Common Sense Digest & Colorado Clarity

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. 
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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.

The Crisis of the Colorado Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund featuring J.J. Ament and Chris Brown

The Colorado Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund was not built to handle the crushing demand of a global health emergency that impacted virtually every aspect of our daily lives. The program finds itself running a deep deficit, and fraudulent claims have overwhelmed the system. What to do about it?
Join Host and Chairman of Common Sense Institute Earl Wright as he welcomes J.J. Ament, Chief Executive Officer of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and Chris Brown, Director of Policy and Research with Common Sense Institute, as they discuss the status of the trust fund, what’s led to its current situation, and diagnose what needs to happen to ensure its viability. Are potential tax increases on the way for businesses? What will the state do with money from the federal government? And what can you do about it to stay involved? All of this and more are covered in the latest episode of Common Sense Digest. Please be sure read our report on the issue here.
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Trying to Fix a Broken Education Finance System featuring Dr. Brenda Bautsch Dickhoner and Leslie Colwell

Colorado’s education funding system is broken in several ways: inequitable revenue collection, an inefficient and outdated allocation formula, and a retirement system that costs the state nearly a billion dollars annually just to pay down the $30 billion in unfunded liability.
On this edition of Common Sense Digest, Brenda Bautsch-Dickhoner, Ph.D., the Mike A. Leprino Free Enterprise Fellow at Common Sense Institute and current Boardmember of the Charter School Institute and on the Governor’s Education Leadership Council and Leslie Colwell Vice President of Education Initiatives at the Colorado Children’s Campaign which leads the Campaign’s work to improve education in the state of Colorado discuss this broken system and how to fix it. 
 
One such solution is HB21-1164 which helps the system start on a path of correction by addressing the patchwork system of property taxes on the revenue side. The extra revenue raised by this bill could help alleviate some of the budgetary pressures on K-12 education. The bill does not, however, address the flawed funding formula on the distribution side of the equation, and there are legitimate concerns that the bill violates the constitution by increasing taxes without a vote. Our guests join Host and Chairman Earl Wright as they unpack this vital, but complex issue in service of trying to secure more equitable outcomes for all of Colorado’s students. Please be sure read our report on the issue here. 
 
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions for Colorado Buildings featuring Kathie Barstnar and Dave Davia

As cities, states, the United States, and the international community consider ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the latest episode of the Common Sense Digest focuses on initiatives instituted or under consideration in our own backyard. 
Recently, the state launched its “Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap.” The roadmap outlines potential state actions which would help to comply emission reduction targets set in 2019 legislation, HB19-1261. The overall targets are a 26% reduction by 2025, a 50% reduction by the year 2030 and 90% reduction by 2050, all relative to emission levels in 2005. Currently, state GhG emissions are somewhere between 10% and 15% below 2005 levels, and the latest projections, inclusive of recent policy changes indicate more policy changes will be required to achieve the state’s targets.
Our built environment, including commercial, residential and industrial buildings is now squarely in the sights of regulators and policy makers.To unpack the multitude of initiatives pertaining to the built environment, their costs, the high hurdles that exist to achieve the goals, and more, we have invited Kathie Barstnar, the Executive Director of Colorado Chapter of NAIOP, and Dave Davia, EVP and CEO of the Rocky Mountain MCA. The issue is complex and multifaceted, but as always, thanks to the input of our experts, we hope this episode gives the issue clarity, and provides a dose of common sense. 
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Revisiting the Public Option for Healthcare featuring Sally Pipes and Chris Brown

As Colorado once again considers a public option for healthcare coverage, the Common Sense Digest considers and discusses in depth the likely impacts a public option for healthcare coverage would have on our system, our state budget, and our quality and access to healthcare services.
Joining our Host and Chairman Earl Wright are Chris Brown, Director of Policy and Research with the Common Sense Institute, and Sally Pipes, President and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, whose mission is to champion freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility for all individuals by advancing free-market policy solutions. Ms. Pipes addresses national and international audiences on health care. In April 2018, she received an honorary Ph.D from Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy for her work on health care reform. She has written a multitude of books, written for a vast number of publications, and is an internationally recognized expert on healthcare policy.
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Understanding and Attempting to Solve Homelessness with Mayor Mike Coffman and Kate Barton

Homelessness is a complex, contentious, and multifaceted issue with multiple causes, and advocates on all sides of the issue advocating for different solutions and approaches. On this edition of the Common Sense Digest, we discuss the homelessness issue in-depth with two people working on it from two very different angles.
Kate Barton is the Senior Vice President, Executive Office and Special Projects for the Downtown Denver Partnership, a fast-moving, forward thinking, non-profit business organization with the foundational belief that every day is our chance to make the city a little better. They also founded The Business Coalition on Homelessness, which was founded in 2019 by the Downtown Denver Partnership and business leaders to bring the resources, leadership, and voice of business together to collectively work with public and private sector partners, stakeholders, and the City to find and deliver solutions to homelessness.
 
Mike Coffman is the Mayor of Aurora, and last month completed a week of living on the street in shelters and in encampments to better understand the issue of homelessness. He shared his experience with CBS Denver and discusses what he learned, the criticism he received, and how he plans to integrate his learnings into addressing homelessness in Aurora on this week’s program. 
 
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Women in the Workforce and the She-cession featuring Heidi Ganahl and Nicole Riehl

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an outsize impact on women in the workforce, resulting in what has been dubbed a “She-cession.” On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Heidi Ganahl, Founder of Camp Bow Wow and SheFactor.She is also a fellow board member of CSI, and a CU regent, as well as Nicole Riehl, President and CEO of Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC). EPIC is the business community’s nonpartisan voice for early childhood care and education, and has recently launched a new initiative that aims to help solve the child care issue.
 
The two join Earl Wright, our Host and Chairman to discuss entrepreneurship, the rate of women leaving the workforce, early childhood education, motherhood and much more. A robust economy and a full workforce does not happen without vigorous participation from women, and this episode provides insights into what has led us here, and offers recommendations on how we rectify the situation.
 
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