Rocky Mountain Voice

Commentary

Gaines: Medicaid bloat is eating Colorado’s budget after a decade of federal expansion
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Gaines: Medicaid bloat is eating Colorado’s budget after a decade of federal expansion

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Colorado's Medicaid bloat under Obamacare In the first post of this series, I briefly went over Colorado's Medicaid financing (how much and on what). If you want or need that context, it's the first link below. In the second part of the series, I want to talk about how Medicaid got expanded by the Feds--allowing more people to get on government-funded healthcare-- and how Colorado leapt at the expansion like a shot. There were two recent (and big) expansions of Medicaid: the first was the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) which expanded Medicaid coverage to people (including those without any disability or children)making up to 138% of the Federal Poverty wage. Screenshot 1 is a summary of the changes, it comes from...
They built the budget bomb: Now Colorado Democrats say President Trump lit the fuse
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

They built the budget bomb: Now Colorado Democrats say President Trump lit the fuse

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board They built the budget bomb. Now they say Trump lit the fuse. Colorado Democrats want you to believe they’re victims of the Big Bad Federal Budget Bill. That the state’s $1.2 billion shortfall just... happened. Like a pothole after a snowstorm. Nothing to do with how they’ve governed. Governor Polis says, "The Trump Administration is withholding needed funds from our classrooms," and Senate President James Coleman warns, "There’s no avoiding the fact that these cuts will hurt Colorado families." Convenient. But here’s the part they don’t mention: Colorado’s fee-based revenue—the stealth tax that doesn’t require a vote—blew through the roof to $25.8 billion last year.  That’s right. More than half of the entire state budget now come...
Polk: Summer TDS cases are rising across the U.S. — Is it time for a shot?
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National, Top Stories

Polk: Summer TDS cases are rising across the U.S. — Is it time for a shot?

By Mark Polk | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Mark Polk shared this satirical piece with his personal network, where it sparked laughter and strong reactions. He adapted it from a recent COVID vaccine shot article and noted it may be “too hot to handle” for some—but readers who enjoy biting political humor may find it hard to resist. As Trump Derangement Syndrome cases begin to rise this summer, many may be wondering: What are my risks, and is it time to get another vaccine? As of July 15, TDS cases were growing or likely growing in 27 states including Texas, Illinois, Colorado, North/South Carolina, NY, AZ, Missouri, Wisconsin, NJ, ND/SD, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Kalifornia, Kentucky, Virginia and Ohio, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It also...
Daniel: Colorado’s Budget Crisis Wasn’t an Accident — It Was a Choice
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Daniel: Colorado’s Budget Crisis Wasn’t an Accident — It Was a Choice

By Bobbie Daniel | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s budget isn’t just strained — it’s revealing the true priorities of our state’s leadership. While seniors and disabled veterans wait to see if Colorado will uphold a constitutionally guaranteed property tax exemption, Governor Polis was busy polling Coloradans about spending $28 million on a pedestrian bridge in downtown Denver. The result? Over 87,000 people participated in just five days — 93.9% voted “no” and only 3.8% said yes. That kind of public input is rare in state spending these days. If more of our budget decisions had that level of transparency, we might not be staring at another billion-dollar deficit. The crisis we’re in today wasn’t caused by bad luck or global economics. It was the result of del...
Gaines: Subsidies save some—but in reality, they’re just wealth transfers
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Gaines: Subsidies save some—but in reality, they’re just wealth transfers

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Let me start with a couple non-contiguous quotes from the article linked at bottom. “'By better using the heat beneath our feet to help us, we are leading the nation in innovative clean energy technologies that save Coloradans money, and protect our air quality. Investing in Geothermal heating technology increases energy reliability and serves as a low-cost energy source,' Polis said." “'Geothermal heating technology plays a huge role in helping Colorado reduce emissions from homes and buildings while saving Coloradans money on heating and cooling costs,' said CEO Executive Director Will Toor. 'It’s exciting to see so many innovative geothermal initiatives being made possible due to Colorado’s investment in this technolo...
Daniel: The state’s mandates, your money—and why counties are saying “Enough”
Top Stories, Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Daniel: The state’s mandates, your money—and why counties are saying “Enough”

