Common Sense Digest & Colorado Clarity

The Economic Costs of Colorado’s Foster Youth featuring John Farnam

Colorado’s foster care youth are a small but troubled section of society. Unfortunately, data is scarce for their life outcomes after they exit the system and, in some cases, when they are still inside it. To illustrate the economic impact of even a small sliver of the foster population, the report focuses on those aging out of the system. This is the first study attempting to derive the individual and social costs borne by a cohort of Colorado’s foster youth.
Foster care youth aging out of the foster care system in Colorado face a multitude of challenges, including higher rates of homelessness, limited education, unemployment, involvement in the criminal justice system, early parenthood, mental health issues, a lack of support networks, limited healthcare access, substance abuse risk, and financial instability. You can read our full report on the subject here.
On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes report author and 2023 Morgridge Child Welfare Fellow John Farnam to discuss his report. The two discuss the shortcomings of the current foster care system, recent incremental victories relative to the issue, and a proposed path forward. The issue has many intertwining contributing factors and long lasting outcomes, and the conversation reflects the complexity of the issue while offering a unique clarity. 
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John Farnam has served the Morgridge Family Foundation for 12 years, administering more than $150 million in grants, first as chief of staff and now as managing director. John builds relationships and catalyzes connections with partners at every level, resulting in transformational change across all social sectors in Denver and beyond. His expertise has been sought out as an Aspen Institute Fellow, a member of the American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network, and an advisor to the Governor’s Leadership Committee on COVID Relief. In 2022 he earned an executive certificate through the prestigious Chief of Staff Fellowship at the University of Oxford, and in 2023, he was one of just 60 leaders from 20 countries to complete the inaugural Chief of Staff Association Program through Harvard Business School Executive Education. He now serves as the Morgridge Child Welfare Fellow for the Common Sense Institute.

The Multifaceted Issue of Homelessness in Colorado featuring Donna Lynne

Over the last three years, Colorado has spent nearly $2 billion on homelessness, concentrated largely in the Denver metro region. While metro areas across the country have seen a surge of people experiencing homelessness, the Denver metro has some of the highest levels of growth among the areas the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development tracks.
There has been a 58% increase in the Denver metro’s unhoused population since 2016. More become homeless for the first time, and more are chronically homeless.
Joining Host and Chairman Earl Wright is Donna Lynne, CEO of Denver Health. Donna was the Lieutenant Governor
of Colorado from 2016-2019. Prior to that role, she served in executive leadership positions at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals. She has a unique view of the homelessness issue, the recent influx of migrants, the need for a large coalition of stakeholders to address the issue, and a lot more. In this episode of Common Sense Digest, Donna and Earl have a spirited, wide-ranging discussion of the issue's many contributing factors, possible solutions, and where the conversation goes from here. 
You can find CSI's most recent research on homelessness here.
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Understanding and Solving Arizona’s Budget Deficit featuring Danny Seiden and Glenn Farley

Over the past decade Arizona’s population and economy have grown rapidly, but more recent data suggests this pace is slowing. Today the state is facing the end of its fastest period of revenue and spending growth ever – over the past five years, General Fund revenue collections have grown 52%, while spending has increased by over two-thirds (to $17.8 billion this year).
In October, the Arizona Legislature’s Financial Advisory Committee (FAC) – a nonpartisan body tasked with forecasting State revenue collections – projected a cumulative $1.0 billion General Fund cash deficit over the next three fiscal years. The last time the state was in this position was in 2015, following years of tepid revenue growth after the Great Recession and during the peak of K-12 formula funding litigation.
How did this happen, and how did it happen so quickly? Host and National Chairman of CSI Earl Wright welcomes President & CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry Danny Seiden and CSI Arizona's Director of Policy and Research Glenn Farley to discuss the issue's origins, its history, and its possible solutions. 
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The 2024 Free Enterprise Report featuring Lang Sias, Glenn Farley and Dr. Steven Byers

The Free Enterprise Report is a marquis report that provides an objective, non-partisan, fact-based analysis of both the Colorado and Arizona economic landscapes and each state’s most pressing issues. The study is a year long undertaking and includes the CSI Economic Performance Index as well as a Free Enterprise Competitiveness Index across eight different policy areas. You can find the Colorado Free Enterprise Report here and Arizona's here.
Both indices provide an opportunity to look backwards and better understand where Colorado and Arizona have been and what direction we are moving. We can better understand how we are performing relative to other states and we can equip policy makers, civic and business leaders with the best understanding of how our state is performing, where we are winning, where we are losing and how free enterprise principles can get us back on track.
Joining Chairman and Host Earl Wright are Lang Sias, CSI's 2023 Mike A. Leprino Free Enterprise Fellow, Dr. Steven Byers, CSI Colorado's Senior Economist, and Glenn Farley, CSI Arizona's Director of Policy and Research. They discuss the depth and breadth of the report and cover issues such as crime, education, state budgets and much more.
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The 2024 National Western Stock Show featuring Paul Andrews

