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Colorado

Helping Poor and Working Families Build Financial Assets

PSN on August 4, 2008 - 8:32am
By one estimate, the federal government spent over $367 billion in 2005 aloneon subsidizing Americans' retirement savings and tax breaks to build upother assets like buying a home.  Unfortunately, those subsidies gooverwhelmingly to those Americans who already have high-incomes; almostnone of it goes to the poorest Americans who need the most helpbuilding the financial assets that can lead to long-term economicopportunities and security.

Bills that Made a Difference in 2008

admin on July 14, 2008 - 10:13am
Even with many states having short sessions, the 2008 state legislative sessions have already had some impressive milestone victories for families and communities across the country.  This Dispatch covers a few of the key issue victories this year -- and points out that states are still taking the lead on issue after issue.  Most of the bills highlighted became law, while a few, falling short of final passage, were innovative enough and showed enough movement to promise greater things for 2009.

States Still Leading Feds on Minimum Wage

Nathan Newman on July 10, 2008 - 9:54am
With food and gas prices rising rapidly, low-wage workers can at least welcome an increase in the federal minium wage to $6.55 per hour scheduled to go into effect on July 24th.  Even better, a number of states will also be increasing their minimum wage rates even higher than the federal rate:

New State Gains on LGBT Rights

Adam Thompson on June 19, 2008 - 12:55pm
While national press coverage has focused on the historic ruling which made California the second state to allow same-sex nuptials, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights are making slow and steady progress across the country.  In the recent weeks a few more states have taken action to help further civil rights for the LGBT community. 

New Families USA Report Shows Lack of State Consumer Protections in Individual Health Insurance Market

Adam Thompson on June 12, 2008 - 9:10am
The Right, including Presidential candidate John McCain, wants every American to purchase their health insurance in the individual market, where a mere 5% of non-elderly Americans currently get their coverage.  As a new Families USA report makes clear, this would expose Americans to even more volatility than they currently experience in accessing health care and health insurance.

State Policies for a $4/Gallon World

Nathan Newman on June 9, 2008 - 9:47am
With gas prices now topping $4 per gallon and rising concern over global warming, the public policies that accommodated and often subsidized wasteful driving habits in the past need to change.

2008 Session Roundups: Colorado

PSN on May 15, 2008 - 10:18am 
This session, the Colorado legislature had three main priorities: health care, education and fixing the transit system.  They succeeded
in making substantial progress in education, slight progress in health care, and no progress on transit.

Eliminating Health Disparities, Achieving Equity

Adam Thompson on May 12, 2008 - 10:17am
In 2000, the World Health Organization ranked the US health care system 37th in the world despite spending more than any other country.  In 2007, according to the US Census Bureau, the US ranked 42nd in life expectancy. If you are a person of color, a low-wage worker, non-English speaking, or live in a low-income community, the picture is much worse.  For instance, the life expectancy for African-Americans is 73.3 years, five years shorter than it is for whites.  For African-American men, it is 69.8 years, just above averages in Iran and Syria, but below Nicaragua and Morocco.

Families USA's State Reports Document Bush's Assault on State Economies and the Consequences of Being Uninsured

Adam Thompson on May 1, 2008 - 8:31am
Absent a national health care policy, states have found ways to expand the reach of Medicaid by covering more low-income, senior and disabled people and expanding the list of covered services.  Because of state action, 58 million Americans now have health coverage they would not otherwise possess.  To push back on the states, the Bush Administration put forward several new Medicaid regulations last year that, if implemented, will shift the burden and costs to states.  This will result in reduced benefits for millions of Americans unless already cash-strapped states find some way to pick up the slack - to the tune of $50 billion over five years.

Tough Wage Enforcement Law Approved in Iowa Senate; Anti-Immigrant Measures Rejected

Nathan Newman on April 17, 2008 - 9:10am
The Iowa Senate on Tuesday approved SF 2416, a bill to sharply increase fines on employers violating Iowa state wage laws, crack down on the practice of misclassifying employees as "independent contractors" to evade those laws, and protect workers reporting violations from retaliation.