By Bobbie Daniel | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Imagine walking into a restaurant, and before you even look at the menu, someone else orders for the whole table. They choose the most expensive items, add dessert, and go for top-shelf drinks—and when the check comes, they quietly slide it over to you.  That, in a nutshell, is what the State of Colorado is doing to counties.  Every year, new laws and regulations roll out of the Capitol with noble names and lofty goals. But when it comes time to pay for them, the state shrugs and walks away—leaving counties, and local taxpayers, to foot the bill. It’s called an unfunded mandate, and it’s become one of the biggest threats to responsible government in Colorado.  In Mesa County, we’ve always believed in balan...
Minary: Humor is good—even and especially in politics and culture
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National, Top Stories

Minary: Humor is good—even and especially in politics and culture

By Russ Minary | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice “And now for something completely different.” (the opening scene of every episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus on BBC) This article is a departure from the usual banter on politics, religion, morality and taxes.  We can all use a good laugh now and again.  Monty Python was a British comedy troupe that did out of the box, thought-provoking, bawdy, irreverent skits on a variety of topics including politics and religion. That show has aged very well.   Politics should still be a rich source of humor.  Here’s a simple way to tell if something is genuinely funny: it will make most people laugh, smile and feel better.   Mark Twain, one of my favorite humorists wrote two of my favorite quo...
Tristan: How Trump’s second term is making history—promises made, promises kept
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National, Top Stories

Tristan: How Trump’s second term is making history—promises made, promises kept

By George Tristan | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice It’s often said that elections have consequences; I submit this assertion expresses an undeniable truth that nearly all would attest to, regardless of one’s political persuasion. That said, how should the first six months of President Trump’s administration be objectively characterized?  Many tout it has been an unprecedented success; while others decry it has been an abysmal failure. Wherever you may sit on this continuum of opinion, what cannot be argued is whether Trump’s accomplishments, since January 20, 2025, have lived up to his 2024 campaign promises. The American electorate returned Trump back to Washington D.C., largely due to how he led over the course of his first term as the 45th POTUS. Had Trump not live...
Gaines: Instead of schools, state grants funded advocacy for equity, gay forestry—and ‘indigenizing’
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Gaines: Instead of schools, state grants funded advocacy for equity, gay forestry—and ‘indigenizing’

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project In an earlier post (see the first link below), I mentioned a couple of state expenses to the environmental advocacy group Cultivando that had caught my eye in their TOPS expense report.The first was a line item for $500 labeled as "personal services -- professional" charged to the Colorado Energy Office (CEO). The other was a grant for $24,700 to Cultivando charged to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).I wrote in and got the records back for these expenses. I thought them interesting enough to share. Perhaps they're not big dollar amounts, but they are representative of the kinds of thought processes among policymakers and bureaucrats that put us in the financial state we're in--you know the state where we are short...
Joondeph: When artificial intelligence becomes ideological programming
American Thinker, Approved, Commentary, National

Joondeph: When artificial intelligence becomes ideological programming

By Dr. Brian C. Joondeph | Commentary, American Thinker A computer is only as good as the data you put into it. That warning from the early days of computing -- garbage in, garbage out -- has never been more relevant than in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).  AI now drives everything from search engines to image generators, yet instead of providing objective, data-backed insights, it too often parrots progressive narratives, twisting facts to match feelings. Case in point: despite U.S. Census Bureau data indicating that over 75% of Americans identify as white, AI-generated images of “typical Americans” often show mostly non-white groups. This isn’t intelligence. It’s indoctrination, built into algorithms by ideologues in Silicon Valley. Corporate media is similar, p...

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