Common Sense Unfiltered

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 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.

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.

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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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.

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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On November 7, 2023 Colorado voters will approve or reject Proposition HH, Property Tax Changes and Revenue Change Measures. Proposition HH was referred to the ballot by the State Legislature following the passage of SB23-303.

As the title suggests, Proposition HH is a complex proposal. It modifies or reduces taxation rates and exemptions for multiple types of property while at the same time increases taxes by allowing the state to retain more tax revenue. It would distribute excess revenue to school districts and other government entities without new stipulations.

Proposition HH gives Coloradans a choice; trade some property tax relief, for a long-term increase in state taxes. Though any revenue forecast is uncertain, under normal economic conditions taxpayers would bear the full tax increases under Proposition HH even if the economy faced a sizeable downturn. While all Coloradoans benefit from TABOR refunds, only property owners would see direct benefits of the property tax decrease. Our full report can be found here.

Host and Chairman Earl Wright welcomes former Governor of Colorado Bill Owens, and CSI Vice President of Policy Research Chris Brown to the podcast to discuss Proposition HH, its origins, its espoused goals, what the implications are for the future of property taxes, TABOR, and school funding, and much more. Every Coloradan will be impacted by the passage or defeat of Proposition HH, which makes this episode a must-listen. 

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Bill Owens served as the 40th Governor of Colorado from 1999-2007 and is a member of GreenbergTraurig's Government Law & Policy Practice Group. Prior to his service as Governor, Bill was Colorado State Treasurer where he managed a $5 billion investment portfolio. He also served in the State Senate and State House. He focuses his practice in the areas of public policy, energy, infrastructure and water.

Chris Brown is the Vice President of Policy and Research for the Common Sense Institute.

In this episode of the Common Sense Digest, we dive deep into the pressing issue of learning loss and its far-reaching impact on education — and the economy. Joining us is a renowned expert in the field, Lisa Graham Keegan, a results-driven school choice advocate and former Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Lisa is welcomed by Host and Chairman of CSI Earl Wright. The latest NAEP report has sounded the alarm on the staggering learning loss resulting from disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. So how do we recover academically and economically? Learn why Lisa proposes that removing barriers for education innovation can address these challenges head-on, benefiting parents, educators, and especially students.

Tune in to hear more about the economic ramifications of learning loss and to explore innovative solutions that might hold the key for the future of education in Arizona. Explore the intersection of education, economics, and innovation in this thought-provoking episode.

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NOTES:

• Earl Wright (host) and Lisa Graham Keegan (guest)

• Essential skills, things that are always true

• Expand, replicate, franchise

Few people in Colorado have not directly experienced crime. From property offenses to violent crimes, every crime leaves a traumatized victim. Whether the wounds are physical, psychological, or financial, it is important to acknowledge the profound effects that a crime can have on its victims. At Common Sense Institute, our goal is to address the economic impact of crime while remaining conscious of the suffering that it causes. Our recent study, titled "The Cost of Crime and its Economic Impact on Colorado: Crime’s Impact on the Economy and Residents" can be found here.

On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Executive Director of CSI Colorado Kelly Caufield welcomes 2023 CSI Owens-Early Criminal Justice Fellows George Brauchler and Mitch Morrissey to the show to discuss the report and provide additional insights on the cost of crime in Colorado. They break down the resources necessary to reduce crime, explore in great detail how the cost of crime was calculated, figure the economic benefit of reducing crime to zero, and much more. Crime affects us all in terms of economic cost, the price of insurance, and quality of life, so this episode is one you'll want to listen to and share.

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George Brauchler is a 2023 CSI Owens-Early Criminal Justice Fellow and served as the elected District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District (JD), Colorado’s most populous district, which includes Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, and Lincoln counties, from 2013-2021. As a state prosecutor, he handled the felony cases from the Columbine High School mass shooting case, the Aurora Theater (Batman) mass shooting case, and recently, the STEM Academy school mass shooting case.

Mitch Morrissey is also a 2023 CSI Owens-Early Criminal Justice Fellow and was the elected District Attorney of Denver, Colorado from November 2004 until January 2017. Prior to 2004, Mitch was a trial lawyer in the Denver District Attorney’s office. Mitch is internationally recognized for his expertise in DNA technology, applying that technology in criminal prosecutions, and working to ensure that DNA science is admissible in court. He has trained law enforcement officers and prosecutors throughout the United States, in the Middle East, in Central America, and Canada.

Colorado boasts a wide array of natural beauty and tourist attractions which attracts millions of visitors to the state every year. Pristine nature, world-class skiing, and captivating sports teams all contribute to the robust inflow of tourists that Colorado welcomes. The revenue generated by the state’s diverse attractions supports a substantial share of Colorado’s economy and plays an indispensable role in sustaining its economic prosperity and highlighting its invaluable ecological and societal assets. Because each depends upon the others to contribute to Colorado’s high quality of life, the sports, recreation, and tourism sectors are interconnected—to account for the impact of tourism, the impacts of recreation and sports must also be included. 

On this episode of Common Sense Digest, Guest Host and CSI Executive Director Kelly Caufield welcomes Kyle Dyer, former news anchor and Head Honcho at Kyle Dyer Storytelling Richard Scharf, President & CEO of Metro Denver Convention & Visitors Bureau to discuss everything from skiing to Taylor Swift to Denver being the smallest metro area to have all 5 major sports teams. They discuss the importance of recruiting teams, conventions, visitors, and showing off what makes Denver the special place that it is. Oh, and the economic impact that comes with it! Our full study can be found here.

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