Dickhoner and Chris Brown

In 2020 and 2021 Colorado received more than $65 billion in federal aid money. The bulk of this money came in the form of direct stimulus payments to citizens and loans like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), but a substantial portion of the funds went to state coffers, and notably $2.5 billion went to K-12 education. 

On this edition of Common Sense Digest, Chairman and Host Earl Wright is joined by CSI’s Mike A. Leprino Fellow, Brenda Dickhoner, who recently authored a report on how that money was allocated, what it was spent on, and money that remains to be allocated. You can view that report at this link on our website. Also joining the show is CSI's Vice President of Policy and Research Chris Brown who has spent substantial time this year tracking the various federal spending bills and their impacts on Colorado.

They answer and discuss the questions that should be on all Colorado citizens' minds: Where did that money go? Where will it go? Who is accountable for its allocation? And how can we as citizens get involved to advocate for and ensure the money gets where it's needed most. You will walk away from this episode with a much more sophisticated understanding of federal stimulus money and its impact in Colorado. 

Thank you for listening to Common Sense Digest. Please rate, review and subscribe on your favorite podcatcher. Find all of our episodes on our website.

From Conflict to Compassion: A Colorado Housing Development Blueprint for Transformational Change

Housing is a basic human need and with the affordability crisis we face, the future of many families and the competitiveness of our state are truly at stake.

On this edition of Common Sense Digest, we welcome Peter LiFari, Executive Director of Maiker Housing Partners, the Adams County Housing Authority, and Evelyn Lim, Former Region 8 Administrator at the US Housing and Urban Development, and current Director of Policy and Research at the American Cornerstone Institute to discuss housing affordability. Peter and Evelyn are this year’s Terry J. Stevinson Fellows and their report on housing affordability is the culmination of months of work and stakeholder conversations.

They join CSI Chairman and Host Earl Wright in a wide-ranging conversation about the causes of and solutions to the affordable housing crisis in Colorado. Earl asks probing, challenging questions of our guests, and Peter and Evelyn despite coming from differing ideological perspectives, offer concrete, implementable solutions that would benefit not only those priced out of Colorado’s skyrocketing housing market, but all Coloradans as well.

To read their report, please visit our homepage. You may also learn more about the Terry J. Stevinson Fellowship here.

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The Past, Present and Future of TABOR featuring Michael Fields and Dustin Zvonek

On this edition of Common Sense Digest, we take a deep dive into a major law unique to Colorado, and why it is relevant today, nearly three decades after being voted in by Coloradans in 1992. That's right, we're discussing the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, commonly referred to as TABOR.

In recent years, we have seen direct attempts through our state’s ballot process to strike TABOR entirely. At present, TABOR is being challenged from multiple angles and our Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes two guests to discuss why TABOR matters, what makes it unique, and what challenges lie ahead for it.

Joining Earl is, first, Michael Fields, Executive Director of Colorado Rising Action, a 501(c)(4) that fights "for limited government, lowering taxes, fighting government over-regulation that stifles freedom, affordable and accessible health care, free enterprise, and a strong national security." Also joining is Dustin Zvonek, current candidate for Aurora City Council, a small business owner, former congressional and legislative aide, current member of the Aurora Citizens Advisory Budget Committee, and alumnus of Common Sense Institute. 

Thank you for listening to Common Sense Digest. For more information about TABOR, please visit our website. 

 

Is Help on the Way for PERA’s Unfunded Liability? featuring Earl Wright, Amy Slothower and Zachary Christensen

Colorado’s Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) contains more than $30 billion of unfunded liability, which represents a potential disaster for Colorado taxpayers. The federal American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) is estimated to deliver an additional $3.9 billion to the state government, which, along with government revenue that is forecasted to grow to $936 Million above pre-pandemic levels in the next fiscal year budget, there is a unique opportunity for Colorado to make bold investments in its future and pay down some debt, likely including the large unfunded liabilities of PERA.

Common Sense Institute President & CEO Kristin Strohm takes over hosting duties on this edition of Common Sense Digest and has the unique privilege of turning the tables on our usual host, CSI Chairman Earl Wright, who brings unique insight into the PERA discussion. Also joining us is Amy Slothower, Project Director for Secure Futures Colorado, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to public pension reform. Amy recently wrote a great opinion piece published in Colorado Politics a few weeks ago that helped to inspire this conversation.

Additionally, Zachary Christensen, Managing Director at the Pension Integrity Project and Senior Policy Analyst for REASON Foundation joins the program. The Pension Integrity Project at Reason Foundation offers pro-bono consulting to public officials and other stakeholders to help them design and implement pension reforms that improve plan solvency and promote retirement security. All three unpack the contributing factors that led us here, assess the current situation, and examine the potential fixes in a lively and stimulating discussion.

Our report on the issue can be found here.