Web Exclusives - Politics & Policy
Jobs: two steps forward, one step back
By Jeff ThredgoldThe February U.S. employment data was subject to wide interpretation in regard to how the labor market is performing, with nasty East Coast weather during much of February greatly impacting the data. Economists refer to such data influence as “noise.“
Still, the overall gist of the data was positive, with…
03.11.2010Shorter winters, hotter summers
By Allen BestColorado’s Western Slope at mid-century will become hotter. Crops such as corn and alfalfa will need more water. Winters will likely become shorter, runoff will occur earlier in the year, and the hot, generally drier months of summer will last longer.
But the Colorado River Water Availability Study foresees less…
03.11.2010Has Colorado put out the “closed for business” sign?
By Diane SchwenkeBusinesses across the state have recently been taken by surprise and alarmed by a package of bills proposed by the Governor and passed by the Legislature in record time, which took effect March 1. The bills were aimed at helping to fill the state’s current budget gap by eliminating or reducing…
03.04.2010Employee Free Choice—or forced choice—Act?
By Donna EvansThe 4th Workforce Freedom Airlift 2010 Takeoff, a gathering of roughly 250 delegates from eight states organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, was the largest ever due to continuing economic uncertainty—combined with the fact that small business and community leaders across the nation believe the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), or any…
03.04.2010The impending implosion of the income tax system
By Thomas FreyIn the movie The Day After Tomorrow, survivors stranded in a library are easily persuaded to burn the multi-volume IRS Tax Code to stay warm. In this fictional scenario, the question one might ask before securing a match: Why did we wait until the end of the world?
In 2003,…
03.04.2010Wouldn’t it be nice if…
By Jeff ThredgoldWouldn’t it be nice if…
...the President and the Congressional leadership would stop talking about being “pro-business” and actually a) promote pro-business policies, and b) remove anti-business initiatives that dominate their agenda?
...we weren’t running a federal budget deficit of $183 million every 60 minutes?
...the Federal Reserve’s upcoming attempts to…
02.25.2010Rethinking scarcity in an abundant world
By Thomas FreyScience fiction has long dreamed of a post-scarcity society, and it’s become quite common to hear discussions about transitioning from a world of scarcity to a world of abundance. But for all the good intentions and creative thinking, our limitations, both human and material, will be an ever-present force in…
