Jobs and economic security
The Denver Post:
Colorado unemployment rate falls to 7.9 percent"I think we are seeing good, positive developments," said Alexandra Hall, chief economist for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. She noted that economists in late 2010 believed the state would pick up 10,000 jobs in 2011, but it turned out 17,700 were added.
Also: Pueblo Chieftain:
Local jobless rate back near 10%Also: Fort Collins Coloradoan:
State unemployment rate drops, county is up slightly Also: Colorado Springs Business Journal:
Unemployment down in Springs - but still higher than state, nationFiscal policy
The Denver Post:
Applicants for Colorado's tourism act tax incentives want to lift 2-projects-a-year limitHalf of the applicants for new tax incentives under the Regional Tourism Act have hired a lobbyist to persuade legislators to broaden the law so that more than two projects are eligible each year.
Boulder Daily Camera:
Boulder council weighs $24-per-household annual transportation tax Boulder's transportation department has identified a funding gap of about $2.5 to $3 million per year that needs to be filled just to maintain streets and bridges at their current levels.
Family economic security
Denver Post editorial:
Economic justice vs. class warfareThe headline from the speech was Obama's tax proposal for millionaires - which is meant to evoke the long fight over the Bush tax cuts. Obama proposed that anyone making more than $1 million should pay an effective tax rate of at least 30 percent. This comes on the same day that Mitt Romney released his 2010 tax return, in which he paid around $3 million on $21.6 million in income - an effective rate of just under 14 percent.
Health care
Health Policy Solutions:
State identifies Colorado's 10 winnable public health battlesGoals from injury prevention to reducing unintended pregnancies are among the "10 Winnable Battles," identified Tuesday by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The national scene
Kaiser Health News:
Obama On Health Insurance Reform: 'I Won't Go Back'In his State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama made just one explicit mention of the 2010 health law. Here is a transcript of the few parts of his speech that mentioned health care issues.
The Christian Science Monitor:
How to curb chronic homelessness? First, a home!Permanent supportive housing, a movement to supply homeless people with housing first and deal with their other issues second, has made big strides in reducing homelessness this decade.
Think tanks
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
Proposed Kansas Tax Break for "Pass-Through" Profits Is Poorly Targeted and Will Not Create Jobs Governor Brownback's proposal for dramatic changes to Kansas' income tax includes a highly problematic provision that would eliminate all taxes on the profits of certain types of corporations and similar non-corporate business entities.
The Urban Institute:
Bringing Promise to Washington, DCThe U.S. Department of Education's Promise Neighborhood Initiative is one of the Obama administration's major antipoverty initiatives and a core strategy of the White House's Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative.
