Common Sense Unfiltered

From affordable housing to an income tax reduction, this November Colorado voters will face 11 different questions on their 2022 statewide election ballot. City & County of Denver residents will face 3 unique questions on their 2022 election ballot. Unfortunately wading through the ballot language of these measures does not always provide clear choices. Political ads and campaign rhetoric make...

Common Sense Digest proudly presents this special episode titled " On the Road to $1 Billion in Vehicles Stolen: The Data Trends Behind Colorado’s Motor Vehicle Theft Crisis ." This follows our recently released report of the same name found at the link. Despite the complexity of the issues surrounding motor vehicle theft, there is a crystal-clear trend in the Centennial state. Theft rates continu...

Housing affordability is one of the hottest topics in Colorado, and is likely to remain so. On this November's ballot Colorado voters will decide on the fate of Proposition 123, titled, “Dedicate Revenue for Affordable Housing.” To discuss this measure Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes CSI's Vice President of Policy and Research Chris Brown, and CSI 2022 Housing Fellow to discuss what issue t...

As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, it leaves in its wake declining public school student enrollment and achievement, local, state, and federal dollars continue to flow to Colorado school districts in ever-larger amounts. Despite this, student achievement made only a modest recovery in English Language Arts (reading and writing) in 2022 after a huge plunge in 2021, and fewer than four in 10 Colorado...

The issue of housing is one we tackle repeatedly on Common Sense Digest because it touches every single Coloradan in some way and impacts the overall economic health and well-being of the state. Building off our recent report  The Uncertain Future Cost of Colorado’s Energy Infrastructure and Housing Affordability , this first in a two-part series on Common Sense Digest discuss the cost of implemen...

Following Part 1 of this series, we re-join Host and Chairman Earl Wright, CEO of the Colorado Association of Homebuilders and CEO of the HBA of Metro Denver, Ted Leighty, Founder of Confluence Companies Tim Walsh, and CSI 2022 Mike A. Leprino Fellow and report author Evelyn Lim. They continue their conversation about the state of the Colorado housing market, the goals of recently passed energy co...

This special episode of Common Sense Digest is brought to you by Colorado Politics and the Denver Gazette and hosted by Common Sense Institute and EPIC. The high cost of child care acts as a barrier for parents, particularly women, seeking to return to the workforce, exacerbating Colorado’s labor shortage. Join industry experts and policymakers in exploring ways to create better access to quality...

The state of Colorado is facing a housing affordability crisis, inflation, dealing with soaring crime rates, and homelessness. The list of challenges Coloradans are facing is daunting. But across our great state local leaders are digging in, rising to the challenge and coming up with innovative ways to create opportunity for their residents. On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Host and Chairma...

The following is a special episode of Common Sense Digest. On June 21, 2022, Common Sense Institute hosted Eggs & The Economy , a quarterly symposium featuring guest speakers on a variety of public policy issues highlighting the most pressing issues Colorado is currently facing. Our most recent event featured discussed the issue of affordability in Colorado. This podcast captured audio from th...

Housing prices are frequently at the forefront of policy discussions because they impact so many other aspects of the economy. On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes CSI Arizona's Director of Policy & Research Glenn Farley, CSI's Senior Economist Steven Byers to discuss the housing markets in Arizona and Colorado, respectively. They dive deep into what l...

In April of 2022, Common Sense Institute released a report titled Fentanyl’s Increasing Toll on the Colorado Economy which detailed the evolution of the opioid crisis, the 2019 legislation that exacerbated the problems of the opioid crisis, and highlighted the unique deadliness of fentanyl in particular.  On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes CSI's Criminal...

In celebration of Older Americans Month, Common Sense Digest explores the topic of Colorado’s aging workforce and the impact it will have on our state’s future. Older Americans Month is an annual event dating back to 1963, when President John F. Kennedy designated May as Senior Citizens Month, later renamed Older Americans Month, honoring older Americans, and celebrating their contributions to our...

The topic of the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund has come up many different times in CSI’s work, including  a previous episode of this show . Yet despite the tremendous amount of attention on the issue from external parties and business leaders, Colorado remains 1 of only 9 states with an outstanding federal loan balance to the US treasury, that was used to support the state’s unemployme...

A substantial portion of United States policymakers and citizens tout an accelerated "energy transition" away from fossil fuels. But what does this mean? What would it entail? What are the costs associated with such a transition? And is a transition even practical or realistic? Even if the United States (or the world) were to transition away from fossil fuels entirely for electricity generation, i...

On March 29, 2022, Common Sense Institute hosted Eggs & the Economy. Eggs & the Economy is a quarterly symposium featuring guest speakers on a variety of public policy issues. At each event, CSI highlights the most pressing issues Colorado is currently facing. This is an opportunity for CSI to share current research, as well as hear from dignitaries and the experts working on them. The pur...

In Part 1 of our series about Common Sense Institute's expansion into Arizona ( Common Sense Institute Announces Its Expansion Into Arizona ), we discussed why Arizona was chosen for expansion, introduced you to our Board Chair and Strategic Advisor, and discussed briefly some of the issues facing Arizona.  In Part 2, Chairman and Host Earl Wright is joined primarily by Glenn Farley, former Chief...

Common Sense Institute is proud to launch its expansion into Arizona! After the 2020 election, Arizona was identified as a top swing state target for expansion due to the state’s history of electing common sense leaders and new challenges like incredible growth in the population and economy. Due to many members of the CSI Board having connections in Arizona, additional synergies were realized quic...

The United States is on the path of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, while experiencing inflation at levels not seen in the past 40 years. Colorado has not been immune from these effects. The factors contributing to high inflation are multitudinous, and Coloradans find themselves in the difficult position of finding their increase in earnings cancelled out by loss of purchasing power.  Chairma...

The 2022 Colorado Legislative Session is underway where Democratic legislators retain a strong majority in both houses. As the majority party, they intend to embark on an extensive list of priorities which reflects the state of Colorado’s economy, social issues hotly contested, and the major successes and failures of last year. Chairman and Host Earl Wright welcomes two guests to discuss a multitu...

Common Sense Institute hosted The 1st Annual Free Enterprise Summit on December 14, 2021. The inaugural event featured the release of " Colorado's Free Enterprise Report " and " The Rankings Book: 2022 Edition ." The release is the first of its kind reference for Colorado and compiles a wide range of economic and policy indicators that measures Colorado's rank compared to other states in order to...

Common Sense Institute's recent report, “The Colorado Crime Wave: An Economic Analysis of Crime and the Need for Data Driven Solutions” was a first-of-its-kind report that put a cost on crime within the state of Colorado. Shockingly, that cost burden, borne by both victims and society, was more than $27B in 2020. Underlying this enormous cost, are concerning trends both in the rate of crime, and t...

While the initial economic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic have subsided, the lockdowns and economic restructuring which resulted have yielded to worldwide supply-chain deficiencies, slower-than-expected economic growth, and a strong sense of uncertainty and unease in the world of business. Despite all this, forecasts point to continued economic growth and labor market recovery and many economists...

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 c...

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...

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 mea...