The National Western Stock Show, held annually in Denver since 1906, is known as the Super Bowl of livestock shows, and one of the most prestigious horse shows and rodeos in the world. Initially aimed at demonstrating better breeding and feeding techniques to local stockmen, the show has grown to become one of the world’s largest stock shows, attracting global participants.
The National Western Stock Show (NWSS), held annually in Denver over 16 days in January, supported $171 million in net economic activity in 2023 across the state of Colorado. The economic impacts of the National Western Stock Show were driven by the 702,698 attendees who came to the show and the thousands of competitors and exhibitors from across the world that make the event the premier western heritage and entertainment event. Attendance at the stock show equals filling Empower Field at Mile High at every Broncos home game.
On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes President & CEO Paul Andrews to the show to discuss the history of the stock show, its profound economic impact, its continued growth, and its educational initiatives. Paul has been a part of the NWSS team for 14 years and brings his unique insight to the show to discuss one of Colorado's truly iconic yearly events.
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Colorado’s Workforce Woes, Opportunities and Economic Mobility featuring Tamra Ryan and Scott Laband

Colorado’s labor force is facing an unprecedented shortage, and conventional trends alone won’t resolve the issue. The state’s tight labor market, with 2.7 jobs for every unemployed person, is resulting in a significant $46 billion loss in annual GDP. A substantial portion of the unemployed and marginally attached to the labor force are people with barriers to employment, such as disabilities, past incarceration, lack of childcare, and educational attainment challenges. To address these issues, employers, educational institutions, and the workforce system need to innovate and better align with the jobs of the future. Integrating basic education with job training, as seen in Washington State’s I-BEST program, and adopting Utah’s One Door policy for improved data sharing and support services are potential solutions. By addressing these barriers, Colorado can bridge the gap between labor demand and supply, leading to economic growth and improved opportunities for its workforce. 
That's from our report titled Colorado’s Workforce Woes Should Spell Opportunity for Economic Mobility and it's the subject of this episode of Common Sense Digest. Joining Chairman and Host Earl Wright are Tamra Ryan, CEO of the Women's Bean Project and CSI's 2023 Coors Economic Mobility Fellow and Scott Laband, President of Colorado Succeeds, a non-partisan business advocacy organization focused solely on education and workforce development. They discuss workforce participation, the challenges associated with early childcare, suggestions for moving forward and much more.
Tamra Ryan is the CEO of Women’s Bean Project, a social enterprise providing transitional employment in its food manufacturing business to women attempting to break the cycle of chronic unemployment and poverty. She serves as an Economic Mobility Fellow for Common Sense Institute Colorado. Tamra is a former partner and board member for Social Venture Partners-Denver and Social Enterprise Alliance.
Scott Laband is the president of Colorado Succeeds and has been with the organization since 2010. He is passionate about creating relevant and valuable educational experiences for young people through policy, practice, and philanthropy. He is on a mission to unlock opportunity for all young people and make Colorado the best place in America to raise a child and grow a business. Prior to Colorado Succeeds, Scott worked as the Legislative Director for Colorado Senator Mike Johnston, where he oversaw the policy agenda and served as the point person for both internal strategy negotiations with other Colorado state legislators and external relations and coalition-building with advocates and interest groups.

Where Have All the Condos Gone? featuring Peter LiFari, Ted Leighty and Bruce Likoff

Over the past fifteen years, Colorado condominium construction has experienced a severe decline. Condominium development between 2018 and 2022, across 11 front range counties which collectively house over 80% of Colorado’s population, was 76% lower than between 2002 and 2008. This amounted to 14 new apartments for every 1 new condo in recent years, compared to 1 new condo for every 1.25 apartments in the 6 years prior to 2009. Concurrently, Colorado cities have struggled to facilitate a regulatory environment that correlates into an adequate supply of all housing types to meet population growth. From 2008 to 2019, Colorado grew by an annual average of 77,731 new residents but built only 25,682 new homes per year. The overall stagnation of housing development which began at the onset of the Great Recession has manifested into a Colorado housing market that is affordable to only the highest of income earners.
On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes Peter LiFari, CSI's 2023 Housing Fellow and is the Executive Director of Maiker Housing Partners, Ted Leighty, CEO of the Colorado Association of Home Builders, and Bruce Likoff, Of Counsel at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, to discuss the issue, its many causes, possible solutions, and a path forward. You can read CSI's full report here.
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Peter LiFari is CSI's 2023 Housing Fellow and is the Executive Director of Maiker Housing Partners, a socially conscious public housing authority based in Adams County, Colorado. In his role as Executive Director, LiFari leads a passionate team committed to ending the cycle of generational poverty by providing individuals and families with access to affordable housing, support programs and by engaging in community development. LiFari is a compassionate visionary whose leadership style is grounded in treating individuals with empathy, warmth and grace. 
Since 2017 Ted Leighty has been the CEO of the Colorado Association of Home Builders and CEO of the HBA of Metro Denver since 2020. Ted has extensive experience in Colorado real estate, having served as Vice President of Government Affairs for the Colorado Association of Realtors.  He has also chaired the Colorado Real Estate Alliance and the Colorado Competitive Council.
Bruce L. Likoff is Of Counsel at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and his practice emphasis is commercial real estate and land use. Mr. Likoff has experience representing real estate developers and investors. His experience includes many transactions relating to all phases of development, including acquisition, land use approvals, financing, construction, leasing and sales. Relevant projects represent all major property categories, including office, industrial, retail, hotel and residential. Mr. Likoff also has particular experience in complicated ground lease and leasehold financing transactions, as well as community structure for master planned communities and mixed use projects.

A Chat with Guy Benson Ahead of the Free Enterprise Summit

Guy Benson is a well-known political commentator and media personality. He is among the roster of the 25 millennial broadcasters in American news and politics and served as a Media Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University's Institute of Politics. He is also the keynote speaker at our 2023 Free Enterprise Summit.
He joins our Guest Host and Executive Director Kelly Caufield to chat about his many hats including hosting a daily, nationally-syndicated radio show, his multiple guest spots on Fox News and other outlets, and editing TownHall.com. He also shares his thoughts on the current media landscape, what causes our increased cultural tribalism, his hope for the future, and much more in a wide-ranging and stimulating chat. 
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A Vision and Framework for Colorado’s Energy Future featuring Tisha Schuller and Doug Benevento

In an ideal end state, Colorado’s energy would be affordable, reliable, and leave the smallest possible environmental footprint. To achieve this, energy would be appreciated as a central force that enables progress—rather than being viewed by legislators and policymakers as a necessary evil. Consumers would be empowered with choices that reflect their means, values, and circumstances. While we understand that both state and national energy objectives will continue to prioritize lowering the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of energy, in an ideal state, decarbonization would be one among many balanced tradeoffs.
In this ideal state, Colorado leaders would make economic development a central consideration of energy policy. After all, this would position Colorado to sustainably reduce GHG emissions with public support, while attracting the businesses, workers, students, innovators, and partners required to undertake the massive task of evolving the energy system. You can read more about this issue from our full report, found on our website.
Guest host and CSI Colorado Executive Director Kelly Caufield welcomes the report's authors, Tisha Schuller and Doug Benevento to the show to discuss its findings, its recommendations, and to discuss an ideal path forward. The conversation covers innovation, decarbonization, permitting, electrification and much more. Colorado can lead in a multitude of energy issues, but it will take fortitude, creativity, and collaboration. 
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Tisha Schuller is a 2023 Terry J. Stevinson Fellow. She founded Adamantine Energy to provide thought leadership to energy companies to translate sustainability and decarbonization aspiration into action. Tisha advises private clients from Fortune 100 energy companies to non-profit environmental organizations in matters including ESG and decarbonization strategies, managing disruption, energy policy, environmental justice, and stakeholder engagement. She also serves as the Strategic Advisor for Stanford University’s Natural Gas Initiative. Previously, Tisha served as president and CEO of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association and as principal and vice president of Tetra Tech, a national environmental consulting and engineering firm.  She has a B.S. from Stanford University.
Doug Benevento is also a 2023 Terry J. Stevinson Fellow. He is a partner at Holland & Hart. Doug brings a sophisticated understanding of environmental policy and compliance from his high-level leadership roles at federal and state agencies, including serving as the EPA Acting Deputy Administrator and the EPA Region 8 Administrator. He draws on this expertise and strong working relationships with regulators across the Mountain West and in Washington, DC to advocate for clients through both legal and legislative avenues. Doug guides companies to understand and respond to the regulatory impacts and ongoing developments of environmental justice matters. As the former Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, clients turn to Doug for his public health background and ability to proactively identify and develop solutions.

SPECIAL EPISODE: Eggs & The Economy - September 26, 2023

In this special edition of of Common Sense Digest, we feature discussion from one of our recent events. On Tuesday, September 26, Common Sense Institute hosted its quarterly Eggs & The Economy Event. This edition featured discussion about Proposition HH: the Taxpayer Dilemma. The panel featured the following participants:
Kelly Caufield - CSI Executive Director (Host and Moderator)
Toby Damisch - Douglas County Assessor 
Brenda Bautsch Dickhoner - President & CEO, Ready Colorado
Lang Sias - CSI's 2023 Mike A. Leprino Free Enterprise Fellow
And a special presentation called "The Scramble" featuring our Senior Economist Steven Byers, Ph.D.
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